Cutworms Cutworms are the larvae of several species of night-flying moths. The moths are brownish or gray with 1½-inch wingspans. The larvae are plump, gray or brown, hairless caterpillars often with shiny heads. Cutworms feed at night on young plants, usually severing the stem at or just below the soil line causing the plant to
Tomato hornworm Tomato hornworms are green caterpillars up to 4½ inches long with a black horn protruding from the tail and eight V-shaped white marks along the side. A related hornworm is the tobacco hornworm with a red horn on the tail and seven white diagonal lines with a black border. Hornworms feed on leaves, stems
Snail feeding on lettuce leaf Slugs and snails are soft-bodied wormlike animals, members of the mollusk zoological group. Snails have coiled shells. Slugs have no shells. Slugs and snails can be as small as 1/8 inch to as large as 8 inches long. They can be gray, tan, green, black, yellow or spotted. The presence
Cabbage loopers Cabbage loopers are 1½ inches long caterpillars with two pale white stripes down the back, one on each side. Loopers have legs at the front and back and several more in the middle and so they move with a peculiar humpback or looping crawl. Loopers are the offspring of gray night-flying moths with 1½ to
Spotted cucumber beetle The cucumber beetle is an oblong greenish-yellow beetle with black spots or stripes on its wing covers. The cucumber beetle is about ¼ inch long. Cucumber beetles feed mainly on members of the cucurbit family—cucumbers, melons, and squashes—and also asparagus, early beans, corn, eggplant, peas, potatoes, and tomatoes. They attack seedlings feeding
Nutsedge flower Nutsedge is a perennial plant that resembles a grass. It reproduces by seed and almond-shaped tubers at the end of running roots. Description and Life Cycle: Solid stems that are triangular in cross section (true grasses are hollow and round). Grows 6 to 30 inches tall depending on variety. Leaves grow from the
Stinging nettle Stinging nettle is a perennial plant. Skin contact with stinging nettle commonly causes welts. Description and Life Cycle: Grows from 2 to 6 feet tall. Spreads by underground stems or rhizomes to form dense colonies. Stems are erect, four-angled, and bristled. Leaves to 6 inches long; usually long stinging hairs and bristles. Hairs
Knotweed Knotweed grows from long-lived rhizomes but plants live as annuals growing in lawns, vegetable gardens, and ornamental garden especially where the soil is compacted. Description and Life Cycle: Germinates late winter to mid-spring, Stems are 4 inches to 24 inches long; stems are swollen at the joints. Wiry stems form a mat on soil
Nematodes are as small as 1/50 of an inch long Nematodes are microscopic soil-dwelling worms, many less than 1/16-inch long. There are beneficial nematodes and pest nematodes. Beneficial nematodes help turn organic matter into plant nutrients. They also prey on soil-dwelling plant pests such as white grubs and root maggots. Pest nematodes feed on plant
Caterpillar damage to cabbage Insecticides are substances used to control insect pests. There are insecticides derived from plants, animals, and natural mineral sources, and there are pesticides derived from synthetically produced chemicals. Naturally derived pesticides are often accepted for use on or around organically grown vegetables and fruits. Synthetically produced insecticides are not used in
