11 Pests That Can Ruin A Spring Garden (And How To Stop Them)

There are all sorts of challenges that your garden faces in the spring. Heavy rains can flood the roots, and temperatures can freeze and kill plants. In addition to weather concerns, spring is also the season when pests come to life and attack your vulnerable garden.

Some common spring pests that can destroy your plants include aphids, caterpillars, Japanese beetles, slugs, and snails. Other pests like spider mites, white flies, and grasshoppers can damage your garden in the spring. Even some bird and rodent species can get into your garden and ruin plants. To prevent this, cover vulnerable plants, inspect them regularly for damage, and apply non-toxic insecticides as needed.

Plants are young and vulnerable in the spring, which means it’s easy for outside influences to kill them. You might not be able to control the weather, but you can do a lot to fend off common pests. If you recently planted a garden, make sure you keep reading. Below is a list of the most popular pests found in the spring, and ways to stop them from destroying your garden.

11 Pests That Can Ruin Your Spring Garden, And How To Stop Them

1. Aphids

Aphids are one of the most common threats to a garden and even houseplants. There are more than 1,000 types of these bugs, which means they can exist in just about every climate. What makes these pests particularly tricky is that they can feed on the entire plant. They will suck on the leaves, stems, and even the roots of a plant.

They also reproduce faster than most pests, which means your garden can quickly become overrun with aphids if you aren’t looking out for them.

How To Stop Aphids: To stop aphids naturally, you can introduce plants that repel them. Two great examples of plants aphids hate include lavender and marigolds. You can check under your plant’s leaves, especially yellowing leaves, and remove them by hand. Ladybugs eat aphids, so consider boosting your ladybug population.

2. Rodents

Several rodent species can damage your spring garden. After burrowing somewhere warm for the winter, these creatures are ready to fatten up on anything edible they can find, including your ripening vegetables and growing plants. 

Mice, rats, chipmunks, and moles can all sneak into your garden in the spring and tear it up. They can eat plants and also dig up the roots.

How To Stop Rodents: One way to keep most rodents away is to plant alliums. Add onions, green onions, garlic, and chives to your garden to repel these pests. They also hate herbs, including lavender and catnip. To get rid of moles, use mole traps.

3. White Flies

White flies are one of the smallest pests that can infiltrate a spring garden. But while they are small, they can do serious damage. These flies are relatives of aphids, and love to suck the sap from plants.

How To Stop White Flies: Always check plants for these tiny flies and the sappy dew they leave behind after purchasing them from a nursery. To kill them, make a soap using one tablespoon of castile soap to one quart of water. Spray this solution on any affected plant, and it will kill the flies, eggs, and larvae.

4. Spider Mites

Another example of a small pest that you can’t see but can easily damage a spring garden is the spider mite. These tiny mites can sneak into plants and destroy them from the inside. While you can’t see them, they leave plants looking dusty and leave a web-like trail in their midst.

How To Stop Spider Mites: Since these mites prefer dry plants, ensure you water your plants regularly and don’t let them get too dry. You can also use insecticidal soap to kill spider mites.

5. Caterpillars

Caterpillars may grow up to be beautiful butterflies, but before that happens, they can spend weeks eating away at plants in your garden. These green worm-like creatures do nothing but eat while they are in this stage of development.

This means they leave large holes in leaves. This is one easy way to spot when you have caterpillars in your garden.

How To Stop Caterpillars: Since very few people want to kill a future butterfly, the best thing to do is to carefully inspect your garden. When you see holes in leaves, look nearby. Find the caterpillar and relocate them to another food source far from your garden. 

6. Slugs And Snails

Slugs and snails slowly start slithering their way into your garden once the ground thaws and the weather warms up. These pests can quickly gobble up your herb garden and leaves. In just one night, they can decimate a plant, especially in the spring when your plants are small and growing.

How To Stop Slugs And Snails: Use eggshells or diatomaceous earth around your plants. You can also sprinkle ashes leftover from your fireplace. These will all help cut up the bodies of snails and slugs, and keep them far from your garden.

7. Japanese Beetles

There are several beetle species that can cause problems in your garden, but the Japanese beetle is the most likely beetle to cause problems in your garden this spring. These pretty beetles have an amber color and are fascinating to look at, but they are very dangerous for your plants.

They feed on more than 300 plants, from trees to various vegetables, fruits, flowers, and even full-grown trees.

How To Stop Japanese Beetles: The best way to stop Japanese beetles without harming plants and wildlife is to use an insecticide made of neem. A neem-based insecticide will get rid of these beetles without killing plants and animals.

8. Spotted Lantern Flies

In the last few years, a new and fascinating bug has started to arrive in in great masses in the suburbs and urban areas. The spotted lantern fly is a pretty-looking insect, red and white in color with polka dots throughout.

It might be pretty, but these flies can have catastrophic results if left unchecked. In large groups, they can eat an entire herb garden, vegetable and fruit plants, and even destroy the bark on trees.

How To Stop Spotted Lantern Flies: To remove spotted lantern flies, you can use various traps, including sticky traps. You can spray insecticide anywhere you see them living and congregating. You can even use a vacuum to remove them.

9. Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers are a symbol of spring. Their jumpy spirit might seem harmless and even gleeful, but these green bugs need a lot of food to do all that hopping. A grasshopper can chew through the leaves of your young plants, making it hard for he plants to grow.

How To Stop Grasshoppers: You can encourage natural predators like spiders and birds to enter your garden and scare off grasshoppers. They are also turned off by onions and diatomaceous earth. Cover your young and vulnerable plants with mesh netting.

10. Cutworms

Cutworms are dangerous because they do exactly what their name suggests — cut down plants. They gnaw at the stems of young plants in your garden just below the surface. In turn, these plants can fall down.

Cutworms feed at night and underground, which makes them hard to see. But seeing moths at night is a sign they might be what's killing your plants.

How To Stop Cutworms: Use egg shells or diatomaceous earth all around any plants you think are affected by these pests. It will cut up their bodies and prevent them from getting close to your plants moving forward.

11. Some Birds

Many birds are great for gardens. They help pollinate, and eat insects that can cause damage to your garden. There are, however, several types of birds that can damage a spring garden. Crows, sparrows, and finches all like to peck seeds out of your garden. If you are growing your plants from seed, then this can have serious ramifications.

How To Stop Birds: Use a predator statue of an owl or other large animal, or a moving flag or shiny object to scare birds away. You can also start your plants from seed indoors, where no birds can reach them.

Final Notes On Pests That Can Ruin Your Spring Garden

Your plants are particularly vulnerable in the spring, which means you need to do all you can to protect them against pests. Some common pests include aphids, spider mites, white flies, grasshoppers, slugs, and snails. Some rodents and birds can also destroy spring gardens. Some great ways to keep these pests away include sprinkling diatomaceous earth, using safe insecticides, and using natural predators or inserting plants that repel these pests.

Related Guides:

• What Bugs Are Good For Your Garden?
• Best Plants To Keep Bugs Away
• How to Get Rid of Hoverflies (Step By Step Guide)