Summertime is full of sun and time spent enjoying the great outdoors. Unfortunately, there are many pests that emerge in the summer that can inflict damage on your gardens and homes in southern Oregon. Read on to gain a better understanding of three of the most common summer pests in the area. If you’re aware of these pests, you can watch out for them when summer arrives.
The Earwig
The earwig is a thin, long red-and-brown insect that typically targets household gardens. Earwigs don’t pose a major threat to humans; they nocturnal and feed on your garden at night while you’re sleeping. Earwigs enjoy the fresh new leaves of flowers, vegetables, and fruits.
Black Beetle
When they reach adulthood, these black or brown beetles are about a half-inch long. Much like earwigs, these insects appear at night to consume a large assortment of garden plants, though they would rather eat rhododendrons, yews, and hemlocks. Before they reach adulthood, these beetles feed on the plants’ roots, giving them the capacity to kill the plants in your yard.
Pill Bugs
Otherwise known as roly-poly bugs, the pill bug is also a night prowler. These gray or brown creatures aren’t insects; rather, they are crustaceans. While they live on land, pill bugs make their homes in damp conditions. As a decomposer, they eat dead plant debris, but can also feed on garden plants, including fruits and vegetables.
Consider the following tips when trying to prevent the arrival of these uninvited guests:
- Knowing these three pests enjoy moist environments, take a few steps to reduce the amount of moisture in your soil, as well as the damp leaves and debris in your yard.
- Safeguard your fruits by planting them in above-ground pots, reducing the pests’ ability to comfortably feed on the plants.
- If you have an in-ground garden, shield the soil near your plants with plastic, which will be warm in the summer, keeping pests off it and away from your garden.
- Encourage creatures that feed on these pests, such as birds, to come into your garden by putting up a birdhouse for them.
