How Do Pests Damage Crops?
One of the most beautiful sights on earth is an abundant crop, ripe and ready for harvest. But when pests take over a field, they can cause enough damage to decrease crop yield dramatically or annihilate crops. So, you might wonder how such tiny organisms can wreak that much havoc. Here’s how insects cause such massive destruction.
What Parts of Plants Do Insects Destroy?
Pests can damage any part of the plant. First, some insects stick to a section of the plant, such as the leaves, stalks, or roots. Besides those insects, others damage more than one part of the plant. For instance, the bean leaf beetle chews holes in leaves, feed on pods, and their larvae feed on the roots below the surface. But before you can end the problem, you need to look at what kind of damage the insects caused and on what part of the plant. This information helps you with the first task in pest control, identifying the pest.
Chewing and Sucking Insects
The type of damage you’ll have depends on the kind of insects. Insects have mouthparts made for chewing various plants. For instance, the tarnished plant bug attaches to and sucks on strawberries, beans, or peppers, with its toxic saliva poisoning the plants. On the other hand, potato leafhoppers damage snap beans and potatoes by sucking the sap out of plant tissues or chewing on alfalfa, apples, potatoes, soybeans, and strawberries.
How Insect Eggs Damage Plants
Beyond that, some insects stir up trouble by laying eggs on plants, also called ovipositing. The eggs can cause the stems to die or wither or the fruit to be malformed. In addition, if they are gall-forming insects, their eggs can cause the plants to grow abnormally. But not all insects that lay eggs cause these problems. And that’s one reason it’s best to talk to a professional with expertise in commercial pest control.
Insects as Pathogen Carriers
Danger in Numbers
Creating a Pest Control Strategy to Protect Crops
People have been trying to get rid of pests in their crops since the beginning of agriculture. But throughout the long history of pest control, insects continue to present new challenges.
However, treatment methods evolve year after year while pest management companies move toward more effective and safer remedies.
You also need to weigh the benefits of certain insects vs. the damage they cause. Take grasshoppers, for instance.
Grasshoppers can destroy an entire field very quickly under the right circumstances. However, they can also help by serving as food for wildlife and contributing their excrement to fertilize the plants. Based on the problem’s extent, you have to decide how aggressively to get rid of these insects.
Insects damage crops in a big way when they’re left unchecked. So, it would be best to be proactive in eliminating pest problems before they affect your crops and your bottom line. A pest control expert can identify the pests, work with you to create a pest management plan, and follow through with safe and effective pest control techniques.
Tried the above pest control strategies with no luck?
The team at OMNIS Pest Control has a few tricks up their sleeves that can help you get rid of pests for good. Pest control specialists at OMNIS can assess the infestation and recommend the best pest control solutions for your particular situation. So, give us a call at 720-583-4126 or complete our online form so that we can contact you to schedule an assessment. We’re ready and able to help you get rid of pests today.
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