How to Identify Greenhouse Pests with 5 Warning Signs

Want to Know How to Properly Find and Identify Greenhouse Garden Pests and Insects? This Post Should Help! Imagine that you were all excited to create a greenhouse garden. You fantasized about growing your very own vegetables and fruit. Perhaps, you even decided to grow beautiful roses for aesthetic purposes. You put your plans into motion and everything appears to be going smoothly. The plants are budding. Then, one day you go into the greenhouse and notice holes in your plants and some may even be dying or dead. What on Earth went wrong? Are you a horrible gardener? Do you not have a green thumb? Most Common Greenhouse Bugs, Pests, Insects, & Diseases: Whiteflies Mealybugs & Scales Mites (Spider Mites, Broad Mites, etc.) Thrips Leafminers Fungus, GNats, Shore Flies

Anyone can become a great gardener with the proper information! The reason your plants died or were damaged is because you did not know how to identify greenhouse pests. It is crucial to regularly examine your plants for various pests. At the first sign of harmful garden pests, you should immediately take action to eliminate them to keep your plants healthy. Most of the harmful greenhouse pests will not be able to be seen by the naked eye, so you should purchase a magnifying glass.

Tip #1: Leave the Lady Bugs Alone If you see lady bugs in your greenhouse, do not feel alarmed. Ladybugs eat the larvae of other insects and aphids. Tip #2: Look Out for the White-Fly  The white fly is a small white, moth-like insect that feeds on the sap of plants, underside of leaves, and they carry a virus that is harmful to plants. Check the younger leaves of your plants for eggs laid in circular patterns. This is a sign that you have white flies. White flies are easier to spot than other pests, because you can see them without a magnifying glass. They are around 1/8 inch in size. If you have white flies, you can add ladybugs, green lacewings, or songbirds to naturally eliminate them. During March and September, you can also choose to use encarsia formosa, a tiny golden wasp that is most effective for killing white-flies.

Tip #3: Watch Out for Spider Mites Spider mites are a common problem for gardeners. If you notice a white dotted pattern on your leaves, then you have spider mites. It is hard to see the white dotted pattern with the naked eye, so use a magnifying glass to ensure you don't miss it. You may also see the tiny spider-like creatures on the leaves. Judging by its name, you may think that you should look for webs to spot spider mites. However, webs are a sign of a very bad infestation of spider mites. You don't want to allow it to get to that point before acting! Remember that the earlier you catch nasty pests, the better off your garden will be.

Tip #4: Look Out for Mealybugs Mealybugs are tiny, spiny oval shaped insects that are a common greenhouse pest and are very destructive. They reproduce rather quickly, so you definitely want to combat mealybugs as soon as possible. Like the whitefly, the mealybug also contains a virus that it injects into the plant. This virus can even infect neighboring plants and eventually the entire garden! One of the ways to catch mealybugs is to look for gray or white cotton-wool looking covering on any part of the plant. Their nests appear to be fluffy. Don't forget to check the base of the plant, because mealybugs can create a nest on any part of the plant. You wouldn't want to miss one of the signs. Another way to know something might be up is if you see ants. Mealybugs secrete a chemical called honeydew that ants enjoy eating. However, there are other greenhouse pests that also secrete honeydew. So, do not just assume you have mealybugs when you see ants. Further inspection will be required to narrow it down. In order to get rid of mealybugs, manually remove the white cotton-like covering from the plants, because this is resistant to insecticides. Next, us a contact insecticide that contains malathion or a systemic insecticide. If the infestation is not severe, you will be able to manually pick the mealybugs off with tweezers.

Tip #5: Watch Out for Soft Scales Soft scales are wingless, headless insects that appear to be small flattened brown discs. The males have a pair of wings, but are rare to find as they only live for a few hours. Some species of soft scales are a different color, such as black. They also release honeydew, like the mealybugs. White flies, spider mites, mealybugs, and soft scales are common greenhouse pests that you should know how to spot and exterminate. However, they are certainly not all of the possible insects you should be able to identify.

