Tiny holes in foliageIf you find holes in your plant that are very small there’s a good chance that you have flea beetles in your garden. They are called this because of their size and they jump like fleas. A Flea beetle won’t kill a whole plant however their larvae feed on the root system of a plant this will make the plant more susceptible to other problems. Mulch your beds to deter the larvae from emerging. Some adventurous gardeners even hoover the little pests off the leaves – but this will have to be repeated numerous times.Wilted leavesFirst off, this may be a sign of poor drainage, dry roots or improper sun exposure. Check those out before blaming any pests. If everything else seems kosher, check the plant for aphids – probably the most common garden pest around. Tiny and often green bugs, aphids will literally suck the life out of the plant. They can be removed by hand, with a hard spray of water (over and over until you knock them off), yellow aphid traps and spot applications of insecticide soap. Yellow leavesIf leaves are turning yellow this surely indicates that some form of disease is attacking your plant, A fungal problem called “Black spot” will actually turn foliage yellow. The best plan of attack is to remove the infected foliage (or sometimes the entire plant and burn or throw them in the bin and also don’t compost.Insect eggs in the gardenHere’s the good news – eggs hidden under the leaves of your plants can be removed. The bad news is that winter is often the best time to remove them. Be sure to pay special attention to areas that experienced pest infestations last season. In spring look carefully under new leaves for any clusters of insect eggs. Remove promptly and throw them in the bin. Also check the soil for snail and slug eggs.
