The 5 Worst Plant Pests in Memphis (And How to Prevent & Control Them)

The trees and shrubs in your Memphis and North Mississippi property are valuable assets in your landscape. This makes them important to you, and naturally, you want to protect them.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of potential problems that could be negatively impacting your trees and shrubs. If you have plants in your home landscape that look a bit unwell, you might be wondering what’s wrong with them.

Plant pests could be the culprits.

There are a variety of tree and shrub pests in Memphis and North Mississippi that could be damaging your landscape. Our warm climate makes an ideal habitat for different insects.

Let’s talk about some of the worst plant pests in this area and tree and shrub pest control solutions that can help.

5 Worst Landscape Plant Pests in Memphis and North Mississippi

You want a home landscape that looks great, but tree and shrub pests can really put a damper on your dreams.

Not only do you lose their beauty when insects strike, but you also lose their benefits, including shade, cooling, noise and privacy buffering, erosion control, and an oxygen boost.

Here are the 5 plant pests you need to watch out for on your trees and shrubs in Memphis and North Mississippi.

1. Aphids

Sometimes called “plant lice,” aphids are small, soft-bodied plant pests that use their mouths to pierce leaf, stem, and root tissue and suck out the sap.

This feeding tends to happen on new plant growth, too.

Despite their small stature, a lot of aphids can cause quite a bit of visual damage, including yellow leaves. You may also notice your plant leaves or stems are covered in a sticky substance that may look black, which is a honeydew they emit that is followed by black sooty mold.

2. Scale

Scales, like aphids, are also sap-feeding plant pests.

But they have a difference. They have a hard shell that covers their bodies, giving them some protection and concealment.

You might see scale on branches, stems, foliage, or fruit of trees and shrubs.

Crape myrtle bark scale, in particular, can be a problem here, leading to black trunks. The sooty mold the pests create can cover surrounding plant material and structures, causing an overall messy appearance.

3. Spider Mites

These teeny tiny mites have 8 legs and resemble spiders, but you’d need magnification to see them.

Spiders mites can be highly destructive plant pests in boxwoods, arborvitae and other evergreens. These insects have piercing mouths that suck out plant chlorophyll, resulting in white spots or a spotty appearance. As they keep feeding, needles will turn yellow and then brown.

What’s more, fine-needle evergreens do not produce new growth once a branch, limb, or portion of the plan turns brown.

4. Lace Bugs

These shrub pests are also tiny – about ⅛ of an inch long – and they feed on the undersides of leaves on important plant fluids.

These bugs tend to attack azaleas. You might see silver, white, or yellow spots on the leaves making them look bleached.

Azaleas hold their leaves for 2 to 3 growing seasons, so once they show damage, that unsightly growth can be there for up to 3 years.

5. Bagworms

Landscape plant pests like bagworms get their name from their behaviors.

This bug makes a bag with silk and pieces of plant foliage to form a nest where female moths can lay up to 1,000 eggs in each bag. They hatch in spring and hungry larvae are what feed on your trees and shrubs.

Tree and Shrub Pest Control Strategies

Sometimes, these tree and shrub pests can cause just discolored leaves.

But the worst case scenario is defoliation and death, which means you lose a valuable asset on your property.

On top of that, since most of these insects are pretty small, identifying them as the problems of your plant decline is tough. In fact, homeowners sometimes mistake them for disease issues and start heavily watering, which can bring on root rot or foliar diseases. By adding an additional stress to the plant, they create additional problems.

What can help? Proper plant health care and professional pest control in Memphis and North Mississippi.

In addition to properly identifying and addressing pests,  plant health care combines preventative and therapeutic treatments like fertilization to provide trees and shrubs with the nutrients and maintenance they need to reduce stress and fight off pests.

In addition, when you have plant health care technicians on your property, you can get answers to your questions  and find out how to make your trees and shrubs thrive.

Protecting Your Trees and Shrubs With Landscape Plant Control Solutions in Memphis and North Mississippi

Because there are so many tree and shrub pests in Memphis and North Mississippi, with many also having various types of treatment methods, leaving this job to a professional is your best solution.

A professional plant health care technician can figure out exactly what you’re dealing with and address your problem swiftly so that you can salvage your valuable trees and shrubs.

They can also offer your plants with better protection against future pest invasions by ensuring good overall health.

By investing in a company you can trust like Lawn & Pest Solutions, you can stop worrying about losing your trees and shrubs to plant pests and instead focus on enjoying your landscape.

Ready to learn why Lawn & Pest Solutions should be your choice for plant health care services in Memphis and North Mississippi? We’re excited to learn more about you and help you have the best trees and shrubs on the block. Get started today with a free quote. Together, we can prepare a customized plan that is perfect for you and your yard.

Image Sources | Aphids, Scale, Spider Mites, Lace Bug, Bagworm