BLACKSBURG—Every gardener encounters uninvited dinner guests in the garden. The trick is knowing how to break up the party.

Gardeners may find aphids swarming their cucumber plants, Mexican bean beetles munching on their lima beans or spider mites decimating their tomatoes. Colorado potato beetles, corn earworms and thrips are other common garden pests in Virginia.

With integrated pest management, gardeners can combat insect and mite populations with practical, cost-effective solutions while protecting people, animals and the environment.

“The key is to look at all the tools in the toolbox, and then decide what’s going to work best,” explained Eric Day, manager of the Virginia Tech Insect ID Lab and co-author of Virginia Cooperative Extension’s 2025 Pest Management Guide.

It’s important to crowdsource by planting crops and varieties that are well-suited to your soil and climate and are pest-tolerant. Consult your local Extension office for planting recommendations.

“Any insecticide is last resort,” Day noted. “Make sure you’ve tried out everything else before you go that route.”

Limiting spraying reduces impacts on pollinators, beneficial insects and the environment.

Here are some tips from Extension:

• Place row covers over cucurbit plants from the time of planting to just before bloom to avoid squash vine borer infestations.
   
• Inspect plants for egg clusters, beetles, caterpillars and other insects as often as possible.
   
• After properly identifying your pest, jot down the time of year and if control was needed, for future reference. You’ll know when to check for earlier signs of infestations and how to time plantings to avoid peak activity.
   
• Handpick as many pests as possible, and drop them in a cup of soapy water. When insect populations reach a critical point, it may be time to explore chemical controls.

Placing crushed eggshells, hydrated limes or cups of beer near plants can be effective in deterring slugs, but gardeners should approach other home remedies with caution.

“Make sure that remedy isn’t going to be more damaging to the plant than it is to the pest,” Day warned.

Gardeners should never use homemade insecticidal solutions, as they can be toxic to plants. Select the commercial chemical or organic product that is specifically labeled for the plant; follow the label’s re-entry intervals to avoid contaminating the environment, applying the wrong treatment, or harvesting something with insecticides.

“There’s always going to be pests out there, but it’s never a reason to stop gardening,” Day encouraged. “Some years will be better than others. Just keep planting, growing and enjoying!”

Visit pubs.ext.vt.edu to access Extension’s 2025 Pest Management Guide.

See the full story in Spring Cultivate magazine at issuu.com/virginiafarmbureau.

Media: Contact Day at ericday@vt.edu.