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Aphids
My bay tree has aphids all over it. I have tried rubbing alcohol and another spray but they are still there. This tree is inside my dining room. Help!
Try insecticidal soap. There are some good household/plant sprays available but insecticidal soap is the safest and it is very effective if used repeatedly. You can also turn the tree on its side in the shower and wash off the aphids with a blast of water. If you have a flexible shower this will be easy. Be careful what you are using, especially if you utilize the leaves. You will need to keep at them until they are gone. Check any other plants you may have inside or ones you recently brought in. Those aphids had to come from somewhere!

What is a naked aphid?
This is a term used to describe hundreds of aphids that don’t have a fuzzy or a wooly coating. Most are named for the plants they prefer to feed from, as, for example, bean aphid, cotton aphid, and so forth. Sometimes they are referred to as green flies as that is their most common color. Plant lice is yet another name.

These insects suck sap from stems and leaves. Some people refer to them as ant cows because ants often milk them for the honeydew. No matter what they are called or what they look like, aphids can inflict tremendous damage to plants, but they also are easy to dislodge with a good blast of water from the hose.
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Bacillus thuringiensis
What exactly is BT?
Other than my initials, it stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium that is used to control many insect pests, mainly in their larval stage. Technically, it is a biological pesticide and it is available in liquid, powder, dust and granular formulations. The bacterium works by producing toxins that poison, paralyze, and kill the pest after ingesting B.t. Products with B.t don't work as rapidly as a harsh chemical would, but they do work and they are much kinder to the environment and non-toxic to humans. Also, even though caterpillars can do serious damage to plants, careful observations must be made before spraying - butterflies start out as caterpillars!

Some commercial products add extra letters or names to 'BT' to designate the particular insect they kill. For example, B.t.k. (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki), which takes about a week to completely do away with the cabbage chewers in my garden. Another product, B.t.i. (B.t.var. israelensis) will control mosquitoes and flies and B.t.s.d (B.t. var. san diego) was developed to control leaf-feeding beetles. Each one of these types of 'BT' has a commercial name and is available at garden centers and nurseries. As with all pesticides, read and follow the directions on the label carefully.
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Beneficial Insect Attraction
I want to attract beneficial insects to my garden. What should I plant?
If you have a vegetable garden, let some of the native wild plants, that is, weeds, grow around the edges. For flower gardens, plant herbs such as dill, sage, thyme, yarrow, and dill among your other plants. There are also seed mixtures available for the purpose of attracting beneficials but be careful and check the label before planting because the mix may include plants that are considered invasive in our area. 
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Big-eyed Bug
I’m curious about the big-eyed bug.  I heard it is good for the garden.
Big-eyed bugs (genus Geocoris) are named for the large, black eyes which are a distinctive characteristic. The bug has an oval body and short antennae with enlarged tips. Adults are usually gray or brown to yellow and are only about 1/6 of an inch long. These insects are beneficial; they are predators on caterpillars, spider mites, aphids, leafhoppers, flea beetles, and tarnished plant bugs.
Plant alfalfa, clover, or soybeans to attract them. They often can be found on goldenrod or pigweed. 
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Boxwood Psyllid
Last fall our boxwood had black mold growing all over it and yesterday we noticed that the leaves at the end of the branches are curled up and it looks like the bud that would send out new growth is dried up. What is causing this and what can we do?
When the leaves open, look for a very tiny gray-green insect. You may also soon see small flies bouncing around the plant while the leaves develop a shiny coating. You are seeing boxwood psyllids (Psylla buxi) at work. The immature form of this insect feed by sucking sap from leafs, which makes them turn yellow and curl or cup. As it feeds the psyllid secretes a whitish waxy coating that protects it from preditors and water. And, because the psyllid cannot digest all of the juices, the excess is excreted as honeydew which forms a sticky coating on leaves. The black mold you saw was a growing on the honeydew. This insect matures in early summer and females lay eggs in the bases of buds in the fall. The process starts over again in spring.  A systemic insecticide used as directed will control these pests for you.
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Buffalo Treehopper
Last summer my son found a small green bug that looked like a wedge from above but in profile it resembled a half circle on legs. It is very tiny (needs a magnifying glass to see it) and has lacy wing edges. It was found on a vine that is climbing up an old cherry tree. Do you have any idea what it might be?
I believe your son found a buffalo treehopper (Stictorcephala bisonia). The hump on its back that forms the half circle gives it the look of a buffalo. Adults lay yellow eggs under fruit tree bark that overwinter to hatch about late May. Then thee nymphs drop to the ground and begin feeding on weeds and grasses until late summer when they molt into an adult and start the whole cycle over again. The only damage from this insect is the slits made in bark to lay the eggs but this is more of a problem for younger trees, especially if the treehopper population is heavy.
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Cabbage Looper
There are green caterpillars all over our cabbage. Are they loopers or something else?
Depends on the size, how it moves, and color variation. Cabbage loopers are pale green caterpillars about an inch and a half in length with a white stripe along each side. These chompers move like an inch worm. The imported cabbageworm is a velvet green, slow moving crawler that is just a bit smaller than the looper. Then there is the diamondback moth caterpillar which is also pale green but has a light brown head and very fine dark hairs. This one is less than one half-inch long and both ends are pointed.
The looper, like any caterpillar, can be controlled with Bacillus thuringiensis.
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Cabbage Maggots
Our cabbages were diagnosed with cabbage maggots. Will we have problems again next year?
Pupae overwinter in soil and emerge as adults beginning in March, then the cycle begins again. You could actually have more than one generation per year. Try planting radishes in the bed early in the season and hold your cabbages until later on. In this way you miss the first generation of adult flies. Row covers or screen cages are a better method as this prevents any egg laying. An old remedy is to lay squares of tarpaper around the stem so the fly can’t lay eggs. After you harvest the cabbage, pull out and destroy all roots. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, turnips, and radishes are all host for the cabbage maggot.
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Carpenter Ants
My neighbor's large tree came down and it was full of big black ants and some of them have come into our yard. Will they damage our trees?
No, they won't hurt your trees, your shrubs, or you. These are carpenter ants, and they are opportunistic, that is, they come around because there is rotting wood in which they establish colonies. Any soft, damp wood is good enough to set up housekeeping but they do not directly harm the tree. They don't eat wood but will come inside homes looking for other forms of food. If this happens, the following formula will illuminate the problem: mix ½ teaspoon of boric acid powder (available at the drug store) and 5 teaspoons of sugar into a cup of water; make sure the boric acid is dissolved. Then, poke holes in a small margarine container, going all around about a half inch from the top, and fill it with cotton balls. Pour the solution into this container, soaking the cotton balls, and snap on the lid. Place the container in an area away from pets and children, but where you have seen or suspect the ants of entering. They will suck the solution out of the soggy cotton balls (these balls create a footing so the ants won't drown), return to their nest, and feed the colony, thereby destroying it.
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Carpenter Bees
We have some large bumblebees that ate holes under our porch roof. What can we do about them?
You have carpenter bees, which are much bigger than bumblebees. They can drill holes as large as ½ inch in any wood that is unpainted or into nail holes, or cuts in overhangs, railings, shed ceilings, garages, wooden furniture, and your porch. They will also come back to the same territory and refurbish old tunnels the following season. The males are territorial and will guard potential nest sites in the spring, often intimidating any intruders. Males cannot sting and although females can they rarely do.

