Which Pests Attack Spinach & How to Manage Organically!
Luckily, spinach doesn’t attract many pests and those that it does get are fairly easy to manage!
Luckily, spinach doesn’t attract many pests and those that it does get are fairly easy to manage!
Scales are super tiny insects that suck the sap from your plants weakening or killing your plant. They secrete a covering over their tiny body that resemble scales.
Mealybugs are a small, white, soft-bodied insect typically found in the garden in warmer climates. Mealybugs will feed on plants by sucking sap out of them causing the leaves to yellow and curl. You may notice the plant getting sticky from the honeydew and this will attract ants as well. This blog post talks about how you can manage mealybugs in your garden with our free From Seed to Spoon mobile app!
Lacewings are great helpers for your garden. They are light green with long skinny antennae and almost transparent wings. Lacewings love to eat insects and can eat over 200 aphids in a week! They also can prey on other soft-bodied insects such as mites, thrips, whiteflies, and small caterpillars.
Asparagus beetles have a similar look to lady bugs. As larvae, they are 1/3 inch long and are slug like in appearance. Adult asparagus beetles are about 1/4 inch in length and are metallic blue-black with either yellow or black spots on their wings. Both adult and larvae can be dangerous to your asparagus causing the tips to turn brown and twist.
The Colorado potato beetle is one of the major pests that can affect your crops. Adults are round beetles with orange/yellow and black stripes on their wings. Their head is orange with black spots. If left unchecked, they can destroy your plants in no time!
Leaf miners that affect vegetables refers to a small gray-yellow fly. These flies lay tiny white eggs that turn into green maggots. These maggots can destroy the leaves of the plants in your garden.
Mexican bean beetles look very similar to ladybugs. They have a tan back with black dots, and the younger ones do not have any spots. If left unchecked, they can destroy foliage and pods.
Whiteflies are tiny little white flies that suck the sap from plants. They are typically found on the undersides of leaves.
Corn earworms (also known as tomato fruitworms) are small caterpillars that vary in color from different shades of brown, yellow, pink, green, and black. The light yellow adult moth lays white, circular eggs on leaves or corn silk in the spring time. The earworm consumes the silk and then moves on to the ear. On other plants, earworms consume stems, leaves, and fruit.