Most Common Insects in the Garden and How to Get Rid of Them?

by Becky Decker and Anita Shan · January 5, 2024

The most common thing gardeners hate to find in their gardens is the insects that destroy their plants, and you know what? If you have a garden, you have pests.

So, the main agenda is how to identify the insects in the garden, after which you can start to understand ways to get rid of them. Don’t worry; I have made your work shorter by shortlisting some of the most common insects that you can find in your garden.

To understand the method for getting rid of them in your garden and save the plants, you need to continue reading the article.

Table of Contents

Common insects in the garden and how to get rid of them?

The following are common insects that you can find in the garden and the common ways you can protect your garden:

Aphids
Cabbage maggot
Caterpillars
Cutworms
Colorado potato beetle
Mexican bean beetle
Flea beetle
Tarnished plant bug
Japanese beetle
Scales

Aphids:

The aphids are insects that look like tiny, pear-shaped critters having long antennae and two tubes that are projecting rearward from the abdomen of the aphids.
The aphids can be found on most of fruits and vegetables, flowers, ornamentals, and shade trees mainly in North America.
The aphids do destroy the plant by sucking the plant sap which causes the foliage to distort and the leaves of the plant to drop.
The honeydew secreted by aphids on leaves does spread viral diseases.

Most common insects in the garden and how to get rid of them?

Ways to control and get rid of aphids:

The following are some steps you can follow in order to control the growth of aphids on the plants:

Always wash the plants by strongly spraying water on them.
Start using native predators and parasites for example aphid midges, lacewings, and lady beetles.
You can also avoid feeding aphids by covering the plant with floating row covers.
If the problem reaches to high peak then you need to apply horticultural oil, insecticidal soap, or neem oil

Cabbage Maggot:

The cabbage maggots are garden insects that stick to cabbage family crops like Chinese cabbages and are mainly found in North America.
They kill the plants by making tunnels in the roots and due to this they open the gates for disease organisms.

Ways to get rid of cabbage maggot:

The following are some steps you can follow in order to control the growth of cabbage maggots on the plants:

You can get rid of maggots by applying floating row covers on the plants.
Start transplanting by using tar paper squares.
If you start growing the plant late so that you can avoid the first-generation planting which will have less chance of getting attracted by maggots.
You can also avoid them by applying parasite nematodes on and around the roots of the plant.
Burning the roots of the harvested plants.
Applying a mound of wood ashes or red paper dust on the stems of the plants will keep cabbage maggots away.

Caterpillars:

The caterpillars are soft insects in the garden that have segmented larvae distinctly.
They consist of harder head capsules having six legs in the front.
The insects do have fleshy false legs.
You can see these insects on many fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and shade trees.
They used to chew on leaves, making tunnels in fruits.

Ways to get rid of caterpillars:

To control the growth of caterpillars you need to use predators and parasites.
Remember to hand-pick the harvested plants.
To avoid the growth of caterpillars you should apply floating row covers.

Cutworms:

The cutworms are the insects in the garden that are fat size, 1 inch long.
They do have gray or black segmented larvae.
You can easily find these insects at night.
You can easily find the cutworms in vegetable and flower seedlings and transplants mostly found in North America.
The cutworms are used to chew the stems from the ground level.

Ways to get rid of cutworms:

Using cutworm collars on transplants will help to avoid the risk of getting cutworms on the plants.
You can control the growth by delaying the planting of the plants.
You need to hand-pick all the cutworms that you find below the soil surface.

Colorado Potato Beetle:

The Colorado potato beetle can be seen on potatoes, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, and petunias mainly in North America.
These insects are yellow-orange beetles having ten black stripes on the wing covers of the insects.
These insects in the garden are used to defoliate plants by reducing yields.
They are also able to kill the young plants.

Ways to control Colorado potato beetle:

To control the insects in the garden you need to apply floating row covers.
You can also use deep straw mulches to control the growth of insects.
Always hand pick the Colorado potato beetle whenever you see them.
You need to spray the plant with neem oil to get rid of the insects.

Mexican Bean Beetle:

When the Mexican bean beetle gets big in oval shape.
These insects do have yellow-brown, 1/4-inch beetles, and on their wing covers you will find 16 black spots.
The larvae of the insect are fat.
Having dark yellow grubs with long, branched spines.
You will find these insects on cowpeas, lima beans, snap beans, and soybeans and in places like states east of the Mississippi River, Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, and Utah.
The insects are used to chew the leaves from beneath and at the end, you will see a lacy appearance.

Ways to control the Mexican bean beetle:

You need to apply floating row covers to control the growth of the Mexican bean beetle.
For controlling the bean beetle you should plant bush beans early.
In case you find the insects make sure to hand-pick them all.
You can also plant soybeans trap crops for controlling the insects.
Using predators will protect your plant for that you need to draw spined soldier bugs in the garden.
You can also spray the insecticidal soap or neem oil on the plants.

Flea Beetle:

These are smaller in size.
The flea beetle insects are dark beetles that are used to jump like fleas do.
They are usually found in most of the vegetable crops mostly located in North America.
The mature flea beetles are used to chew numerous small and round holes into the plant leaves.
The larvae-sized beetles are used to feed on plant roots.

Ways to control flea beetle:

To control your plants from flea beetles you should apply floating row covers.
By spraying plants with garlic spray or with kaolin clay will help the plants to get rid of the insects.

Tarnished Plant Bug:

The tarnished plant bugs are the insects that are fast-moving, mottled, green, or brown bugs.
They do have forewings that do have black-tipped yellow triangles.
They can be found in vegetables, flowers, and fruits mainly in areas of North America.
The matured insects are used to suck plant juices.
The attack on the plants does cause leaf and fruit distortion, wilting, stunting, and tip dieback.

Ways to control tarnished plant bugs:

You need to keep the garden weed-free, especially in the spring season.
To control the insects you should apply floating row covers.
Spraying the young nymphs with neem oil will help in controlling the insects’ growth.

Japanese Beetles:

The Japanese Beetles are the insects you can find on small fruits, vegetables, and flowers mainly in the east of the Mississippi River.
These insects are basically metallic blue-green.
They grow up to ½-inch in size, having bronze Bing covers.
The larvae of the beetles are fat having grubs with brown heads.
The insects are used to skeletonize the leaves of the flower and defoliate the plant completely.
The Larvae of the insects are used to depend upon the loan and garden plant roots.

Ways to control the growing of Japanese beetles:

To get control of the growth of the Japanese beetle you need to shake the beetle from the plant early in the morning.
To protect from the insects apply floating row covers.
You can also set a baited trap on the vegetable Garden at two sides and keep them away at least 30 feet.
Spring the insecticidal soap will help keep away the beetles from the plant

Scales:

The scales are the insects you can find on fruits and plants ornamental shrubs and trees mainly in North America.
The female insects used to look like hard or soft bumps on stems, leaves, or fruit.
The male scales are like minute flying insects
The larvae of the scale are the tiny soft crawling insects that have thread-like mouthparts.
The scales are used to suck plant sap and the plant gets weak.
After the attack of the scales the plant changes its color from Green to yellow, drops the leaves, and may also die.

Ways to control scales:

To control the growth of scales in the plant you need to prune out the infested plant part.
By increasing the native predators it also lowers the growth of the insect.
In case there are scales in your garden you need to just Scrub the scale with the help of a soft brush and superwater and wash it all.
Applying the dormant or the summer oil spray will also protect your plant from the scales.
You can also try to spray the name oil on the plant.

Conclusion:

Afternoon which type of insects have been attacked in your garden bed or yard you can easily follow the above-mentioned ways to get rid of them.