These bees overwinter as juvenile adults in their tunnels and those that survive winter will mate from April to June and then begin nesting all over again. Eggs are placed in cells in the tunnels and the female places nectar and pollen in each tunnel to feed the young. The larvae hatch, feed, and pupate within their cells. Adults emerge in the fall.

To discourage these bees, seal all holes and either paint your porch roof or have it covered with a vinyl material. You will have to put a wasp/hornet spray into the holes before attempting to seal them because any bees left inside will only bore new holes to escape.
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Caterpillar
Every year a caterpillar eats my geraniums, petunias and snapdragons. These caterpillars are all different colors and keep returning. What are they?
The only caterpillar I know of that eats flowers and, depending on what flower is being eaten, alters its color is, the tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens). They keep coming because there are a couple of generations per year. The pupae overwinter in soil, emerge as adults in spring and start feeding. After about three weeks - after they have tunneled through the buds and devastated your flowers - they drop and pupate. The adult moth is pale green with four wavy, lighter bands across the wings. Eggs are laid onto flower buds and leaves, one at a time, making them difficult to spot. Besides picking off the caterpillars, Bacillus thuringiensis (a bacterium that is available commercially in containers) will help keep them in check.

There are caterpillars eating our oak trees and we have been told they are either gypsy moths or tent caterpillars, and today we read about the winter moth. How can we tell?
Observation will give you the answer. The tent caterpillars hatch from a band of eggs that has been wrapped around a small limb and crawl to the nearest crotch in the tree to spin a 'tent' in which it stay at nights and during rainy weather. These crawlers are a dark color with a light stripe on the back. Also, there is a line of blue spots on the sides. In size, they top out at about one inch in length.

The gypsy moth larvae are usually dark gray with five pairs of blue spots and six pairs of red spots along the back. These caterpillars are longer than the tent caterpillars by at least a half an inch.

The newest one is the winter moth caterpillar. If you live in the eastern part of Rhode Island you may have that one. It is light green the white stripes along the sides of the back. This one is about the same size as the tent caterpillar.

All caterpillars can be treated with Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki , which is better known as BTK.
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Chinch Bug
What exactly is a chinch bug?
This small bug (Blissus leucoptus) is a member of the seed bug family, Lygaeidae. These bugs are about one-sixth of an inch long, dark gray to black, and are covered with very fine hairs. The wings are white with triangular spots at the edges. The younger nymphs have a bright red and white stripe across the back; as they get older, they become dark with white spots. Also, they have an offensive odor when crushed.

In our area, the adult winters over at the base of grass stems. Then, when temperatures warm to around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, it becomes active and lays eggs in grass sheaths or in thatch. The eggs hatch in about two weeks; nymphs mature and feed for about six weeks. We generally have two generations, with the most activity from late August into September. The problem is that feeding stops grass from taking up water as the bugs suck all the sap from roots and stems. This results in damage that looks like a drought has occurred and is most severe following hot, dry spells.
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Cicadas
Aren’t all cicadas around only every-so-many years?
Not every cicada in every region is on the same life cycle. For example, the dog-day variety, Tibicen species, may be seen every year because some emerge every summer. The males make loud buzzing calls to attract females starting about mid August. This cicada is also known as the annual cicada. There are other cicadas that get all the press; think of the massive convention of cidadas that emerged in the southeast in 2004. They emerge in late April and May of the thirteenth year of their development. 
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Codling Moth
Last year our apple tree had a good crop but every apple had brown areas inside and a brown dust on the outside. What could this be and how do we prevent it this year? We don’t want to use chemicals that are poisons and kill pollinators.
The problem is codling moths (Cydia pomonella). This moth is grayish brown with very fine white streaking across the wings. It overwinters as a larva and pupates in the spring, just as apple trees bloom. Females then lay eggs on the small fruits, leaves, or twigs. The larvae soon burrow into the fruit and feed for a month or so before leaving. The exit hole is where you saw the brown sawdust and excrement. In the fall, mature larvae spin cocoons under loose bark or in crevices to overwinter.  Dormant oil spray and  pheromone traps are both effective in early spring against the emerging moths. Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (B.t.k.) will destroy any larvae that haven’t yet made it to the fruit. The problem with sticky traps is that they catch pollinators as well.  If you can monitor each blossom and spray it with B.t.k. just as soon as the petals drop, you may be able to control more larvae. 
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Cucumber Beetle
How can I protect against cucumber beetles?
Cucumber beetles cause two problems for cucumbers. Larvae as well as adults feed on leaves. The feeding adult also injects a bacterium that causes a disease called bacterial wilt. To protect your plants, place a floating row cover over the young vines early in the season. This cover prevents adults from flying in and laying eggs.
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Cutworms
How can we control those worms that sever transplants at night?
You must mean cutworms, those fat, ugly, greasy larvae that are a real pain in the neck. Because they do their work during the night, natural predators like birds don't help much. Most species of cutworms overwinter as pupae in the soil and then emerge as adults to lay eggs in May or June. Those eggs hatch in less than a week and the worms feed on our plants and grass for about a month, sometimes a little longer, before going back into the soil to pupate. Some species overwinter as eggs and hatch just as we are planting our cabbage and broccoli.

