This is an outline of the possible control mechanisms of selected pests around homesteads and gardens.

1. Control of 25 Outdoor
Pests
(Pests of Agricultural
Importance)
Watentena Amos
April, 2018

2. Mantids
Control
 Are pests because they prey on
many beneficial insects
 Some insecticides can drastically
reduce the numbers of mantids in
the garden
 Selective insecticides, such as
those containing Bacillus
thuringiensis (for caterpillar
control) and insecticidal soap (to
control soft-bodied insect pests)
have little impact on mantids
 The best way to destroy mantids
is to identify them properly,
catch them, and crush them

3. Allegheny Mound Ants
Control
 Using a shovel, hoes, or other
tool, scrape away the top of the
nest to expose the tunnels and
passageways into the nest
 Wear long pants, tucked into
boots or long socks
 Use a brush to remove the ants
from your clothing
 Pour enough boiling water slowly
down the holes to kill eggs
 Try to keep the boiling water
from pooling on the ground
surface, and soaking into the
surrounding soils.

4. Scales
Control
 Insects are hidden under waxy or
hard scale cover
 Brown soft scale is common in
greenhouses and on houseplants
 Plant may decline and die
 Crawlers are young insects that
emerge from eggs and “crawl” to a
feeding site;
 Crawlers are very sensitive to
insecticidal treatment than other
stages

5. Gypsy Moth Caterpillar
Control
 Destroy the egg mass by crushing
them or place them in a bucket of
soapy water
 Wear protective clothing to
prevent allergic reactions
 Use of barrier bands to prevent
larvae from crawling up the trunks
 For large populations, use
insecticidal treatment of a product
containing Bacillus thuringensis
 Remove stressed trees as they
provide wounds or deep bark
crevices that provide the larvae
with shelter that will aid in their
survival

6. Tobacco Horn Worm
Control
 Hand pick them from the soil,
place into a plastic bag, seal the
bag and discard it
 Never kill a hornworm that has
“grains of rice” stuck to its back
 Allow the baby wasps to escape
and lay eggs in more caterpillars
 If not, you can buy beneficial
bugs
 Birds enjoy caterpillars—so
having a birdbath near plants is
also beneficial to control
 Spray the leaves of plants with a
form of Bacillus thuringiensis,
kurstaki

7. Aphids
Control
 Small, often pear-shaped, soft-
bodied insects
 Sticky appearance caused by
honeydew, a sweet, sticky liquid
that aphids and other sucking
insects excrete
 Sooty mold, a black fungus, may
grow on honeydew
 Available aphid predators include
ladybugs and lacewings
 Some insecticides available for
home use but may also kill the
predators

8. Eastern Tent Caterpillar
and Canker Worm/ Loopers
Control
 An organic pest barrier may be
used to prevent the adult female
moths from reaching the tops of
the trees to breed
 Biological insecticides include the
use of Bacillus thuringiensis
 Caterpillars are frequently
parasitized by various tiny wasps
 Removal and destruction of the
egg masses from ornamentals
 Small tents can be removed by
hand, and burnt
 Larger tents may be pruned out or
removed by winding the nest upon
the end of a stick and destroyed

9. Honey Bees
Control
 Stinging social insects that often
build nests near occupied dwellings
 Wear protective light colored
clothing, beekeeper’s veil and
leather gloves, sleeve and leg cuffs
tucked in, even if you are just trying
to locate the nest
 Gently tap the wall with a hammer
and listen for the bee’s answering
hum, to locate a nest
 Check periodically around outside of
house during early summer to spot
and treat small nests

10. Blister Beetle And Colorado
Potato Beetle
Control
 Hand picking is an effective
method, wear protective gloves
because these beetles secrete a
strong chemical that can blister
human skin
 Place the picked beetles into a
plastic bag, tightly seal the bag,
and dispose of the bag in a sealed
garbage can
 Use a mixture of equal parts lime
and flour as a dust on the
infested plants
 Avoid repeated usage of one
particular insecticide by rotating
the insecticides used, rapid
pesticide resistance

11. Lady Beetle And Japanese
Beetle
Control
 Physically removing beetles by
hand
 The easiest way to collect the
beetles is to shake them off of
plants early in the morning when
they are sluggish
 Wear protective gloves, and place
the beetles in a plastic bag. Drop
the beetles into a bucket of soapy
water to kill them immediately or
seal the bag and dispose of it in a
closed garbage can.
 Heat in homes and buildings warm
them and they become active
crawling on walls and ceilings or
moving to sunny windows. Vacuum
or sweep up gently and deposit
outside. Seal entrances as
appropriate with caulk, screening

12. Powder Post Beetle And
Spotted Beetle
Control
 Powder or very fine sawdust on or
beneath wood and small round or
oval shot holes in wood surfaces
indicates infestation
 Well-finished, painted, or other
finished dry wood is seldom
attacked
 Keep wood dry; keep moisture and
humidity levels low wherever
possible
 Cucumber Beetles main danger to
the home garden is that the insect
vectors a bacterial infection known
as cucubitis
 Immediately remove the infested
plant from the garden and dispose
of it in a plastic bag, away from the
garden area

13. Fungus Gnats And Thrips
Control
 Small, dark-colored flies often
seen in home around flowerpots,
larvae feed on decaying organic
matter
 When houseplants are source,
remove and discard growing media;
repot in sterile media/soil
 Clean up spills of organic matter
indoors
 Discard infested plants
 Keep areas dry where possible;
correct moisture problems
 Two species of mites prey on
thrips and are available
commercially

14. White Flies
Control
 Adults are small, yellowish insects
with dull, white wings
 Immature whiteflies are oval and
flattened, yellowish scale-like
insects
 Heavily infested plants send up a
cloud of adults when disturbed
 The small wasp parasite, Encarsia
formosa, is available for biological
control for outdoor plants
 The combined use of sticky traps
and Encarsia looks very promising.

