Plant Pests

Cornell University and Cooperative Extension have many resources available to help you identify and manage insect pests in your home, garden or landscape.

Visit Cornell Gardening’s Home Gardening page for a fact sheet on best practices for Managing Insect Pests in Vegetable Gardens as well as flower and vegetable Growing Guides that list common pests for each plant. Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Pest Management around the Home is a more detailed guide to pest identification and management strategies.

For a comprehensive list of insect fact sheets visit Cornell’s Insect Diagnostic Laboratory website, where you’ll find detailed fact sheets in alphabetical order or grouped by category

• Household/Indoor
• Biting/Stinging
• Wood/Lumber
• Trees/Shrubs
• Vegetable/Garden
• Houseplants
• Outdoor/Miscellaneous

as well as instructions for collecting and submitting samples or photos for identification. IDL also provides a general factsheet on managing Home Vegetable Garden Pests.

What’s Wrong with My Plant? This user-friendly tool available through the University of Minnesota Extension office allows you to select a plant (including vegetables and fruits, annuals, perennials, trees, shurbs, and turf) and its symptoms and then view photos and brief descriptions of the likely cause.

If you’re in the Syracuse area, CCE Chautauqua’s Master Gardeners are available to assist with pest identification and management strategies. Call our hotline or stop by our booth June-October at the downtown Syracuse farmer’s market in Clinton Square on Tuesdays.

Last updated July 26, 2019