April 4, 2025 Home And Garden

What's Eating My Garden? Common Backyard Pests and How to Keep Them Out for Good

It always starts small. A rustle in the leaves. A fresh hole dug out near the fence. One of your best tomatoes suddenly mauled like it’s been through a war zone — even though it was perfect yesterday. Growing a garden, whether decorative or to grow your own food is incredibly satisfying, but when you're dealing with one pest to another to another, it's easy to get frustrated and understand why we started putting potential poisons in all of our crops.


From rodents burrowing under your garden beds to insects chewing through leaves, the list of garden invaders is long. Aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites can drain the life from your plants, while slugs and snails feast on tender seedlings. Even your storage shed isn't safe, attracting rodents looking for food and shelter. The key to protecting your garden lies in identifying these pests early and taking action to keep them out — with preventative measures, natural repellents, and targeted treatments that stop them in their tracks.


How to Spot and Prevent Common Garden Pests

Rodents (Rats, Mice, Squirrels, Moles)

The problem with rodents is that once they discover a food source, they tend to come back over and over. The sooner you act on a small rodent problem, the more successful you will be. 

How to Spot:
- Holes or tunnels near raised beds, under structures, or in the yard
- Nibbled or damaged plants, especially tender sprouts and fruits
- Droppings or gnawed wood/containers in storage areas

How to Remove and Prevent:
- Keep plant food, seeds, and compost tightly sealed in metal containers
- Seal gaps or cracks in sheds, fences, and garden structures
- Elevate storage bins off the ground and away from walls
- Reinforce doors and install motion sensors or ultrasonic repellents
- Add an Outdoor Rat Bait blackbox to eliminate existing rodents
- If the problem persists, look into hiring professional rodent control


Garden Intruders and Roof Rats (Rodents in Raised Beds)

When I had a rooftop garden on the third floor of my apartment building I thought that I would be safe from rodents... and boy was I wrong. Roof rats have an incredibly nasty ability to find a way.

How to Spot:
- Small tunnels or burrows under raised beds
- Missing plants, especially delicate shoots or fruits
- Signs of digging around garden beds or along fence lines

How to Prevent:
- Build raised beds with hardware cloth or a strong mesh base to deter burrowing
- Install sturdy fencing that goes at least 6–8 inches underground to prevent digging
- Use deterrents like motion-activated sprinklers or predator urine around the garden perimeter
- Add an Outdoor Rat Bait blackbox


Garden Structures To Prevent Pests

Garden Fencing

A well-built fence acts as your first line of defense against larger pests like rabbits, deer, and raccoons. By creating a physical barrier around your garden, you keep these creatures from getting to your plants. The key is making sure the fence is secure, with no gaps or weak spots. Reinforcing it with hardware cloth and burying it underground helps prevent rodents from digging their way in. Regularly checking for damage ensures your garden stays protected all season long.

Sheds and Storage Areas

Your shed and storage areas are prime targets for pests looking for shelter and food. Rodents like rats and mice are known to burrow into dark corners, gnaw through plastic containers, and make nests in forgotten corners. By securing your shed — fixing cracks, reinforcing doors, and storing supplies in tightly sealed containers — you make it less inviting. Keeping storage elevated off the ground further reduces access, making it harder for pests to move in.

Greenhouses

Greenhouses provide a controlled environment for your plants, but they can also attract pests looking for a warm, sheltered place to thrive. By keeping greenhouse doors and vents sealed when not in use and using mesh to cover openings, you prevent insects and rodents from slipping inside. Regularly cleaning and removing any plant debris further reduces the chances of pests finding a home in your greenhouse, helping you maintain a pest-free growing environment. When in doubt and if you have the space: just use a greenhouse

🪲 Garden Bug Cheat Sheet


Garden Bugs: What’s Wrecking Your Plants and How to Kill It

Whether you’re growing tomatoes on your balcony or managing a full backyard garden, these are the bugs that ruin everything — and how to get rid of them before they take over.

1. Aphids

Damage: Curling or yellowing leaves, stunted growth, sticky residue (honeydew), and ant trails.
What to Use:

2. Whiteflies

Damage: Yellowing leaves, leaf drop, sticky film on undersides.
What to Use:

  • Yellow Sticky Traps
  • Neem oil spray on undersides of leaves
  • Attract lacewings or parasitic wasps with companion flowers like dill or yarrow

3. Spider Mites

Damage: Mottled leaves, fine webbing, leaf drop in hot dry weather.
What to Use:

4. Japanese Beetles

Damage: Skeletonized leaves and ravaged flowers.
What to Use:


5. Squash Bugs

Damage: Wilted leaves, brown or black patches, plant collapse.
What to Use:

6. Cabbage Worms

Damage: Large holes in brassica leaves (kale, cabbage, broccoli), green droppings.
What to Use:

  • Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) — safe for humans, lethal to worms
  • Floating row covers to block moths
  • Pick worms off manually (great chicken snacks)

7. Slugs and Snails

Damage: Irregular leaf holes, shredded stems, visible slime trails.
What to Use:

8. Cutworms

Damage: Seedlings sliced off at the base overnight.
What to Use:

  • DIY stem collars from cardboard or recycled plastic
  • Clear dead plant debris
  • Sprinkle coffee grounds or Diatomaceous Earth around stems

9. Leaf Miners

Damage: Tunneling trails through leaf layers — often in beets, chard, and spinach.
What to Use:

  • Remove and destroy infected leaves
  • Neem Oil Spray
  • Plant trap crops like lamb’s quarters nearby

10. Thrips

Damage: Silvery streaks or blotches on petals and leaves.
What to Use:



Happy Growing!

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