15. Flat Headed Borer
Control
 Regularly check young trees and
shrubs that are becoming
established
 Check for chewing injury by beetles
on new twig growth or leaves
 Trees should be properly watered,
fertilized, and protected from
pests, particularly during the first
two or three years of growth and
during drought periods that cause
extreme stress.
 Trim damaged trees and eliminate
weak ones
 Infested limbs, branches and
trunks should be trimmed in the
fall, burned or chipped and
composted during the winter to
reduce emerging borer populations

16. Squash Beetle And Mexican
Bean Beetle
Control
 Hand pick these beetles
 Drop them in a pail of soapy water
 Also, remove the bright yellow
eggs laid in clusters on the
undersides of leaves
 Floating row covers can be used as
a physical barrier
 Ladybugs, lacewing, and minute
pirate bugs, are predators
 Apply diatomaceous earth to
plants/spot treat with insecticidal
soap
 Botanical insecticides
 Remove garden trash and other
debris shortly after harvest

17. Elm Leaf Beetle And Flea
Beetle
Control
 Outdoor pests of elm that
overwinter indoors, usually in
attics, unused chimneys, and barns
 Repair and caulk openings near
elms
 Remove by hand with a vacuum or
by sweeping up
 Dispose of beetles outdoors
 Open attic windows to allow
release in the spring.
 Damage from this beetle is usually
restricted to borders of gardens,
especially those near wooded areas

18. Clear Wing Borer
Control
 Keep plants healthy
 Mulch around the trunk
 Avoid pruning during warm months
 Remove and destroy infested,
dying or dead plants
 Use predatory beetles, parasitic
wasps or flies, and birds
 Use pheromone traps to monitor
adult activity (attract males)
 Use ultraviolet ‘black light’ traps
to monitor adult beetles, which
are drawn to the light and die in
the bucket (traps attract both
males and females)

19. Angoumois Grain Moth
Control
 Larvae feed in flour/grain
products, dried fruits, nuts, when
mature, crawl up walls to pupate.
 Destroy infested food
 Clean shelves and cupboards
thoroughly; remove food/dishes,
clean upper corners as well
 Carefully clean area where walls
and ceiling meet
 Keep fresh supplies and pet foods
in tightly closed containers
 Use flyswatter as needed
 Pheromone traps can be helpful in
catching remaining stray male
moth

20. Carpenter Bee
Control
 Structural pests that bore holes
for nesting in boards of porches,
windows, and door frames
 They prefer rough-cut untreated
wood surfaces over painted or
well-finished surfaces, paint them
 Screen bees from nesting sites,
especially in spring and early
summer
 Fill holes with putty and repaint as
needed
 Hanging trap boards may cause
bees to use these instead of the
wood of the house
 Wear protective clothing.

21. Eastern Tent Caterpillar And
Forest Tent Caterpillar
Control
 Caterpillars are frequently
parasitized by various tiny wasps
 Removal and destruction of the egg
masses from ornamentals
 In the early spring,
remove/destroy small tents by
hand, prune out/destroy larger
tents by winding the nest upon the
end of a stick
 Burning the tents out with a torch,
if you are out of city limits
 Apply insecticide containing
Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki,
in evenings
 Use a high pressure spray

22. Bagworms
Control
 If only a few small trees or
shrubs are infesting evergreens,
picking the bags off by hand and
disposing of them may control,
this is most effective during the
fall, winter, or early spring,
before the eggs have hatched
 When many bagworms are
infesting evergreens, use a
microbial insecticide Bacillus
thuringiensis, when eggs have
hatched
 Preventative treatment of low-
populations may be a good idea if
shrubs or trees have had a serious
infestation the previous year
 Other insecticides may often kill
the beneficial insects that feed
on pests

23. Grey Field Slug
Control
 Keep area near foundations dry and
free of refuse or piles of organic
matter
 As bait, use beer ¾ in. deep in
steep-sided dish or tray
 Various moisture-holding devices
such as an upside down flower pot or
empty grapefruit skin can be used
to trap slugs and snails during the
day
 They need to be removed (wearing
gloves) and disposed of daily before
dark

24. Grasshopper
Control
 Apply a garlic spray
 Dust the leaves with flour
 Introduce natural predators, even
domestic birds can feed on
hoppers, chickens and guinea fowls
 Set up a long grass trap

25. Parasitoid Wasp
Control
 They are often natural predators,
infestations may occur
 They are attracted to lights, can
find their way indoors
 Switch off such lights for a while
 They require no control measure
since they pose no harm to
anybody

26. Lady Bug
Control
 They are often natural predators,
infestations can be controlled by,
 Use vacuum filters
 Use a broom, sweep insects into
dustbins, discard
 Insect light traps in relatively
dark locations to attract lady bug
beetles

27. Thank You