Pests: Symptoms to Causes

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Pests Symptoms to Causes

• Joran Viers
• Horticulture Agent
• Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service

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Symptoms

• Tree browning from top down.
• Occurs on ponderosa and pinyon pine AZ and
  Leyland cypress ash and elm.
• Small pencil-lead sized holes appearing on trunk.
• Sawdust/frass around holes on trunk.
• Bark comes off, leaves powdery tunneled surface
  behind.

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Cause

• Bark beetles
• Pine bark beetles, cypress bark beetles, elm bark
  beetles, ash bark beetles
• Attack drought-stressed trees.
• Invade cambium layer in trunk.
• May bring fungal spores in (blue stain disease)
• Once theyre inthe tree is theirs.
• Preventative water appropriately permethrin or
  carbaryl on bark of trunk (timing?).

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Symptoms

• On pinyon needle browning that spreads around
  tree.
• Tiny holes in bark of twigs may be frass
  associated with holes.
• Cambium of twigs turned reddish brown, dead.

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Cause

• Twig beetles
• So far attacking mostly pinyon, some mugo pines.
• Key in on drought stressed trees.
• Permethrin or carbaryl as a preventative full
  twig coverage?
• High-pressure permethrin may actually kill some
  of them under the bark.

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Symptoms

• Small holes in leaves of ornamentals or vegetable
  crops shot holes.
• Presence of small beetles that jump away when
  disturbed.
• Presence of squishy little larva along with the
  beetles.

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Cause

• Flea beetles
• Many different species attacking many different
  plants
• On vegetables, may render leaves un-appealing and
  inedible.
• On ornamentals, may defoliate (but what real
  consequence? 20 or less, dont worry).
• Floating row covers intentional mowing repel
  with DE, neem treat with spinosad, permethrin,
  carbaryl.

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Symptoms

• Heavy leaf feeding on bean plants.
• Feeding may extend to flowers and fruits.
• Lace-like appearance of leaves, yellowing and
  drying of leaf tissue.
• Frass.
• Presence of adult and larval insects

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Cause

• Mexican bean beetle
• A type of lady bird beetle.
• Natural enemies include assassin bugs and
  parasitic wasps.
• Clean up old bean debris and destroy after season
  is over to kill overwintering adults.
• Garlic as a repellent also onions and mint.
• Neem, rotenone, sabadilla, pyrethrum, Sharp
  Shooter (lemon-based), carbaryl can give some
  control.

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Symptoms

• On small-flowered sunflowers
• Stems chewed through just below head, causes head
  to droop over but typically remains attached.

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Cause

• Headclipper weevil
• Not a serious pest, attacks smaller-flowered
  sunflower plants.
• Plants continue producing new heads.
• Call came in, I searched internet for sunflower
  pests, came across reference to this weevil,
  then went home and found them on my own plants!

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Symptoms

• On apples, possibly on pears
• Interior of fruit largely destroyed by feeding.
• Exit wound (possibly frassy) clearly marks fruit
  as tainted.

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Cause

• Codling moth
• Proverbial worm in the apple.
• Eggs laid on surface of fruit (from very young to
  almost mature, depending on generation).
• Pheromone traps quite effective at home-scale.
• Combined with insecticide, very effective.
• Spinosad
• Carbaryl
• First application typically late April/early May
• Second application 10-14 days later.

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Pheromone trap in Ron Walsers experimental
orchard at the Alcalde Sustainable Agriculture
Science Center.
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Symptoms

• Bare petioles on tomato plants.
• Rapid progression of damage.
• Big black/brown lumps on leaves.

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Cause

• Tomato hornworm
• Larva of a type of sphinx moth
• Cryptically colored to hide on plant tissue
• By the time theyre noticed, quite large (thumb
  sized).
• Hand pick and feed to chickens (get some)
• I know a man who has eaten them

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Symptoms

• Tree leaf feeding
• Apple
• Sycamore
• Others
• Strange structures hanging down from branches.

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Cause

• Bagworm
• Moth larva adult females are typically wingless,
  may not have eyes, antennae, legs live in their
  bag.
• Usually not noticed until pupal stage hand pick
  and destroy.
• Early infestations (if observed) could be treated
  with Bt, pyrethrum, rotenone, carbaryl and others.

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Symptoms

• Mass defoliation attack on sunflower leaves.
• Many small caterpillars crowded together to feed.
• Sunflower plant continues to grow

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Cause

• Painted lady butterfly
• Locally heavy, but healthy plants outgrow.
• Control young larva with a Bt product.
• Leave em alone and let your kids have a science
  project/nature experience.

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Symptoms

• Mostly on pinyon
• White, frothy sap from wounds on main trunk.
• Sap initially soft and sticky, eventually
  hardens.
• Small white larva may be found.