The adult is a brown or grayish moth. To outwit them, wrap a cardboard collar around the stem of each plant, making sure that it is pushed at least an inch into the soil. The idea is to prevent the cutworm from having contact with the plant. (I collect toilet paper rolls all year then slice them lengthwise and in half, making two collars from each.) If the cardboard is too stiff, use a twist tie to keep it closed. Some people wrap aluminum foil around the stems while others just place a stick against the stem. You can also carefully dig around the plants each morning and destroy the worms (too much work) - or plant later in the season.
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Earwigs
I hate earwigs, and every year I have problems with them in my container plants on the patio. Is there any way to eliminate them?
Eliminating, probably not, but they can be controlled. Start with fresh potting mix in your containers each spring and keep the entire area clean of any debris where they can hide. Earwigs feed at night; they hide in crevices and cracks of patio furniture and decking as well as in soil during the day. Even the drain holes under your containers can become hiding spots.

Adults overwinter in your soil and emerge in spring when the female lays eggs just beneath the soil surface. She will stay right there until the eggs hatch, then tends her little pinchers until they can fend for themselves. She then leaves to lay more eggs while the first group starts eating your plants. What a system!

If you are fast enough to catch them of guard, they can be eliminated with insecticidal soap. Otherwise, try trapping by giving them a hiding spot you can destroy. Rolled up newspaper, a small tube or paper towel rolls, anything that can be picked up and discarded daily. They will stay inside these items, where if you use something that can be lifted off them, will make them scatter. Canned cat tuna makes a good bait.
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The containers of flowers that are on my deck have been devastated by slugs and earwigs. I’ve changed the dirt and sprayed with house and garden bug spray and it hasn’t helped. What can I do?
Well, you can start by getting rid of that can of bug spray. Then, start over by scrubbing out your containers with a solution of bleach and water and fill them with a sterile potting medium, not soil from the garden. Amendments such as vermiculite, perlite, and water-retaining crystals are helpful. Keep the containers raised off the deck by using an inverted planter saucer or a trivet to allow the containers to drain. Before putting your containers out, check the cracks between the boards on your deck as this is where earwigs love to hang out. Slugs will congregate beneath your planters (or whatever is used to raise them) during the day, so check daily or place a piece of copper stripping around the saucer or trivet. The copper will react with the slug’s slime causing kind of electric shock. Also, make sure the plants you choose are bug free. Finally, water the containers from the bottom if possible or at ‘soil’ level.
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Fireflies and Glow Worms
Are fireflies useful in the garden?
Fireflies or lightning bugs are beetles and their larvae are very hungry feeders that prey on other insects, snails, and slugs. When fireflies are active in summer, flashing on and off due to their remarkable ability to emit light, it’s mating time. Eggs are laid in the soil where the larvae hatch and overwinter. Come spring the larvae hide under bark or other debris, usually where it’s damp, until evening when they seek out food. These larvae, often called glow worms, are fierce predators, secreting an enzyme that paralyzes the prey so it can be eaten. Unfortunately, fireflies are no longer abundant due to the use of chemical insect controls on lawns and shrubs.
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Fungus Gnats
I have little flies living in the soil of my house plants, how do I get rid of them?
Fungus gnats really don't do much damage to plants but they are very annoying to plant owners. They lay eggs in the potting mixture and the larvae feed on dead matter, including decaying roots. This can sometimes affect the roots of seedlings but rarely damages mature plants. Fungus gnats are partial to peat and peat-based potting mediums.

If you soak your potted plant in a solution of insecticidal soap for a half hour or more then let it drain until the soil is almost dry this should cut back, if not eliminate, the problem. If the infestation is very severe, you may have to use an insecticidal treatment that is suitable for use on houseplants, specifically for the particular plant you have; treat a dry medium for maximum results. Repotting the plant is not an option as some of these pests will survive the transplant by hiding in the middle of the root system.
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Green Fruit Beetle
What are the shiny green bugs with orange edges that are dive bombing our gardens. I think they are a beetle but I’ve never seen them before.
You are probably seeing the green fruit beetle (Cotinus mutabilis). It is emerald green with a yellowish tan trim or a distinct diamond pattern of green atop the yellow coloring. If that is what you are seeing, it’s them. I discovered them this past weekend in my garden also. They must have emerged from the ground and are in a mating frenzy.

The larvae feed only on dead or decaying organic material and occasionally feed on the small roots of grass. These grubs have a unique habit when they surface at night to feed: they flip on their backs and crawl by contracting and expanding their body segments. When I picked some up they immediately flipped over, making identification difficult. As adults fly, they make a loud buzzing sound like a swarm of bees. Adults may also feed on thin-skinned fruits, creating some damage.
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Grubs
Is it true that you can identify the type of beetle grub by looking at their backsides under a microscope?
Yes, it’s called rastral pattern analysis. The raster, or rear end, of a grub is different for each type, so examining the shape and how the hairs grow on each larva lets us identify the given beetle or chafer. Of course, the larger the grub the easier this is. Japanese beetle larvae are almost the shape of a dunce cap with short, even hair growth. The Asiatic beetle has a raster that resembles a thumb and index finger put together and the hairs are longer. Still others have bald spots or combined short and long hair growth. Fortunately, we treat all grubs the same in our lawns so this individual identification isn’t necessary.

There are some very large grubs under our mulch pile. Any idea what they might be? We though all the grubs had gone deep into the soil now that it’s November?
You are not alone. I have some monsters under my compost. I believe they are June beetle grubs, which are big, with small leg attachments and a brown head with what looks like pinchers on it. Also, the back end is translucent and if you look through it you can see a gray sac of matter. They almost resemble larvae that are ready to pupate. The crows love it when you toss them into the grass!
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Hemlock Wooley Adelgid
My hemlock has wooley something according to my lawn man. What is he talking about?
The Hemlock wooley adelgid (Adelges tsuga annand) is a small insect that sucks the sap from newer branches of a tree, causing if to weaken. Take a good look at your tree. Does it have a white cottony substance stuck to the twigs? That is the adelgid as it secretes and covers itself with this white substance.