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Summary: 

"I found that this guide was one of the best, that I have come across, and is certainly in that elite bracket, of all-time best reference bases. The book contains very hard to find answers, for complex calculations and equations, that allow us to learn and understand things never thought possible. I would recommend this to both the expert career grower and the ultra green first time gardener."
- Whitney M. Segura (Owner and Chief Executive Marketing & Operations Officer)
Our Rating of This Guide: 10/10

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About the Author of this Post:

Dina Segura is the wife of Mr. Ernest 'Butch' Segura, mother of brothers Stewart Segura and Whitney Segura, and she is an important share-holder at EarthCare Greenhouses, and asset to the company. Dina was raised in Lafayette, LA and has experience working in the oil field, until recently, when she began working part-time at Segura Trading, along with her sons and husband.

When it come's to gardening, she is a natural, and has a life-time full of experience growing plants and produce. Which, is a priceless thing, when one want's to test the quality and durability of gardening products and accessories, learn more about item's she has personally approved.

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Important Links: The following website's and webpage's have been reviewed and found worthy of our stamp of approval, and recommendation.

Florida Greenhouse Pest Management Guide - http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cv248

United States of America's Drought Monitor

Drought Monitor: UNL.edu & the USDA (http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/)

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College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University

Image Gallery of Greenhouse Pests and Diseases - By: Cornell Greenhouse Horticulture (http://www.greenhouse.cornell.edu/)
Publication By: Cornell
Department(s): Department of Horticulture; Greenhouse Horticulture
Address: 134A Plant Sciences Bldg, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
Email: hort@cornell.edu
Phone: 1 (607) - 255 - 4568 / Extension: 1789
Fax: 1 (607) - 255 - 9998 / Extension: 0599
School Abbreviation(s): n/a

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UK Agriculture, Food, & Environment School

Greenhouse Ornamental Pest & Insect Control - http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef421.asp
Publication By: University of Kentucky
Department(s): College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment
School Abbreviation(s): UKAg or UK

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Other Great Resources on Dealing with Insects, Pests, and Other Common Problems:

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"Integrated Pest Management: Greenhouse Pest Management is Making Pennsylvania’s Greenhouse Industry More Profitable"

School / Organization: Pennsylvania Government, Department of Agriculture

Download URL: http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_24476_10297_0_43/AgWebsite/Files/Publications/Integrated%20Pest%20Management.pdf

Total Pages: 21

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"Insect & Mite Management in Greenhouses"
School / Organization: University Extension Tennessee
Download URL: https://utextension.tennessee.edu/publications/documents/pb1594.pdf

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"Greenhouse Pests: Insects & Pests" by David J. Shetlar, Ph.D. aka The “BugDoc”

Publication E-Book Title: Greenhouse Pests: Insect & Mite Pests

School / Organizations: Ohio State University, OARDC, and OSU Extension.

Sub-Association Extensions: OARDC & OSU Extension

Written by: David J. Shetlar, Ph.D. aka The “BugDoc”

Institution: The Ohio State University

Location: Columbus, OH

Copyright Date: © November, 2003, D.J. Shetlar

Download URL:  http://bugs.osu.edu/~bugdoc/Shetlar/462/pdf/greenhousepests.PDF

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Common Diseases and Pests found in Greenhouse Production

Class: HLT 203
Building: Front Range
Educational Facilitator: Colorado State University: Cooperative Extension
School Type: Community College
Instructor: Laura Pottorff
Download PDF: http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/adams/gh/pdf/HLT203-CDGP.pdf

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Other References:

Casey, C. Ed. 1997. Integrated Pest Management for Bedding Plants. A Scouting and Pest Management Guide. Cornell Cooperative Extension Pub. No. 407 109 pp.

Skinner, M, C. Frank and R. Valentine. 2011. Aphid Banker Plant System for Greenhouse IPM, Sept by Step. 

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