It's vegetable season. So what pests are eating the plants in your garden?

Vegetable production in the region is in full swing and insects populations can be a concern as they buildup to damaging levels late in the growing season.

Here are a few common pests that are expected in gardens every year. Although it may be too late to control some of these pests this year, the symptoms and the damage they cause should be noted as you make plans for next year’s garden.

Squash vine borer (SVB)

Squash vine borers may have already stunted and killed your squash plants this season. SVB is the larva stage of a colorful orange and black clearwing moth. The female moth will lay her eggs on the soil and the stems of squash, gourds, cucumbers, and melons. The larvae hatch from the eggs and bore into the stem where they may feed for up to six weeks hollowing out the vines and giving the plant a yellowish color.

Plants usually rot and die beyond the point of attack and gardeners may lose part of (or their entire) crop. The presence of holes in plant stems with an accompanying ooze, signal SVB presence. Controlling SVB is difficult and typically relies on beginning a weekly spraying of pyrethrum, sevin, or permethrin targeted at the base of the stem just after plants are established.

You should apply insecticides to vegetable plants in the late afternoon to avoid bees. If your plant is already infected, you can try to slit the stem longitudinally and remove and destroy the borer. Cover the stem with damp soil, keep it moist and the plant may recover.

Next year, you may also want to try staggered planting of squash so not all plants are attacked at once. Polyester row covers can be used to cover the plants and protect them from egg laying moths, but the cover should be removed when blooming begins so the plants can be pollinated.

Flea beetles

Flea beetles are small jumping beetles commonly seen on eggplant. They may also feed on watermelon, pumpkin, peas, corn, beans and potatoes. Small plants are more susceptible to damage than vigorously growing mature plants.

Adult flea beetles are often found in gardens in April and May laying eggs on leaves or petioles and chewing holes into the plant. Heavy damage can cause leaf dessication and individual leaf death. Large populations of flea beetles can devastate a garden. Flea beetles that feed on corn are of special concern since they can transmit the disease Stewart’s Bacterial Wilt. Protect foliage from excessive damage with foliar sprays of Sevin or malathion.

Reduce the number of flea beetles for next year’s garden by removing old crop debris and other surface trash this fall. Rotating crops can also reduce flea beetle problems.

Corn earworms

The corn earworm is one of the most destructive pests in the United States.  Although it is a general feeder, millions of dollars have been spent to curve its damage to corn, tomatoes and especially cotton. In a home garden, corn is the host plant of choice. The larvae of this moth feed on the tips of corn ears devouring the kernels down to the cob.

Corn earworms generally begin feeding on the silks but as the silks dry they move down to feed on the kernels. They are repulsive to gardeners because of the mounds of frass, or excrement, they produce inside the ear. Larvae may be light brown or green to nearly black with dark and light stripes running lengthwise on the body.

Mature larvae are 1-1/2 inches long and it is rare to find more than one per ear as the larvae are cannibalistic. One method of control includes clipping a clothespin on the silk channel at the early silk stage to keep worms from entering and damaging the ears.

You may also try applying 1/2 to 3/4 of a medicine dropper of mineral oil into the silk just inside the tip of each ear after the silks turn brown at the tip. The mineral oil will suffocate the larva but will not change the taste of corn. Usually sprays of Sevin or permethrin are used after silks appear and every two to three days afterward, until silks turn brown.

P. Andrew Rideout is the UK Extension Agent for Horticulture and can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: What pests are eating the vegetables in my garden?