Adelgids lay very small, oblong eggs in a white cottony sac on young twigs in April and May; each egg contains over 50 eggs. The eggs hatch into reddish nymphs called crawlers by June and then begin feeding on the young twigs. The presence of these egg masses is a good indication of how bad the infestation is. Within a few weeks, the nymphs become adults; some will remain wingless but others will fly to neighboring hemlocks and spruces.

Control depends on proper timing. Horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps are very effective if sprayed around mid-July and in late October.
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Hickory Tussock Moth
What is the white, fuzzy caterpillar that is falling out of my butternut tree? It looks like it’s put together with square beads that have black dashes and dots on them.
That’s a very good description of the hickory tussock moth larva (Lophocampa caryae). These leaf chewers are very active from July through September in many trees and shrubs, including nut trees, apple trees, sycamore, and plane trees. At first the caterpillars appear sort of beige in color but they become whiter as they develop. Also, they feed in groups at first but then each becomes more independent before they drop to the base of the tree or plant to pupate in a cocoon over the winter.
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Hummingbird Moth (Tomato Hornworm)
Hummingbirds are supposed to eat red flowers so why did they eat my tomato blossoms?
Hummingbirds drink nectar from tubular flowers, not just red ones, but they didn't eat your tomato blossoms. What you had was a hummingbird moth, better known as the sphinx moth. This is a rather large moth (2 inches long) and when it hovers to feed its wings beat rapidly like those of the hummingbird (you will hear the sound). It doesn't eat tomato flowers; it lays eggs on the leaves. The egg looks like a pearl attached to the leaf; many leaves will have a single egg on them. The caterpillar that emerges is the tomato hornworm!

This large green monster has a black horn on its rear end and white markings along the sides. It can do serious damage to your tomatoes. When first hatched, the caterpillar's horn is almost as big as its body but after four or five pupations within the first month, the hornworm larva develops into a large, plant-chomping creature. Some folks claim that they smell like green tomatoes, making them easy to find but you can also locate them by looking for dark droppings on and under the plants. When full grown the larva burrows into the soil and creates a cell in which to pupate. Now, if you see one of these caterpillars and it has white eggs attached to it, don't bother with it, it's going to be dead in short time. Those are the eggs of the parasitic braconid wasps and they will destroy the caterpillar.
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Inch Worm
There are some thin green caterpillars dropping by threads from my nut tree. What are they and how do we get rid of them…they are covering the picnic table.
They are called inch worms, but they are really or spring cankerworms (Paleacrita vernata). These ‘worms’ (actually larvae) have been feeding in your tree and are now dropping to the grown via those silky threads to pupate into moths.  The females can’t fly but will climb back up the tree to lay eggs. There is no sense in spraying as the caterpillars or worms are about finished. Look for egg masses ringing the twigs in mid fall and use dormant oil to smother them.
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Indian Bean Tree Caterpillars
Our Indian bean tree has a lot of caterpillars making holes. These caterpillars are about an inch or more long with a face like a snail and a sharp stinger on the back end. They are sort of striped yellow and black with some black spots beneath.  What are they and how do we get rid of them?
What a great description of the Catalpa sphinx caterpillar (Ceratomia catalpae). And, Indian Bean tree is another name for a Catalpa tree! These crawlers can grow to 3 inches.  Since there are many generations per year, control is definitely needed.  The adult, a large night-flying moth, lays eggs on leaves in spring; larvae start feeding as soon as they hatch. These caterpillars will develop into moths and produce a second generation before late summer. If the tree is large, call in a professional but if you can spray the tree yourself, get some B.t.k. (Bacillus thuringiensis variety kurstaki), a bacterium that is eaten by the caterpillar and kill it. Products with B.t. are sold under many labels so ask at your local nursery. Also, clean up all debris beneath the tree in the fall.
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Juniper Webworm
We have some sort of worm in our junipers that make small pockets from the needles in which to hide. Is this a common insect? What is it?
I believe you have the juniper webworm (Dichomeris marginella). This chomper has spread throughout the northern part of this country and into Canada. The adult is a long reddish brown moth. The young larvae mine the needles and incorporate them into the nest that you see; the older ones eat the entire needle. Younger larvae are more reddish in color than the older ones. Break open the nest for the birds or rely on B.t.k. (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstki) for treatment.

Katydids
Are those katydids that are singing at night?
Yes, it’s mating time; there is an old saying that when the katydids start singing there are only six more weeks of summer.  Katydids belong to Orthoptera, the same order of insects as grasshoppers, crickets, praying mantids, cicadas, walking sticks, and roaches. Katydids often resemble leaves as the veins in their wings blend right in. You can always identify a female from the ovipositor, the protruding knife like device attached to her back end. All katydids have large hind legs for jumping and slender antennae that are longer than their bodies. There is only one generation per year and damage done by these chewers is generally minimal. 
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Aren’t cicadas and katydids the same? 
No. Cicadas belong to the order Hemiptera. The young somewhat resemble the adults, but without wings.  However and the nymphs are specialized for an underground habitat. True katydids are related to grasshoppers and crickets and are in the order Orthoptera. Immatures and adults are very similar in appearance; when you look at a young katydid you know instantly that it’s a katydid. Both of these insects are more often heard than seen. Katydids look like grasshoppers while the cicada resembles a large beetle.
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Lacewings
My son found small, white, pearly beads hanging from stiff threads on some of our grapevine leaves. Is it a fungus that we need to spray?
Don’t spray!!!  Those are the eggs of the green lacewigs; when they hatch they eat your harmful bugs. The formation on threads with single eggs is protection from larvae eating each other when hatching. The lacewing is a green insect with veined wings that look like lace. The adults eat mostly pollen and honeydew. The brownish larvae hatch in about a week and are referred to as ant lions. They are voracious predators, feeding on all sorts of caterpillars, beetles, and aphids. They are rather intimidating because of the pair of viciously hooked jaws on the head, and some carry debris on their bodies. To see them in action you can imagine a pride of lions roaring as they attack. 
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Lady Bugs
Help! My windows are covered with lady bugs and some have gotten inside. How do I get rid of them?
It's the Asian lady beetle - they are often called the Halloween Lady Beetle because they start congregating at the end of October. These insects are harmless and really are great to have around during the summer because their favorite foods are aphids and certain scale insects that are harmful to our gardens. But come fall their main objective is trying to find a warm place to winter over and thus, they become a nuisance. Once they have found a warm dry area, you probably won't see them again until late winter or early spring when they try and return to the outside.

