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Garden pests include both insects and weeds. While our installation does not protect against insect damage, there are some basics to be aware of:
- Japanese Beetle problems seldom inflict more than a cosmetic damage to plants. There are numerous trees and shrubs that attract beetles. Although they are a pest for no more than a month, most gardeners elect to spray to control them.
- Bagworms, tent caterpillars, and webworms are problems for a range of plants. Bagworms affect needle evergreens such as junipers, arborvitae, and leyland cypress and can cause considerable damage to these plants. Tent caterpillars and Webworms are similar but occur at different times of the year, affecting mostly flowering trees. Caterpillars rarely cause significant damage. Bagworms and caterpillars can be controlled by hand removal or with a spray program.
- Spidermites can cause damage, and in severe infestations death, in needle evergreens such as Alberta Spruce. Mites are most prevalent during hot, dry periods. They can be removed from affected plants with a strong direct spray of water, but severe infestations must be controlled with a systemic pesticide.
- Azaleas planted in sunny locations can suffer damage from Lacebugs. They can be controlled with a systemic spray. Mild infestations rarely do any more than cosmetic damage.
- Scale is found on branches of a variety of plants, but most commonly on euonymous. Scale insects can easily kill a plant and are more difficult to control than pests that feed on leaves. Scale is most often treated with horticultural oil.
Links
Watering your landscape
Effective water use
Landscape bed maintenance
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