- Scout under leaves weekly—morning coffee with a purpose.
- Squash vine borer: sudden wilt on zucchini. Stem damage. Row cover early, or stem vigilance.
- Spider mites: dusty undersides in heat/drought. Water stress invites them; hose undersides; don’t just fertilize harder.
- Hornworms: missing tomato leaves, big green freeloaders. Handpick.
- Aphids: curled tips. Blast with water; soap if needed.
- Fire ants: mounds in beds. Treat mounds carefully; protect yourself first.
Healthy, watered plants resist stress pests better. A drought-crisped tomato is a spider mite resort.
Pest fails
- Never looking until the plant is a skeleton.
- Spraying open flowers and wondering where bees went.
- Planting bare squash and ignoring vine borers until collapse.
Field notes
- IPM ladder: culture → physical → biological → chemical last.
- Heat + drought elevates mites; irrigation and hose-downs are cultural controls.
- Squash vine borer is the cucurbit boss fight—row cover until flowering, stem inspection, resistant tactics.
- Solanaceous hornworms and stink bugs are summer regulars—handpick and monitor fruit damage.
- Labels, pollinator safety, evening applications when using sprays. Swagger is not PPE.
| Problem | Signature | Crops | Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squash vine borer | Sudden wilt, frass in stems | Zucchini, squash | Row cover early, stem wrap/scout, remove larvae if found, succession plantings |
| Spider mites | Stippling, webbing, hot dry stress | Tomatoes, beans, many | Reduce drought stress, hose undersides, miticides only if labeled/needed |
| Hornworms | Defoliation, large larvae | Tomatoes | Handpick; Bt if labeled and pressure high |
| Aphids | Curled tips, honeydew | Many | Water blast, soap, predators |
| Stink / leaf-footed bugs | Fruit scarring | Tomatoes, peppers | Handpick, sanitation, landscape hosts management |
| Fire ants | Mounds, painful stings | Beds broadly | Baits/mound treatments per label; protect harvest hands |
| Fungal leaf spots | Spots in humidity | Tomatoes especially | Airflow, mulch, avoid overhead, resistant types |
Unit close
Scout, exclude, handpick, then escalate with labels. Heat-stressed plants advertise an all-you-can-eat buffet—water is pest management too.