Check your windows, doors, and vents for crevices where they can enter your home and take measures to seal them. Although harmless, when stressed the beetles release an orange substance and it can leave stains. So, either sweep or vacuum the beetles up but release them, or empty the bag, outside under a bush or brush pile away from the house.
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Leafhoppers
I was told that aster yellows is spread by a small insect called a hopper. Can you give me information on this?
Aster yellows is spread by tiny insects called leafhoppers. They hop or fly when disturbed and suck sap from plants. Aster yellows is caused by phytoplasmas, which are microscopic organisms similar to bacteria. When an infected plant is visited by a leafhopper, the pathogen is sucked up with the sap. Once in the body of the leafhopper it multiplies, and after about ten days the leafhopper can pass the disease on to another plant. Infected plants typically are stunted and start yellowing. The stems are very spindly and often no flowers are produced or they remain green. Destroying infected plants and weeds, together with proper control of the leafhoppers, will help keep aster yellows in check.
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Leafminers
My Swiss chard and spinach leaves had white circular lines all over them this year. What caused this?
Leafminers, of which there are many kinds but they all have the same feeding habit: they tunnel between the leaf surfaces and feed on the soft tissue inside. The one that visited your vegetables is the spinach leafminer (Pegomya hyoscyami). This insect overwinters in the soil as a pupa and emerges around May. The adults are very tiny, grayish to brown flies that lay eggs in small masses on the lower surfaces of older leaves on the host plant. When they hatch, the maggots - yes, that's what they are - tunnel into the leaves and feed for two or three weeks. When fully grown, they slice out and drop to the ground to start over again. There are several generations per season, but as soon as hot weather arrives they become quiet until it cools off; timed just right with the cool season crops! If you remove effected leaves before the maggot breaks out to start another generation this should keep them under control. Row covers are also helpful to keep the flies from laying eggs.
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Lovebugs
While in Florida this spring we were constantly driving through hordes of bugs that were referred to as love bugs. What are they?
Actually, you saw March flies (Plecia nearctica) which are very abundant in moist habitats of the southeast where they feed on decaying plant material of injured or diseased plants. The larvae feed at the base or roots of plants and are so numerous that they resemble a glob of translucent squirming noodles. The term lovebug comes from their habit of mating while in flight, often forming such large clusters that they become somewhat of a hazard to drivers. 
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Magnolia Scale
My star magnolia has some sort of brown fungus growing along the stems. This has made the twigs all out of shape and the leaves have black sticky spots. I don’t want to loose this tree so what can I do?
Actually it isn’t a fungus it’s scale.  Magnolia scale (Eulecanium cornuparvum) is a very tiny insect that winters over on the tree’s branches. The brown material that you see is the insect’s ‘house’. In August the females lay eggs beneath the ‘house’ and when the young (called crawlers) emerge, they move to the cracks and crevices of the bark to spend the winter.
In early fall when crawlers are active, spray them with horticultural oil to smother them. Then, just before the tree comes alive in spring, spray with dormant oil.  Follow directions on the labels.
When the insect starts feeding in spring by sucking sap and nutrients from the bark. However, the insect can’t digest all the sap, so the excess, called honeydew, falls onto leaves. This honeydew can become encrusted with a black sticky mold, thus creating black spots.
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Mayflies
We live next to a pond and last year we had swarms of what looked like small dragonflies, but they had long stingers. Then, within a couple of days after emerging, their dead carcasses were all over the place. What happened and will they be back this year?
I think you had a hatching of mayflies. These are small soft bodied creatures, about an inch long, with delicate wings that they hold upright instead of folding back along their bodies. The stinger you saw is an antenna and there are often several of them. Hordes of mayflies emerge all at once and live for a very short time - just long enough to mate. Within an hour of mating they lay eggs in the water. These eggs hatch and live on the bottom of the water as wingless forms where they feed on tiny aquatic plants and animals. They can live here from one to four years before emerging as adults. So you may not see them again this summer.
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Mealy Bugs
I just brought my cactus inside and it has some type of white sticky stuff on it. My neighbor said it was scale and another said mealy bugs. Which is it?
It could be either. Mealy bugs, which look like white woodlice, are oval, about ¼-inch long, and wrap themselves in a sticky, white, wooly substance that repels water. Most scale are brown or yellow and usually stay in the tight crevices of plants. Like the mealy bugs, they are almost waterproof. Adult scale insects don't move around; the nymphs or crawlers are very active. The adult remains enclosed in a waxy cover that appears as a circular or oval, raised disc.

