🐛 Pest ID Guide

🐛 Aphids

Severity: High

Identification

• Size: 1-3mm (tiny, but visible)
• Color: Green, black, yellow, pink, or white
• Location: Cluster on new growth, undersides of leaves, stems
• Movement: Slow-moving or stationary
• Other signs: Sticky honeydew residue, curled leaves, ants farming them

Damage

• Suck sap from plants causing stunted growth
• Curl and distort leaves
• Transmit plant viruses
• Honeydew attracts ants and causes sooty mold
• Reproduce VERY fast (hundreds per week)

Organic Control Methods

Prevention

• Inspect new plants before bringing home
• Plant companion plants: Marigolds, nasturtiums (trap crops)
• Encourage beneficial insects (ladybugs, lacewings)
• Avoid over-fertilizing (soft growth attracts aphids)
• Remove weeds that harbor aphids

🦟 Whiteflies

Severity: High

Identification

• Size: 1-2mm (tiny white moths)
• Appearance: White, powdery wings
• Location: Undersides of leaves
• Behavior: Fly up in cloud when plant disturbed
• Other signs: Sticky honeydew, yellowing leaves

Control Methods

🕷️ Spider Mites

Severity: High

Identification

• Size: <0.5mm (barely visible, need magnifying glass)
• Color: Red, brown, or yellow
• Location: Leaf undersides
• Key sign: Fine webbing between leaves and stems
• Damage: Tiny yellow stipples on leaves, eventual bronzing

Why They’re Dangerous

• Thrive in hot, dry conditions
• Reproduce in 7-10 days (population explodes)
• Can kill plants quickly if untreated
• Spread easily on hands, tools, clothes

Control Methods

🦠 Mealybugs

Severity: Medium

Identification

• Appearance: White cottony/waxy masses
• Size: 3-5mm
• Location: Leaf joints, stems, undersides
• Movement: Very slow

Control Methods (Ranked)

1. Rubbing Alcohol – Dab with cotton swab soaked in 70% alcohol. Kills on contact. Do this daily for 1 week.
2. Neem Oil – Spray weekly for 3 weeks. Suffocates mealybugs.
3. Insecticidal Soap – Spray all surfaces. Repeat every 5 days.
4. Predatory Beetles – Release Cryptolaemus beetles for biological control.

🐛 Caterpillars

Severity: Medium

Identification

• Size: 1-5cm (varies by species)
• Color: Green, brown, black, or colorful
• Signs: Large holes in leaves, black droppings
• When active: Early morning or night (hide during day)

Common Types

• Cabbage worms – Green, on brassicas
• Tomato hornworms – Large green with horn, on tomatoes
• Cutworms – Brown/gray, cut stems at soil level
• Army worms – Travel in groups, eat everything

Control Methods

Best Practice: Inspect plants at dawn when caterpillars are active. Look for black droppings as sign of presence.

🐌 Slugs & Snails

Severity: Medium

Identification

• Slugs: No shell, slimy body
• Snails: Hard spiral shell
• Signs: Shiny slime trails, irregular holes in leaves
• Active: Night and early morning (hide during day)

Control Methods

🦟 Fungus Gnats

Severity: Low

Identification

• Size: 2-3mm (tiny flies)
• Color: Dark gray/black
• Location: Fly around soil surface, near plants
• Larvae: White, in soil (eat roots/organic matter)

Why They Appear

• Overwatering (moist soil ideal for eggs)
• High organic matter in soil
• Poor drainage

Control Methods

1. Let Soil Dry – Allow top 2″ to dry between waterings (breaks lifecycle)
2. Yellow Sticky Traps – Catch adults (₹100-200 for 10 traps)
3. Mosquito Dunks – Add BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) to water. Kills larvae. (₹300-500)
4. Sand/Perlite Top Layer – 1-2″ layer prevents egg-laying
5. Hydrogen Peroxide – Mix 1 part 3% H2O2 + 4 parts water, water soil (kills larvae)