How to Stop Bugs From Eating Flowers & Leaves

Cultural Control

• 1

  Rake and discard plant debris and thick mulch from the base of plants, if you notice slugs or snails on the plants. These pests use the mulch as a sunshield during the day. Also clean garden debris at the end of each growing season to keep pests such as stinkbugs from overwintering in the fallen material.

• 2

  Water plants infected with spider mites every day. Because these pests thrive in dry, dusty conditions, daily irrigation interferes with their reproduction and feeding cycles, causing them to locate better food and shelter elsewhere.

• 3

  Pull out weeds from the garden as soon as you notice them. Weeds serve as a source of food for garden pests such as beetles and grasshoppers. Use a gloved hand to remove each weed plant from the soil, along with its roots, or cultivate the ground lightly with a hoe without damaging the roots of desirable plants.

Biological Control

• 4

  Grow nectar-rich plants such as fennel, sweet alyssum and yarrow in the garden to attract natural predators such as parasitic wasps, which eat most garden bugs.

• 5

  Release natural predators such as lady beetles, tiny wasps and green lacewings in the garden to consume aphids.

• 6

  Treat caterpillars with bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) by spraying it over the foliage of plants. Bacteria in the Bt paralyzes the digestive systems of host pests, causing them to starve and die.

Natural Control

• 7

  Grow "trap plants" in your garden--plants that garden bugs prefer to eat rather than the existing plants. Research the plant preferences of the host pest and grow those plants strategically in your garden to lure away bugs from desirable plants. Once infested, carefully snip off the trap plant and dispose of the bugs in a dish of soapy water.

• 8

  Form a collar made from thick, yellow cardboard and apply a coat of sticky material over it. Insert the lower end of the collar an inch deep in the soil and wind the remainder around the stem to attract tiny flying pests such as whiteflies and aphids.

• 9

  Use a low-toxicity insecticidal soap to deter pests from your flowers and leaves. Soft-bodied pests such as thrips, aphids, mealybugs and spider mites are most susceptible to the control. Follow label directions for diluting the soap with water before applying on plant parts.

• 10

  Apply horticultural or neem oil over bugs and eggs. Make sure you cover the entire upper and lower surface of each leaf for complete coverage.