Garden Pests

Question: I would like to know what kind of pest is ruining my garden and what I can do to stop it. They are decimating everything we planted.

responder: An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 20, 2024, 9:10 PM EDT
response: Hi, and thanks for using Ask Extension. I am curious to know more about what you are seeing. When did you first notice it? Is it a one-time thing, or has it occurred over and over after any additional plantings? Did it happen overnight? Is the damage occurring just on annual flowers? Have you seen anything on the leaf or perhaps on the underside of the leaves or around the plants? Anything else unusual? Do you live where there are many animals? Has this happened before?

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 27, 2024, 10:23 AM EDT
response: Hello!  So we have noticed it right away. We bought flowering marigolds to help ward off pests early so we get a better crop but much the opposite happened. It all started with the marigolds but they have also eaten some other flower plants, all of the green beans except for 5 plants in two 30ft rows planted 4-6 inches apart. They have also gone after the tomatoes and the garlic and onions. We don’t have the resources to keep replanting. We did just replant some green beans, spinach and cucumbers. We have a lot of crops that were planted and we never saw come up so we are thinking they were eaten off as soon as they emerged. Among them were beets, carrots, broccoli, jalapeño, onions from seed and dill. I’m sure there’s more that I can’t remember. We have never had this much of a problem in previous years. We have used Sevin spray as well as Neem and they haven’t seemed to do much. As far as seeing insects we have seen snails outside of the garden as well as on the garlic I saw some sort of fly. It’s quick moving and hard to get a good look at. A lot of the damage has occurred at night. We also tried a beer slug trap and only caught one. We don’t have a lot of animals. Mainly deer and rabbits but not a lot of either. We have experience with potato bugs and horned worms but nothing else. We have not noticed anything else out of the ordinary.   Thank you for your help, Emmye  On Thu, Jun 20, 2024 at 21:10 Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 29, 2024, 12:35 PM EDT
response: I feel your frustration - I really do. It is painful to spend the money and the time only to have it wiped out so fast. I have battled this myself in my garden in the country. Simply due to the widespread and non-fussy eating habits, an unwanted animal pest is my first thought. People associate groundhogs with country life, but they are around in suburban areas too, and they are notorious for eating almost everything in sight. It's been my personal experience that deer and rabbits, while potentially destructive, can be slightly more discerning as to what they eat, but groundhogs will eat everything they can get their hands (paws) on.  Of course, like everything in gardening, you may have a couple of things going on, but I really do suspect groundhogs on this one. Here are a couple of links that might help:  https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/identifying_critter_damage_in_the_garden_and_landscape The following comes from a fact sheet from the University of Connecticut: "Woodchucks are voracious feeders. In the early morning and evening periods of the summer, woodchucks actively feed on succulent, green vegetation. They are storing body fat in preparation for hibernation during late fall, usually near the end of October or early November.Woodchucks feed primarily on vegetables, trees, grasses and legumes. Their favorite foods include various beans, cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc.), carrot tops, clover, squash and peas. " And some more information on groundhogs: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/groundhogs/ I hope this helps and I wish you luck!