Shrub Damaging Insects
Having shrubs planted around our homes can create a beautiful, appealing landscape. But do your shrubs ever have a look like they just aren’t doing well?
This could be caused by shrub damaging insects! Don’t let these little pests become big problems to your shrubs. Insects can harm your lawn and shrubs in a variety of ways. Some eat the grass and leaves, some attack the root systems, while others tunnel through the soil. No matter how these insects go about, the end result is unattractive which may ultimately impact the value of your property.
Five Groups of Shrub Damaging Insects
There are five main groups of shrub damaging insects. Below are the most common insect groups that afflict landscapes in the Southeast, United States.
Piercing/Sucking Insects
This group includes Scales, Mealy Bugs, White Flies, Lace Bugs, Aphids and Chilli Thrips. These insects have mouthparts shaped like hypodermic needles which are used to pierce into the plant tissue and suck out the juices. As a result, the leaves on your shrubs have very small spots that are typically yellow but may also be brown or silver depending on the plant. Damage may result in death to the plant.
Spider Mites
These common plant pests cause their damage by feeding on the plant, bruising the cell with small, whip-like mouthparts and ingesting the sap. Leaves will become discolored, producing a gray or bronze look to the plant. Leaves and needles may ultimately become scorched and drop prematurely. Spider mites frequently kill plants or cause serious stress to them.
Foliage Feeding Insects
This group includes caterpillars, grasshoppers, katydids and millipedes. Their damage is caused when they chew the foliage of the plant.
Leaf Miners
These pests are the larval stage of flies. They tunnel between the top and bottom layers of the leaf, causing damage along the way.
Wood Borers
These insects are the larvae and adult stages of beetles and weevils. A common wood borer is the old house borer. They attack both trees and shrubs. Typically, they will only infest trees that are weak or already dead.
Beneficial Insects & Creatures
Many insects are not plant damaging, but instead are beneficial because they eat the shrub damaging insects. Our technicians are trained to know the difference. Our application procedures and products have minimal impact on beneficial insects and creatures, such as lizards and frogs.
