When you know what time of year, or season, that certain pests are most prevalent, it can make it a lot easier to identify them correctly. Knowing their favorite munchies also helps. When you can identify pests, you can get the right control to target the specific culprit and avoid wipe out sprays that can really mess with the multitude of beneficial insects that live in your landscape’s ecosystem.

So today we’re putting together a list of some of the most common pests that try to thwart our gardening attempts, and when you’re most likely to see them, and what they tend to affect the most. Apologies beforehand as some are active year round, and will dine on what seems like anything. To download a free, printable pdf, click here.

This alphabetically organized pests and insects list is by no means all inclusive. With the change in our weather patterns, some pests and insects may stay later in the season or arrive earlier. Fave plants are listed to give you an idea of what they may munch on, but there are always other plants that get tasted as well. We’re just trying to give you an idea of where to start on your quest for identifying pests and insects in your gardens.

Pests and Insects like to attack milkweed.

20 Common Texas Pests and Insects and Their Control

Aphids
- Favorite plants: Milkweeds and any plant with new growth.
- Most active: Year round, but especially in warm weather.
- Control options:
  - Hard sprays of water (requires multiple applications).
  - Beneficial Insects like ladybugs and green lace wings.
  - Soap and Water.
  - Insecticidal Soap.
  - Neem Oil (only apply in morning or late evening and when temps are below 85°F).
  - Pyrethrin.
Cactus Bug
- Favorite plants: Cactus.
- Most active: Warm seasons.
- Control Options:
  - Spinosad.
  - Acephate.
  - Immidocloprid.
Caterpillar/Cabbage Loopers/Tomato Hornworm
Learn your caterpillars! Many turn into beneficial butterflies and pollinator moths.
- Favorite plants: Annuals, veggies, and anything with tender new growth.
- Most active: Spring and fall.
- Control Options:
  - Using Row cover at first planting (row cover must be entirely secure).
  - Hand pick from plant.
  - Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis).
  - Spinosad (apply late evening when honeybees are not active).
  - Sevin.
Chinch Bugs
- Favorite plants: Texas lawn grass.
- Most active: Hot summer.
- Control Options:
  - Beneficial Nematodes.
  - Granular products containing the active ingredient Immidocloprid. (Bonide Insect and Grub, or BioAdvanced Grub Killer Plus).
Fire Ants
- Favorite plants: Any plants or turf.
- Most active: Year round appearances, especially in warm weather.
- Control Options:
  - Broadcast baits (containing Spinosad) throughout the entire yard to control hidden pest areas.
  - Direct-treat mounds you can see.
  - Boiling Water.
  - Diatomaceous Earth.
  - Fertilome Come and Get It.
  - Amdro.
Grasshoppers
- Favorite plants: Any plants.
- Most active: Summer, especially when dry.
- Control Options:
  - Nolo Bait early in the season.
Grubs (white)
- Favorite plants: Texas lawn grasses.
- Most active: Late spring to early summer, but can be present year round.
- Control Options:
  - Beneficial Nematodes.
  - Granular products containing the active ingredient Immidocloprid. (Bayer Advanced Insect & Grub).
Lace Bugs
- Favorite plants: Pyracanthas, azaleas, and lantana, but others can be affected.
- Most active: Summer.
- Control Options:
  - Neem Oil (only apply in morning or late evening and when temps are below 85°F).
  - Pyrethrin.
  - Spinosad (apply late evening when honeybees are not active).
  - Systemic Insecticide (only non-edibles).
Leaf Footed Bugs/Stink Bugs/Squash Borers
- Favorite plants: Many plants but primarily veggies like tomatoes and squash.
- Most active: Warm seasons like late spring and early fall when growing seasons are starting
- Control Options:
  - Hand picking if you have just a few, drop into a bowl of soapy water.
  - Insecticidal soap (when caught early)
  - Neem oil (only apply in morning or late evening and when temps are below 85°F).
  - Pyrethrin (when spray knocks them down, step on them for a complete kill).
Leafminers
- Favorite plants: Many plants are affected, from trees to veggies.
- Most active: Any growing season.
- Control Options:
  - Neem oil (only apply in morning or late evening and when temps are below 85°F).
  - Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis).
Mealy Bugs
- Favorite plants: Any tender new plant as well as houseplants.
- Most active: Year round indoors and any growing season outdoors.
- Control Options:
  - Jet spray of water.
  - Beneficial lady bugs.
  - Application of alcohol on a cotton swab.
  - Insecticidal Soap.
  - Neem Oil (only apply in morning or late evening and when temps are below 85°F).
Nematodes (not the beneficial type)
- Favorite plants: Vegetable crops, but can affect other plants as well.
- Most active: Warm seasons (spring and summer).
- Control Options:
  - Planting cover crops (Elbon rye) in fall and winter traps the nematodes under the roots and they die. In spring, turn the cover crops into the soil, it makes a great fertilizer.
Pill Bugs/Sow Bugs/Roly Poly
- Favorite plants: Annuals and veggies
- Most active: Warm seasons, especially when there’s been moisture
- Control Options:
  - Layer of mulch or straw hay to create a barrier to your plants (keep mulch away fro the base of plants).
  - Diatomaceous Earth.
Scale
- Favorite plants: Many plants can be affected, from trees to houseplants.
- Most active: Year round appearances, especially during growing seasons.
- Control Options:
  - Dormant oil.
Snails and Slugs
- Favorite plants: Tender new shoots of veggies, hostas
- Most active: Warm seasons, especially when new plants are getting started and when it’s been moist.
- Control Options:
  - Beer Traps.
  - Diatomaceous Earth.
  - Sluggo Plus.
Spider Mites
- Favorite plants: Many plants can be affected, from trees to houseplants. Especially when plants are dried out and neglected.
- Most active: Hot, dry seasons outdoors, year round indoors.
- Control Options:
  - Insecticidal soap or wettable sulfur (when caught early).
  - Neem Oil (only apply in morning or late evening and when temps are below 85°F).
  - Alternate Pyrethrin and Spinosad at 14 day intervals (apply late evening when honeybees are not active).
  - Systemic Insecticides (only for non-edibles).
Thrips
- Favorite plants: Roses and hibiscus
- Most active: Spring through fall when plants are actively growing.
- Controls:
  - Spinosad (apply late evening when honeybees are not active).
  - Systemic Insecticide (only for non-edibles).
Tree Borers
- Favorite plants: Trees and old large shrubs.
- Most active: Summer to early fall
- Control Options:
  - Bonide Annual Tree & Shrub Insect Control (kills of borers and protects from new infestations).
Webworms
- Favorite plants: Trees, especially pecans.
- Most active: Warm seasons (even though they can be called “fall” webworms, it’s a misnomer).
- Control Options:
  - Puncturing webs with long pole, allow for birds and wasps to enter and eat.
  - Puncture web with long extension pole and spray with Bt (most likely need a hose-end sprayer).
Wooly Oak Galls
- Favorite plants: Oak trees.
- Most active: Year round.
- Control Options:
  - None needed, harmless

2 Comments

Ryan on 07/25/2024 at 4:48 PM

Is bleach and water good to get rid of grubs in a grass lawn?
- Happy Gardener on 07/26/2024 at 9:35 AM
  
  No, I would not attempt this. You can end up damaging your turf. Choose the recommended options listed under grubs in this article you posted on. The only thing I would use a bleach/water combo for pertaining to grubs is if you are sterilizing a container (pot) that may have hosted grubs in the potting soil. And even then, it should only be a 9:1 water to bleach ratio that you use.