Both mealy bugs and scale suck sap from plants and excrete a sticky substance known as honeydew which can trap fungal spores and result in a sooty mold infection. Other than scraping them off with alcohol swaps, systemic pesticides are the best method for control. These are sold in the form of granules for use on houseplants but please, read the label and take all precautions if you have pets or small children when using these chemicals.
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Mexican Bean Beetle
Our beans have fuzzy yellow things all over the leaves. What are they and will they destroy the beans?
Those fuzzy yellow things - with black spines, I presume - are the larvae of the Mexican bean beetle. Look around the plant, especially under the leaves, and you will find some yellowish egg masses or an orange beetle with 16 black spots. (Don't bother to count the spots, just take my word for it.) Both adult and larvae eat leaves and as the plant is damaged, bean pod production is reduced. Squash the egg masses between leaves and knock off the beetles and larvae into some soapy water. There are up to four generations per year, depending on the area, so damage can be heavy. Keeping a clean garden will help reduce this problem.
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Millipedes
We have some sort of dark worm that curls up like a coil of springs around the outside of our house. What are they and are they harmful?
They are probably immature millipedes. The adult millipede can get quite long, and each segment of their body has two legs. They feed on decaying material and any type of soft fruit that may have contact with the soil, like strawberries. Generally, they are not harmful, although once in awhile they will damage a root crop. After a spell of wet weather they have a tendency to collect around foundations. I wouldn’t worry about them at all.
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Orb-Web Spider
We just found a yellow and black spider spinning a web in our flower garden. The web is sort of a big circle attached between two different plants about two feet off the ground. Any idea what spider it is and will it eat any of the plants?
I believe you have met an orb-web spider, probably the yellow and black argiope that is common in our area. If you examine the web closely there might be a zig-zag ladder right down the middle. This spider is not going to hurt your plants but it will do a good job at catching the culprits that do. Please don’t use any insecticides as you need to encourage spiders, not destroy them.
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Pavement Ants
What are those ants that make small mounds between the cracks in our cement walk?
They are probably pavement ants (Tetramorium casespitum). They feed mostly on oily foods and sweets they can find and usually do little if any damage to plants. When it rains, you may see large numbers of them, with wings, leaving the nest to mate. It’s easy to spot them because of the fine piles of soil and sand they create in cracks, between stones and bricks, and even around building foundations.
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Pillbugs and Sowbugs
Our son just returned from a weekend nature camp and talks about a roly-poly bug.  What is he talking about?
He’s talking about either a pillbug (Armadillium vulgare) or a sowbug (Porcellio scaber); both of these bugs will roll into a ball when disturbed. Neither pose a threat to humans or plants as they are scavengers of plant material but they have weak mouth parts that almost prevent them from chewing on decaying or soft tissue.  They generally clean up plant tissue that has been damaged by other means. These bugs are long lived; they can live for over two years. These bugs feed at night and spend the day under some form of cover unless it’s raining or it’s overcast, in which case they will wander about.
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Pirate Bug
We found some bugs that our lawn care man said should not to be sprayed. He called them pirate bugs. Why can’t they be sprayed?
Good for your lawn care man! Pirate bugs (Orius tristicolor) are predators. As adults, these bugs feed voraciously on small caterpillars, spider mites, thrips, and loads of other small insect that can ruin plants…and their eggs. They are black and white, about ¼ inch long. Very shortly after eggs hatch, the adults are developed and start feeding on insects in your garden and continue to do so for a couple of weeks. As there are many generations each year, there is good coverage.
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Powderpost Beetle
What can you tell me about the deathwatch beetle? Are they the ones that eat furniture?
There are three types of beetles that eat wood, all referred to as the powder post beetles: members of the family Lyctidae are true powderpost beetles; the family Bostrichidae are false powderpost beetles; and the family Anobiidae are the furniture and death watch beetles. The name death watch beetle comes from the adult making ticking sounds inside infested wood.

Because all of these beetles eat wood - actually the larvae bores through the wood - furniture could be part of their diets. All of them leave holes in the wood as the adults emerge; the holes differ in size depending on the species. With the true powderpost beetles, a fine powder frass will fall from the surface holes but with the other borers the frass is usually in pellets and sticks together, resembling wet meal.

All of these beetles tunnel through hard and soft woods; the deathwatch beetle is more likely to be found in soft woods, especially pine-framing lumber. Be careful if you store firewood inside your home, and if your home is an old one you may want to have the framework inspected.
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Rose Leafhopper
There is a white bug jumping around my rose bushes that I can’t seem to trap. The rose bush leaves have spots that you can almost see through.  Are the bug and the leaf damage connected?
Yes, they are. You have rose leafhopper (Edwardsiana rosae). Use a systemic insecticide to control these pests. 
The eggs winter over on rose canes or apple tree bark. Once warm spring weather arrives the young crawl out to settle on the undersides of leaves where they feed by sucking the sap, causing those translucent white to light tan spots on the leaves. As the insects mature, the females produce a second generation but this time the eggs are left on the rose and apple leaveds. The hatchlings from this generation feed until fall and then the next batch of are laid to winter over.
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Rose Slug
The leaves on my rose bush are all tan and very thin, I can see through them. What is wrong?
The rose slug, which is really the larvae of a sawfly, has attacked your plant. The black and yellow adult lays eggs in the spring between the bottom and top layer of the leaves. Some of these larva appear slimy, hence the name slug. By feeding on the soft tissue of the leaves and leaving the veins they create a skeletonized leaf that soon turns brown. As soon as you see the leaves being turned into skeletons, wash them off with a strong stream of water or kill the larvae with an application of insecticidal soap.
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Rose Stem Sawfly
Last year there was an insect that looked like a yellow jacket that ate the canes of my roses. This spring I have already noticed them again. What are they and how do I get rid of them?
If the body is black with yellow bands it is a rose shoot sawfly (Hartigia trimaculata; also known as rose stem-boring sawfly. The larva overwinters in old canes and the adults emerge in the spring. Females insert eggs into the tissues at the tip of new growth and upon hatching the larvae will enter the stem to feed. This causes the canes to wilt and often break. There can be two generations per year. To rid your roses of this pests use a systemic insecticide.
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Scale
What are armored scales and how are they different from soft scales?
Armored scales can appear as flattened, round, or elongated bumps and they often stick together on a plant. If you remove the scale, the insect that is underneath will remain attached to the plant. Also, unlike soft scales, armored scales do not produce honeydew. Soft scales appear as brown bumps on the plant, often resembling mealy bugs. Both types produce young (called crawlers) that are very active until they find a protected spot to feed. This is when they become covered with a skeleton or shell. Since females often die after producing young, this ‘crawler stage’ is the time to apply treatment.
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Soldier Beetle
While cleaning up the yard yesterday we saw a good sized reddish bug with black tips on the wings that we think was eating tiny ants. Could you identify this bug?
It sounds like you have met the soldier beetle. It is an elongated beetle, about ½ inch or so in length, with dark wing covers. This beetle can be very helpful as a predator of aphids, mealybugs and other soft insects. The larvae develop in the ground where they feed on other insects.
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Sowbugs and Pillbugs
Our son just returned from a weekend nature camp and talks about a roly-poly bug.  What is he talking about?
He’s talking about either a pillbug (Armadillium vulgare) or a sowbug (Porcellio scaber); both of these bugs will roll into a ball when disturbed. Neither pose a threat to humans or plants as they are scavengers of plant material but they have weak mouth parts that almost prevent them from chewing on decaying or soft tissue.  They generally clean up plant tissue that has been damaged by other means. These bugs are long lived; they can live for over two years. These bugs feed at night and spend the day under some form of cover unless it’s raining or it’s overcast, in which case they will wander about.
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Spider Mites
Last year there were critters all over my spider plant and I was told they were spider mites. I ditched the plant and would like to have another one. Do all spider plants have spiders?
No. Spider mites are very tiny pests that thrive in dry, hot homes and you probably need to use a magnifying glass to see one. The very fine, silky webs they create on the underside of the leaves are the indication of their presence. Spider mites, specifically red spider mites, suck the sap from the leaves causing the leaves to become mottled and turn rusty.

