Pests and diseases in the garden are a matter of special concern. If we want to have healthy and beautiful plants, we must constantly monitor the presence of unwanted visitors that can cause damage to leaves, roots and flowers.

But before we start, we must become aware of the need to change a custom that is quite ingrained in our culture, which is to spray “just in case.” We must understand that the application of chemicals for pest control should only be done when there is a proven presence of pests and not just out of habit, just as we humans do not take an antibiotic without needing it. It is important to keep in mind that chemical products can have negative effects on the plant and on those around them. In addition, we must remember that pesticides control both good and bad insects and it is important to have natural allies in the garden.

It is also essential, before running like crazy to apply control products, to IDENTIFY WHAT TYPE OF PEST WE HAVE and what we want to combat. For example, if I have aphids, which are insects, I must apply an insecticide, because applying a fungicide or a bactericide will do me no good, just as taking a medicine against heartburn will have no effect if I have a headache.

Third, before thinking about applying any chemical product, make integrated pest management part of your plant care routine. What does it consist of? Integrated pest management refers to all the steps I must follow to keep my plants healthy and how I can control pests before applying strong chemicals. So what are the steps?

1- Select your plants carefully:
There are plants that are prone to attack by certain pests. For this reason, you must be careful when choosing which plants you want to combine, because if you have a plant that is prone to certain pests and it becomes infected, it is likely that the other plants will become infected as well.

2- Good management / good agricultural practices:
That is, the correct management of the plant, this includes irrigation, fertilization, location, the amount of light it receives, etc. In plants, as in humans, diseases are greater in weak organisms that do not have the capacity to respond, which is why a well-nourished and well-cared-for plant is less prone to attack by pests and diseases.

3- Mechanical control:
That is, if I see a pest located on a leaf or in a specific point, I can remove it and thus prevent it from spreading throughout the plant. It is also essential to remove sick or deteriorated material before it becomes a source of disease.

4- Biological control, control with products that are harmless to human health:
There are many predatory and beneficial insects, as well as many everyday products that can control pests without risk to health. For example: Ladybugs, lacewings, predatory wasps, predatory mites, dragonflies, earwigs, among many other insects, feed on pests and are excellent allies for the garden. Likewise, products such as potassium soap and even soap dissolved in water can be applied and act on pests, controlling them.

5- As a last resort and if nothing else works for me, I can look for a suitable product to control the specific pest that attacks my plants.

Then finally, if the option is to apply chemical products, choose the product with the type of action you need. How so?

Yes, there are systemic products and there are products that act by contact. Systemic products are absorbed by the plants and make them “toxic” to the pest we want to control, that is, they act both when they come into contact with the pest and when it tries to feed on the sap, thus achieving more complete control. Contact products only act, as their name indicates, through contact with the pest, either because we manage to apply the product on it, or because the pest moves and comes into contact with the product, but if there are surfaces of the plant that are not saturated and the pest hides in them, this type of pesticide will not be effective control.

So, now yes... and how do I know what pest my plant has?

Below we leave you the description of some of the most common pests, information on how to identify them and finally how to control them.

COMMON HARMFUL INSECTS:
The pests that we present below are all INSECTS, that is, they are controlled with insecticidal products.

Aphids:
Product: Contact insecticide
Dose: According to product recommendations
Frequency: According to product recommendations
The aphid is a sucking insect that sucks the sap of the plant.