Garden pests and friends to know and love

Circa 2001
Little creatures are invading your pristine garden. Some of the critters are helping maintain your favorite flowers and vegetables while some are there only to wreak havoc. 
Would  you know the difference?

Garden Pests 

Aphids
Tiny red, green or black aphids cluster on leaves and stems and suck their juices. They also carry virus and fungus diseases. 

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Slugs
Slugs look like snails without shells. They'll attack the plants in your garden at night. 

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Cutworms
Cutworms live in the ground and feed on the roots of plants. At night they come to the surface to feed on the parts growing above ground. 

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Japanese Beetles 
Japanese Beetles eat both leaves and flowers of many plants. 

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Rose Chafers
Rose Chafers are really beetles. Like the Japanese kind, they eat both leaves and flowers of many plants. 

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Hornworms
The big green hornworms are especially fond of tomato leaves. 

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Garden Friends 

Bees
The bees buzzing around your flowers won't hurt you if you don't bother them. They are valuable because they carry the pollen that plants must have in order to make seeds. 

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Ladybugs 
The little rust-colored ladybugs with black-spotted winds will eat the aphids in your garden. 

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Praying Mantis
You're lucky if a Praying Mantis moves into your garden. This big dragon of an insect eats hundreds of harmful insects. 

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