Sometimes, new growth is stunted and if it is bad enough, the leaves will fall off. The good news is that spider mites hate moisture! A good blast of water will do the trick and a regular spraying with water will discourage any hangers-on. Spraying weekly on both the tops and bottoms of the leaves will keep your plant moist beyond the mites' tolerance.
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My indoor ivy plant has something growing all over it that looks brownish or rusty. It grows like a spider web under the leaves. Is there any type of spray for it?
Sounds like spider mites. You can see them with a good magnifying glass but the web you mentioned is the telltale sign. They usually appear on houseplants toward late winter, especially ivy and spider plants, and they thrive in a hot, dry environment. Spider mites suck the sap which results in mottled and rusty leaves, and if infestation is severe the leaves may drop off. However, they detest getting wet! Just spray your plant with your sink spray or under the shower, making sure you get under the leaves. You may have to mist them on a regular basis for complete control but chemicals are not needed at all.
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I just brought my asparagus fern and some other houseplants back inside for the winter. I don’t see any bugs on the plants but the window where I hang my fern is covered with cobwebs that have very tiny black dots. Did this come from the plant?
It’s a good possibility you are looking at spider mites that did come in with the plant. These are often difficult to see unless there is webbing like you describe. Vacuum the entire window area and get rid of the bag contents outside in your trash. Then check the entire plant…all of them, actually…looking for little dots, especially under leaves and where stems join. You may want to give the plant a good shower in tepid water…spider mites hate water.
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Spiders
We want to get spiders to stay in our garden, so what will attract them?
First, don’t do any spraying. Give them a hiding spot, such as mulch or low growing ground covers, and a supply of moisture. Be sure to have this in place prior to hot weather because spiders like a cool, damp environment. Also, by planting plants of varying heights you supply ‘jump off’ points for certain types. For example, the yellow and black argiope orb web weaving spiders prefer branches of shrubs from 3 to 5 feet high, and in the sun, but they will use shorter plants as well. The plants or shrubs should be perennials to accommodate egg cases;  annuals are often gone before the eggs hatch. On the other hand, wolf or jumping spiders like to congregate in shady spots that are low to the ground. Of course, if you don’t have the insects they prefer to feast on, spiders will move on.
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Spring Cankerworm
There are some thin green caterpillars dropping by threads from my nut tree. What are they and how do we get rid of them…they are covering the picnic table.
They are called inch worms, but they are really or spring cankerworms (Paleacrita vernata). These ‘worms’ (actually larvae) have been feeding in your tree and are now dropping to the grown via those silky threads to pupate into moths.  The females can’t fly but will climb back up the tree to lay eggs. There is no sense in spraying as the caterpillars or worms are about finished. Look for egg masses ringing the twigs in mid fall and use dormant oil to smother them.
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Stalk Borer
My zinnia stalks have small holes in the stems and they are falling over. Some look like they are dying. A nursery worker said I had borers and I should pull them up. Is she right?
She might be, it depends on how far the damage has progressed. The stalk borer is a long, thin, striped (sometimes purple) caterpillar. The holes are where it (the larva) entered the stalk to feed; it feeds inside the stem and on the leaves, becoming quite a pest. You can cut the stems below the hole and hope that the plant will develop side shoots. You can also dry and remove the borer by slitting the stem. After removing the larva, bind the stem back together and keep the plant watered. Or, you can inject B.t.k. (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki), into the stem and apply it on the leaves. If a plant is too far gone for trying any of the above, then rip it out.
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Stink Bugs
There are some green bugs feeding in my vegetable garden and when crushed they have an awful smell. They are flat and about a half inch long. How do I get rid of them?
These are green stink bugs (Acrosternum hilare); some are known to be predators of other insects and while they will nibble vegetables damage is minimal. The green stink bugs here in the north are considered the least damaging to corps. Depending on temperature and location, there could be two generations per year.
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Swallowtail Butterfly
There's a black and white caterpillar climbing around the carrots - it looks like a zebra. Should I destroy it?
Absolutely not! That caterpillar will become a swallowtail butterfly. This larva will chew on leaves but really does very little damage. It's colors are really dark brown and white in the center but later it will turn green with a white spotted black band on each segment. It also has two orange horns that will push out if it is disturbed. It will pass the winter as a pupa here in the north. Eggs are laid singly on the leaves of carrot, celery, parsnip and parsley. I sort of try to protect them from the birds!
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Symphylan
When my son went to pick some asparagus he found a small white insect that he brought inside to examine under a magnifying glass. It has twelve pairs of legs and very long feelers. It isn’t even one-third inch long but it is very fast.  Any idea what this is so I can get it out of my house!
Your son found a garden symphylan (Scutigerella immaculata).  These insects spend their lives in the soil, overwintering deep and moving to the surface as spring arrives. The eggs hatch in the spring and immatures feed, along with adults, on the fine roots and root hairs of plants…asparagus being a favorite. If there are many of them, the plants can be stunted. Two things destroy symphylans besides parasitic mites, heat and drowning. Where they are a big problem, the area is flooded for a continuous amount of time during the summer months to destroy them. They are usually found in soils with high levels of undecomposed matter.
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Ticks
What can I use on my lawn and shrubs to control ticks? Our yard borders a lake and is surrounded by woods and we are worried about Lyme disease.
Anything you spray or sprinkle on the lawn or surrounding area is going to end up in that water. The best control is preventive maintenance. Remove leaves and clear all brush and tall grasses away for the edge of you lawn and plant shrubs that are deer resistant. Set an invisible line near the edge of your lawn to keep people from getting close to the wood line. When outside, wear light colored long trousers tucked into socks and light shirts tucked into tight waistbands. Don't leave any area exposed on your body where they can climb beneath your clothes and onto your skin. Get into the habit of making inspections of family members and guests after time spent outside.

Insect repellent containing 30 percent of more of DEET sprayed onto clothing work well. There is another product called Permethrin that can be sprayed onto clothes and remains there through a few washings. The problem is locating it, though some bait and tackle shops do carry it. If you have dogs and cats, ask your veterinarian for the newest controls, such as Advantage or Frontline. They work! Remember, not all ticks carry Lyme disease. Don't panic; when in doubt, save the tick and contact your physician.
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Tobacco Budworm
Every year a caterpillar eats my geraniums, petunias and snapdragons. These caterpillars are all different colors and keep returning. What are they?
The only caterpillar I know of that eats flowers and, depending on what flower is being eaten, alters its color is, the tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens). They keep coming because there are a couple of generations per year. The pupae overwinter in soil, emerge as adults in spring and start feeding. After about three weeks - after they have tunneled through the buds and devastated your flowers - they drop and pupate. The adult moth is pale green with four wavy, lighter bands across the wings. Eggs are laid onto flower buds and leaves, one at a time, making them difficult to spot. Besides picking off the caterpillars,Bacillus thuringiensiswill help keep them in check.
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Turpentine Beetles and Bark Beetles
My pine trees have globs of icky pitch oozing out from the bottoms. It looks like somebody squeezed a tube of gel from inside the tree. The tops of the trees are turning a rusty color, as well. What is going on?
Are there small holes in the trunk? Is there sawdust oozing with the pitch? If you remove the bark by the ooze can you see grubs in tunnels? If the answers to all of these questions is 'Yes', most likely you have bark beetles, in particular the turpentine beetle. However, if the middle and upper parts of the trunk are attacked but not oozing, then it's the pine bark beetle.

The small turpentine beetles look like grains or rice. Although they feed mostly on pine trees they will also attack spruce and larch trees. The beetle creates the tubes of pitch you described. The adults of both beetles lay their eggs beneath the bark where the larvae hatch and start to tunnel through the bark, but do not emerge until they are adults.

Pitch tubes and yellow/red needles indicate that the tree is in trouble. You probably need to contact an arborist to see if the trees are salvageable. If not, they need to be removed and destroyed.
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Uglynest Caterpillar
What is an uglynest caterpillar?
Uglynest caterpillar (Archips cerasivorana) is very appropriately named for the nest it constructs. Nests are formed around the ends of branches and are stuffed with dead leaves and caterpillar’s feces. Very ugly indeed! Destroying these ugly masses as soon as they are spotted generally keeps the caterpillars under control.

The caterpillars that consider this mess their home are green/yellow with shiny black heads. They feed on the leaves of trees and shrubs but seldom cause lasting damage. They feed from late spring through summer until they pupate inside the nests. The dusty orange adult moths come out from July to September.
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Viburnum Leaf Beetle
Something is eating at the bottoms of my viburnums. The leaves are completely gone except for the thin veins.
It is probably the viburnum leaf beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni). The larvae hatch in May and feed on the foliage of certain species of viburnam causing skeletonization; adults will be seen in July.  The adult is a dull brown, enlongated beetle with noticeable antennae and two very distinct eyes. When they feed, the holes in the leaves are rather enlongated. The eggs winter over on the underside of the twigs.
The most effective means of control for viburnum leaf beetle is pruning and destroying infested twigs after egg laying has ceased in the fall – anytime from October to April. Spray acephate, carbaryl, cyfluthrin/imidocloprid, or malathionwhen larvae first appear in early May. A second application in mid- to late summer on feeding adults may be helpful if damage is excessive. Spraying adults alone is not the most effective management strategy.
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Walkingstick
Is there a green walkingstick? We had what looked like a walkingstick attached to our garage but it was green, not brown.
These creatures are a curiosity more than being harmful pests. Both the nymphs and adults chew on leaves, especially oak, black cherry, and black locust. When full grown, they are about three inches long and they can be green, gray, brown, or even mottled. There are 29 species in North America and we hardly ever see them.
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Wasps
There is a strange looking hornet or wasp digging holes along the edge of our driveway. It doesn’t seem aggressive and we saw one pushing a caterpillar down the hole. I’m curious as to what they are.
You are seeing hunting wasps which belong to the family Sphecidae; other common names for them are mud-daubers, sand wasps, and digger wasps. These wasps do not have any potent venom and rarely sting. Some go after only katydids and like grasshoppers while others prefer weevils, leafhoppers, and aphids; the one you’re seeing specializes in hairless caterpillars. These wasps are loners and they don’t form large nests and colonies like yellowjackets and hornets do.
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Western Conifer Seed Bug
There's an ugly looking bug in my house and when I was cleaning our fireplace we found many of them. They are almost an inch long with zebra stripes and an orange back. What are they and how can I get rid of them?
Sounds like you have been invaded by the Western conifer seed bug. Do you have pine and fir trees around your home? These bugs suck the pulp out of the seeds of these trees. They look ugly because of the flattened, leaf-like extension on the hind legs, plus their color pattern - mainly brownish with a white zigzag stripe across the upper surface and, when flying, a bright orange area on the back is revealed. They have invited themselves into your home for the winter. They won't eat your house but they are a nuisance.

To keep them out, make sure all openings like chimneys, vents, windows, doors, or around pipes have screening or caulking. To remove them from the house, just vacuum them up and dispose of the bag outside. There is no need of any chemical control. Some cats, and probably dogs, will react by gagging when confronting one of these bugs because they emit an odor when they are handled or poked at.
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Wireworms
What are those brown wormlike bugs in my mulch and what can be used to get rid of them? I was told they are wireworms.
Yes, wireworms…that turn into click beetles come spring - that is, if they survive a frigid winter. Instead of using chemicals, just turn the mulch over and let the birds have a feast. They are raising their young in the spring and would appreciate the food supply. Besides, chemicals will also kill off the necessary critters, like earthworms.
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More Commonly Asked Questions:

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