Garden Pests to Know

If you’ve got a vegetable garden, you will have pests at some point. It’s critical to know which pests are beneficial and which pests can harm your crops.

There are several insects you want to see in your garden, like the praying mantis, fiery searcher, Zelus assassin bug, and aphid wasp. Check out our Mississippi Vegetable Gardener’s Guide for more beneficial insects and to see what they look like.

Harmful pests attack your garden in different ways. They are classified as sucking insects and chewing insects.

Sucking insects use their mouthparts to inject saliva and suck the sap from leaves and stems. They can also damage fruit like peas and beans. These insects include aphids and stinkbugs.

Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects that vary in color, including green, pink, black, and yellow.

They feed on sap from leaves or stems, causing curled leaves and yellowing in many garden crops. You will see them on tomatoes, cabbage, mustard greens, and peas, as well as other crops. They often occur in large numbers and leave behind a sticky substance that promotes the growth of black sooty mold fungi that can interfere with photosynthesis.

Stinkbugs, which can be either brown or green, are large, shield-shaped insects that emit an unpleasant odor when handled or crushed. They feed on developing bean and pea seeds by piercing the pods and sucking the sap. This can scar the seed and may prevent proper development. Puncture sites on pods appear as small, pimple-like marks. In tomatoes and peppers, they cause fruit to develop unsightly yellow marks.

Chewing insects chew or bore into plant parts. Ants and cutworms are chewing insects.

Ants are attracted to the garden for many reasons. Some feed on honeydew secreted by aphids, others consume decaying fruit, and some hunt other insects. While ants are usually considered minor pests, fire ants can inflict painful stings. To control ants, manage aphids, harvest ripe fruit promptly, and use fire ant baits labeled for use around the garden perimeter (not inside of it).

Cutworm moths are dull-colored and active at night. Their larvae are gray, brown, or black with stripes or spots. They feed at night, cutting young plants at the soil line, and hide during the day. To control cutworms, protect transplants with aluminum foil or wax paper collars and use insecticides like permethrin.

You can find more common insect pests of the home vegetable garden in Extension Publication 3616, “Mississippi Vegetable Gardener’s Guide,” along with photos and information about how to manage them.