Organic pest management can be tough!
You have to be vigilant and willing to squish some pretty fearsome-looking beasties (tomato hornworm anyone?). If you’re in a community garden setting, add to that the need to rely on everyone else to do the same and it’s an especially challenging task.
In our Teaching Gardens, the keys to success are pretty straightforward: know the good bugs (like lady beetles) from the bad bugs (like similar-looking Mexican bean beetles) and squish them as early on in their life cycle as possible so they don’t have time to produce the next generation.
We find that each year is different in terms of the types of pests we see and the degree of damage they inflict, but there are a few usual suspects, particularly in our Leominster Teaching Garden, which is the most well-established of the three gardens.
We’ve hand-picked (har-har) the 5 pests we’ve deemed the most destructive, most terrible, and most prevalent so far this season. Take a look and see if you’ve seen these seedy folks crawling around your garden neighborhood. If so, click on the photos to read our bulletins on how to handle them organically and in a small-space setting.
1. Cucumber Beetle
(photo credit: Jenn Forman-Orth)
2. Mexican Bean Beetle
(photo credit: Jenn Forman-Orth)
3. Cabbage Worms
4. Leaf Miner
5. Aphids
(photo credit: Jenn Forman-Orth)
And Honorable Mention goes to…..
Colorado Potato Beetle
Although we haven’t seen this pest in our Teaching Gardens yet, the nearby Cleghorn Peace Garden in Fitchburg has reported its presence among their vegetable plants so be on the lookout!
If you’re interested in more information on the Colorado Potato Beetle or any other pest, we recommend the following reliable sources:
UMass Amherst Extension Service:
https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/insects/fact-sheets
University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service: