Tree & Shrub Insect Damage
It is important to know what the damage caused by a specific insect looks like when you are attempting to control the pest. Our technicians are trained to identify active insects on your landscape based on understanding insect activity cycles, their favorite food sources, and by knowing what damage to look for when treating your landscape.
Keep in mind that MINIMIZATION of the damage caused by these insects is our goal. We do not have "repellants" for these insects. In many cases, the insects actually need to feed a small amount on the target plant before control is achieved. Our goal is to keep the insect populations under control using Integrated Pest Management treatment methods.
Looking for information on damage caused by a specific insect? Below you will see links to each of the insects covered here.
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Ambrosia Beetles Aphids Bagworms Japanese Beetles Lacebugs Leaf Miners |
Oakworms Scale Spider Mites Tent Caterpillars Whiteflies |
| Ambrosia Beetles: The external signs of ambrosia beetles are small piles of white boring dust, or "frass" on the surface of the target plant. The frass can also look like toothpicks emerging from the entry holes on the trunk of the target tree. Often times you will find what looks like sawdust at the base of a tree infested with ambrosia beetles. The term "ambrosia" refers to the fungus that the insect carries with it into the host plant. Growth of the fungus in the wood produces a black and gray stain surrounding the beetle tunnels. |
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| Aphids: Aphids suck nutrients from plant material causing discoloration of foliage and curling of leaves. The top image on the right shows the distortion of leaves infested with woolly aphids. They feed on many varieties of needled evergreens, woody ornamentals, and vegetables. Crepe Myrtles are the one of their favorite ornamentals here in the Southeast. Leaf curling and discoloration is actually not the main problem caused by aphids on most ornamental landscapes. In fact, the main problem is more of an aesthetic issue called Sooty Mold. Aphids excrete a sticky, shiny substance called "honeydew" all over the plants they feed upon. Later in the Summer, this honeydew is colonized by sooty mold fungi. The fungi feed on the honeydew and not the plant, so very little damage is actually done to the plant. The sooty mold turns much of the plant soot black. The honeydew from the aphids also tends to coat anything under the host plant. It is not uncommon to see your patio furniture, grill, or deck turn sooty black late in the summer if you have a crepe myrtle with aphid activity overhanging any of these things. |
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| Bagworms: Bagworms mainly feed on needled evergreens such as Leyland cypress, juniper, and arborvitaes. They are most active in the late summer. They can cause broad spread defoliation to host plants. Most all needled evergreens have older brown needles inside the green newer growth. Bagworms feed on the new, green needles, exposing the brown material inside the plant. They also cause a good amount of the newer green needles to turn brown. Most evergreens are very slow to repair the damage caused by bagworms. In many cases it takes multiple seasons for a plant damaged by bagworms to repair the damage caused. |
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| Japanese Beetles: Adult Japanese Beetles are commonly seen on landscapes between May and August in the Southeast. Their favorite plants are: Crepe myrtles, Cherries, Roses, Purple Plums, Flowering Crabapples, and River Birches, but they will feed on nearly any broadleaf plant during this time. They prefer plants exposed to direct sunlight. Adults feed on the upper surface of foliage, chewing out tissue between leaf veins. This gives the leaf a characteristic skeletonized appearance. |
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| Lacebugs: Lacebugs feed on a variety of Southeastern ornamentals, but are most often found on the undersides of azalea leaves. Lacebug damage appears on the upper leaf surface as white to yellow chlorotic spots. The lower leaf surfaces will be cluttered with black spots and the old cast skins of immature lacebugs. Spraying the tops of the leaves with a
contact insecticide does little to control lacebugs
because they congregate on the undersides of the leaves and are often protected from
contact with the control product. Care must be taken when spraying for lacebugs to treat
the undersides of the leaves predominantly. Aside from the discoloration that occurs with a severe infestation, lacebug damage detracts from the host plant's ability to produce healthy blooms during its flowering season. |
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| Leaf Miners: Leaf miners feed on fleshy soft leaf tissue. The damage looks like tunnels have been carved through the insides of the leaves. Another form of leaf miner damage looks like small holes with brown or discolored edges over the surface of the leaves. Although the leaf miners do not generally move from leaf to leaf, a heavy population of these insects can cause widespread aesthetic damage to the host plant. Control of leaf miners can be best achieved in the late summer before the young insects move inside the host plant's leaves. Systemic controls can also be used when they are actively feeding in the spring. |
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| Oakworms: Extensive defoliation can occur to oak trees between May and September due to oakworm infestations. Young larvae chew all the way through the leaves, and cause a skeletonized look on oak trees. Oil applications and other forms of egg control greatly reduce the populations of oakworms from season to season. |
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| Scale: Laurels, privets, euonymus, and hollies are the main plants targeted by scale insects in the Southeast. They are often misidentified as some sort of white powdery fungus because of the way they coat the leaves, limbs and branches of their host plants. They suck nutrients from the leaves and stems of the host plant. The damage is seen as broad spread browning and curling of leaves. Scale insects secrete a protective covering over their bodies. This covering protects the scale and makes control difficult. Scales insects are most easily controlled when insecticide applications are timed during their early development stages. Scale insects reproduce very quickly, and severe infestations can kill host plants in a very short time period. |
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| Spider Mites: Spider mites are most often found on junipers, rhododendrons and cotoneasters in the southeast. Spider mites cause yellowing of leaf and browning of needle material by sucking out the chlorophyll. They are so small they can barely be seen with the unaided eye.
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| Tent Caterpillars: Tent caterpillars are commonly seen in the early spring and throughout the summer on many different varieties of trees. They construct webs or "tents" in the crotch of small limbs on their host plant. This tent serves as a refuge for the larvae during the night and during rainy weather. These insects are voracious eaters. They, like the Oakworm, eat completely through the soft, fleshy leaf parts leaving the leaves with a skeletonized look. |
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| Whiteflies: Gardenias and privets are the most heavily affected by whiteflies in the Southeast. Whiteflies, like aphids and spider mites, are also sucking insects. They excrete a sticky, shiny substance called "honeydew" all over the plants they feed upon. Later in the Summer, this honeydew is colonized by sooty mold fungi. The fungi feed on the honeydew and not the plant, so very little damage is actually done to the plant. The sooty mold turns much of the plant soot black. Whiteflies often occur in tremendous numbers. When a heavily infested plant is disturbed, the air is filled instantly with a white cloud of these insects. |
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