UGH, PESTS!

[Decado]

I don't know what the deal with this year is, but my garden is afflicted by just about every pest. First the rabbits are eating the stems off everything, then the birds pull up seedlings, then the cutworms go crazy, then it's the beetles eating everything, then it's the caterpillars eating everything. This is the worst year I've ever experienced with pests and it doesn't seem like my hard preventative work is doing a thing. Do you think this flood of pests has to do with the very early summer we've had here? Anyone else having abnormal pest problems this year?

[DoubleDogFarm]

Sorry to here all the troubles. Sounds like you should invest in Reemay, floating row covers.

No unusually pest here, just seems cool and wet.

Eric

[garden5]

Sorry to hear about your pest troubles. So far, I've been lucky, no critter damage.

Hang tight, perhaps things will work themselves out: the birds will stop eating the plants and will instead eat the cutworms, caterpillars, and beetles.

Hope things get better for the garden.

[lovegarden]

We have pest troubles too. Rabbit ate all of our green beans, flea beatles are eating the eggplant leaves, mole is pulling on several tomatoe and cucumber plants and deer eat our daylilies and rose buds. What is next, probably will be our hosta

[kgall]

Ugh! The cutworms are my nemesis! I spread cornmeal for them when we had dry weather and the damage stopped. Now it's been wet off and on and I went out and found 3 potatoes cut clean down....2 with flowers on them.
it's been happening every day!

I planted 32 tomato plants. I went out and found one missing. I replaced it....The next day it's gone. I replace it and two days later it's gone! Come on!

I never got to have lettuce just when I was thinking I would harvest the next day....Something had nibbled part of every plant!

I just don't know what to do this year!

[susanaproenca]

kgall,
We have rabbits around, so we've been growing lettuce and other greens in containers. That way, we can raise the containers during the night, and the rabbits don't get it. So far, so good. We had 2 harvests already!

[rainbowgardener]

Ugh! The cutworms are my nemesis! I spread cornmeal for them when we had dry weather and the damage stopped. Now it's been wet off and on and I went out and found 3 potatoes cut clean down....2 with flowers on them.
it's been happening every day!

I planted 32 tomato plants. I went out and found one missing. I replaced it....The next day it's gone. I replace it and two days later it's gone! Come on!

I never got to have lettuce just when I was thinking I would harvest the next day....Something had nibbled part of every plant!

I just don't know what to do this year!

The cutworms are the ones that can just disappear your little seedlings like that. If you are having that kind of trouble, just plant them with a collar around them, like this:

Luckily, it's easy to prevent cutworm damage when you're setting out your plants. The simplest way is to wrap the seedling stem with 2- to 3-inch strips of newspaper. You can also make a collar from a paper cup with the bottom cut out, a strip of cardboard or a tuna can with both ends removed.
Cutworms chew stems right at ground level, just above it or just below. In order to make your collar an effective barrier, place it so it extends 1- to 2-inches below and 1- to 2-inches above the soil surface. A strip of newspaper will last long enough to keep the damaging cutworms away from your younger plants without interfering with their growth. Paper cups, cardboard or tin can collars can be left around the plants all season. Some gardeners place a pencil-thick stick or nail next to the stem of the transplant. Cutworms need to encircle the transplant to cut it off and this simple trick prevents them from getting around the stem.
https://www.garden.org/foodguide/browse/veggie/broccoli_planting/592

[applestar]

Moles in my garden usually don't damage the plants. They're mostly after earthworms (but I have plenty to share ) They DO eat grubs and other soft pests such as the cutworms, so if you DO have moles, I would think twice before trying to get rid of them.

I made a new sheet mulched bed for hot and sweet peppers this year. A few days after planting my seed-started little pepper plants, I found a mole hole next to just about EVERY plant. There might have been minor root damage, but the peppers have not suffered for what appears to be an inquisitive exploration/inspection of the root zone by the moles. I took the opportunity to pile compost over each hole and water them in so the compost water will go deep under the pepper plants.