Tomato pests: how to treat and how to fight

Tomatoes are the most common and favorite crop in the garden. Each gardener on the site has a bed of tomatoes. And the most common problem of all tomato lovers is pests that regularly attack plants and destroy them. Today we will analyze in detail the pests of tomatoes and ways to combat and prevent them.

Tomato Pests: Whitefly

The most dangerous and harmful enemy of tomatoes. Defeating it is quite difficult, very often you have to resort to using chemicals. An adult butterfly reaches a size of 3 mm, the larvae of this pest are even smaller. It has white wings covered with a mealy bloom. This insect is dangerous for a tomato because: - it is a carrier of viruses; - draws out all the nutritious juices from the plant; - in waste products, a huge amount of fungi develops. This butterfly moves by flights from one flower to another, it can harm both a small garden bed and an entire plantation. Many gardeners hang sticky traps, but this measure is only effective when there are very few insects. But what if it has spread to all tomatoes? I fight this pest with a solution of laundry soap. I rub the soap on a grater and dilute it in warm water in a ratio of 1/6. Beat up a copious lather and apply it to the plants. This procedure must be repeated two times within a week. An infusion of garlic also scares off the whitefly perfectly. I leave two cloves in one liter of water and insist for a day in a dark place. After I spray the plants with this mixture, the break between treatments should be no more than a week. This year, on the advice of a friend, I used a new method, and I was satisfied. We buy strong cigarettes like "Prima" in the store. Grind and fill with a liter of boiling water. All this needs to be insisted for five days, after which we filter. We spray tomatoes with this infusion until the whitefly disappears completely.

Tomato pests: fighting the rootworm nematode

A very small pest that most often lives in greenhouses. A very small insect, a bit like a short thread. The female of this pest resembles a capsule and gives a huge offspring. It falls into the ground along with diseased seedlings. The roots of the plant are affected by the nematodes. Tomatoes wither, weaken and stunted. It may seem to an inexperienced gardener that the plant needs feeding. If fertilization does not help, be sure the plant is attacked by a pest. You can defeat nematodes with garlic infusion, but if this measure does not help, lime should be added to the soil. Sprinkle lime on the garden bed and slightly loosen the soil. I do not recommend processing seedlings in this way, since the delicate roots can suffer from this.

Colorado beetle

A lover of nightshade crops is known to every gardener. The beetle eats not only potatoes, but also tomatoes. The beetle larva is orange with black dots. The adult beetle has a rounded body with a black and yellow stripe. This pest moves well, as it has a pair of very strong wings. This beetle eats leaves and stems of plants. Which causes colossal damage to the crop. If you do not exterminate the pest on your site, then it will survive the winter in the soil, and in the next season, it will multiply throughout the site. Many gardeners use chemistry to control the beetle, but it is worth remembering that this measure is only good for potatoes.It is forbidden to process tomatoes with chemistry. To scare off the Colorado potato beetle, I use laundry soap and ash. I dilute a kilogram of wood ash in 10 liters of water, insist all day, then add half a bar of laundry soap there. I spray tomatoes with this mixture in sunny warm weather.

May beetle larva

Perhaps the most gluttonous pest is the larva of the May beetle. A rather large caterpillar reaches 5 cm in size, the body is wrinkled in a light yellow shade, the head is red with a mustache. During sleep it resembles the letter "C". They live mainly in the ground, feed on plant roots and sometimes eat stems. If there is a whole colony of this pest on your site, then you may be left without a crop. The larvae are capable of destroying an entire seedling plantation. When digging the soil, remove the larvae, the process is laborious, but effective. You can also use onion husk infusion or manganese solution to scare off the larvae.

Fighting the bear

This insect is capable of causing damage to the entire summer cottage and is considered the most dangerous and voracious pest. Large brown beetle with strong front and hind limbs. Horned head with powerful jaws and antennae. The wings allow the beetle to move around the garden. Medvedka feeds on the root system and plant stems. It is useless to process plants; in the case of a bear, the fight must be carried out in the soil. Here are some effective methods: - Treat the soil with ammonia, for a bear it is destructive; - add burrowing wasps to a garden with tomatoes, these are the main enemies of the bear; - pour boiling water over the passages into the bear's nest, but only if there are no horticultural crops nearby.

We remove the spider mite

This pest spreads almost throughout the site and leaves no chance for any crop. Very small bugs are green or almost colorless. They live in colonies and damage the leaves of tomatoes. They carry a lot of fungi and viruses. With a huge number of aphids, gray rot occurs. To combat this pest, I most often use: - a strong solution of laundry soap; - I wipe tomato leaves with medical alcohol; - I spray tomatoes with a cat flea remedy (I dilute 4 drops for 10 liters of water), I carry out the treatment on a sunny day. The procedure must be repeated after 2 weeks.

Tomato Pests: Wireworm

This is the larva of the click beetle, no less harmful than the beetle itself. In length, the larva can reach 5 cm. The jaws are very powerful, the body is light gray - brown or brown. It is practically impossible to crush this pest. The larva lives for about three years, causing tremendous damage to plants. It damages mainly the roots of plants, but does not disdain leaves and stems. The wireworm is very tenacious and it is practically impossible to exterminate it. As a preventive measure, in the fall we dig the soil very deeply and thoroughly remove the plant debris. In the spring, we also dig up the soil and fill it with eggshells.

Sprout fly

It is very similar to an ordinary fly, the main difference between a sprout fly is its small size. This pest is often gray - dirty in color. Very large damage to plants is caused by its larvae, which feed on young plants and roots. The fly carries a huge number of infections and fungi, such as late blight. In order that the larvae do not remain in your area, dig up the soil thoroughly in the fall.

Scoop

There are three known species of this pest - garden scoop, potato and winter. The scoop leaves a lot of trouble, their caterpillars are very gluttonous. The winter scoop destroys plant stems. Gardener is not averse to feasting on leaves and fruits. Potato gnaws bushes from the inside, it is extremely difficult to detect it. With the scoop, I fight with an infusion of wormwood or an infusion of garlic arrows. Processing is always carried out in dry weather.

We fight the slug

Slug is perhaps the most unpleasant of pests.The slug is very similar to a snail only without a shell, reaching up to 8 cm in size.It has a brown or gray color. This pest is nocturnal. It is easy to understand that it is present on the site, it leaves mucus on the plants. They carry a lot of infections and fungi. They feed on fruits, roots, berries. In order to prevent the slug from settling on your site, sprinkle the beds with sand or spruce needles.

Tomato Pests: Aphids

This pest is extremely prolific and spreads very quickly throughout the site. I am fighting aphids continuously. Small bugs of light green or transparent color. Has a small antennae. Aphids suck sap from leaves and stems, the plant loses nutrients and dies. Aphids carry a huge number of diseases. As I already wrote, aphids can be removed with cat drops from fleas.

Today we have sorted out the most dangerous pests of tomatoes and methods of dealing with them. Let your summer cottage bring you a bountiful harvest and positive emotions.