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Cause

• Pitch moth
• Eggs laid on trunk, larva tunnel in, stimulate
  flow of sap and feed on same.
• Though quite noticeable, not usually very
  damaging and probably dont require treatment.
• Dig them out with small knife, poke em with a
  wire.
• No good chemical controls.

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Symptoms

• Die-back of branch tips on pine, mostly
  ponderosa.
• Short, squat ponderosa trees without strong
  apical leader.

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Cause

• Pine tip moth
• Two flights per year, typically early May and
  early July.
• Rarely fatal rather, cause disfurement
• Typically dont fly above about 20 feet from
  ground, so tall trees will likely escape
  disfigurment.

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Symptoms

• Tips of corn fouled by feeding.
• More common on sweet corn than field, indian, pop
  or ornamental corns.
• May extend well downward on ear.

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Cause

• Corn earworm
• Also feeds on tomato, then known as tomato fruit
  worm.
• Tight-husked varieties less affected.
• Vegetable oil pyrethrum drops on silk as it
  emerges.
• Carbaryl, synthetic pyrethroids mentioned but
  with resistance caution.

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Symptoms

• Damage to lower trunk of peach, cherry, plum
  trees.
• Sappy exudations mixed with frass and sawdust.
• Bark die-off, evidence of boring in surface of
  wood.

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Cause

• Peach tree borer
• Day-flying, clear-wing moth.
• Eggs laid on trunk, larva tunnel in, then drop to
  soil to overwinter and pupate.
• Mechanical control, pheromone trapping to catch
  males.

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Symptoms

• In green ash trees, mostly
• Die-back of branches.
• Holes in trunk.
• Little pupal cases sticking out of holes.
• Sawdust and frass on trunk below holes.
• Death of tree.

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Cause

• Ash borer
• Day-flying wasp-mimic moth.
• Also attacks lilac.
• Pheromone traps are available for monitoring.
• Spray control material 10 days after first catch.
• Permethrin sprayed on the bark of the trunk and
  main branches (make sure its labeled for this
  critter - Astro.

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Symptoms

• Ragged, extensive feeding damage on cole crops
  (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Chinese
  cabbage.
• Frass on leaves.

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Cause

• Cabbage looper
• Has many natural enemies, but they alone wont
  control.
• Control with early and frequent applications of
  Bt.

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Symptoms

• Leaves (or young fruits, stems) roughly eaten,
  large chunks missing.
• Ornamentals, perennials, all kinds of plants.
• Often early-season damage, leaves continue to
  grow and function although deformed.
• Typically, no villain spotted.

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Cause

• Grasshoppers
• Feed on all kinds of things, including some other
  insects and their own dead!
• Very mobile, forget about chemical control.
• Chickens, turkeys and guinea hens.
• Nolobait for long-term warfare.
• Large grasshopper population one year may be
  followed by large blister beetle population next
  year the beetle larva feed on grasshopper eggs.

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Symptoms

• Second-year needles on pinyon yellowing, stipled
  third-year needles browning.
• Small black bumps on second year needles.
• In late winter, cotton masses on trunks and
  branches of pinyon.

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Cause

• Pinyon needle scale
• Two vulnerable stages
• Egg hose off NOW through mid-March.
• Crawler after eggs hatch, young larva seek last
  years needles to settle on.
• Hose of eggs, but leave some to monitor
• As soon as they hatch, control with
  horticultural oil (keep off foliage), neem oil,
  insecticidal soap, acephate, carbaryl.

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Symptoms

• Leaves of woody perennials curling along edges or
  across midrib.
• Stipling and discoloration of leaves.
• Sticky clear liquid collecting on leaf surfaces,
  branches, etc.
• Lots of ant activity.
• Lots of lady bug activity.
• Weird little critters on leaves, stems often
  stuck in place.

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Cause

• Aphids
• Many natural predators and parasites often no
  control is needed.
• Hose off with strong jet of water.
• Treat with insecticidal soap, neem products,
  imidacloprid, permethrin, carbaryl (BUT DONT BE
  IN A HURRY YOU CAN DO MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD!)

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Symptoms

• Ripe cherry fruit starting to rot inside.
• Small white worms visible inside fruit.

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Cause

• Western Cherry Fruit Fly
• Smaller than a house fly.
• Attacks fruit as it ripens.
• Control with spinosad.

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Symptoms

• Copious amounts of sap dripping to ground from
  large trees.
• Lots of bird activity in trees.
• Sound of woodpeckers in trees.
• Lines of holes drilled into bark, but not real
  deep.

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Cause

• Sapsucker woodpecker
• Feeding on sweet sap in early part of season.
• Also feeds on insects.
• Usually doesnt drill deep enough to compromise
  tree health.
• Scare away with bird tape, noises, fake owls, etc.