You take great pride in your Arlington lawn. You have probably spent hours manicuring the surrounding bushes and shrubs to keep your yard looking lush and healthy. However, aphids and spider mites, two pests common in the Arlington area, stand to erase your hard work and ruin your yard if you are not vigilant.
Read on to learn what makes these pests harmful and how Trees Hurt Too, Inc. can help rid your yard of these bugs and restore your property's beauty.
Common Insects That Destroy Arlington Shrubs
Aphids and spider mites are the banes of Arlington shrubs and bushes. Despite their shared destructive nature toward gardens, these two pests look different from one another:
- Aphids in Arlington are small, measuring between 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch long. They are pear-shaped, soft-bodied insects, and their coloring can be green, black, red, yellow, brown, or gray. The best way to identify them is to look for two small pipes, called cornicles, found at the end of their abdomen. These cornicles are on all aphids but can vary in size depending on the type of aphid.
- Spider Mites in Arlington are tiny, at only 1/50 of an inch in size. They can be dark red to green in color. While they are related to insects, spider mites are part of the arachnid family and closer to spiders and ticks. They tend to reside on the underside of leaves, where they spin protective silk webbing and feed on plant cells.
Signs Of An Infestation On Your Arlington Shrubs
The best way to know you have an aphid infestation is by looking for twisted, curled, or yellow leaves on your shrubs. Aphids siphon the nutrients from plants and tree foliage, causing the greens to discolor and die. Aphids will appear in clusters on your shrubs.
A spider mite infestation can be noticed by looking for silky webbing on the underside of the leaves on your shrubs, as well as white and yellow spots. Infested shrubs will have tiny bite marks on the top side of the leaves. Spider mites reproduce rapidly, and an infestation can wipe out a large area of shrubs and plants in no time.
How To Get Rid Of Shrub Pests In Arlington
Aphid and spider mite control in Arlington can be difficult. If you want to give it a go on your own, there are a couple of things you can do:
- Remove seriously infested or diseased shrubs. By getting rid of unhealthy shrubs, you halt part of the infestation and prevent it from spreading onto other leaves.
- Spray bushes and leaves with water or a mixture of water and alcohol. If done regularly with a strong enough stream, such as one from a garden hose, this control method prevents aphid and mite populations from building up.
- Introducing certain insects that feed on aphids and spider mites might help. Natural predators of these pests include lady beetles, green lacewings, earwigs, and minute pirate bugs.
Dealing with an infestation of this kind is tricky, and even if you do manage to curtail the spread of these pests, there is a good chance they will return. In this case, contacting a reputable pest control company like Trees Hurt Too, Inc. is the best
What To Do If Pests In Arlington Keep Coming Back
Trees Hurt Too, Inc. has served the Arlington area with lawn care and pest control for over 25 years and offers a free and thorough inspection to new clients. After identifying the insects infesting your shrubs, we use targeted treatments that effectively eliminate the pests. In addition, our Pro-Shield Program protects against future infestations. Give us a call today, and let us help get rid of aphids and spider mites that refuse to leave your property.
