Battling Bugs: Top 3 Plant Pests in the Southeast 

What are three costly and pesky problems for landscaping professionals in the Southeast? Japanese beetles, scale, and ambrosia beetles. 

These three little pests pack a big punch when it comes to the damage they cause in landscapes. But don’t worry. We’re giving you a battle plan to avoid that trouble, aggravation, and costly harm.

Let’s begin with the Japanese beetle, which plants to worry about, and when.

1) Japanese Beetle Damage
If you’re installing or maintaining landscapes with the following plants, you need to plan for Japanese beetles:

• Crape myrtle 
• Apple/Crabapple trees (and other fruit trees)
• Althea/Hibiscus 
• Rose family

Those are favorites of this plant pest to devour. How fast can Japanese beetle damage happen? One female can produce up to 60 eggs. Even more worrisome, a swarm of these beetles can reportedly strip a small peach tree in under twenty minutes! 

So, paying attention to signs before they show up in huge numbers is crucial. 

Signs and Timing of Japanese Beetles 

Early spring to late spring: Watch for brown patches in the grass where their larvae feed. 

Spring into summer: Look for foliage damage on woody and herbaceous trees and shrubs.

Noticing these signs allows you to take action to get ahead of infestation. But looking for early signs also keeps you from overusing pesticides when circumstances don’t call for that measure. Attracting this plant pest’s natural enemies (starlings, meadowlarks, cardinals) can also decrease Japanese beetle damage. 

Do similar strategies work with scale insects?

2) Scale Damage
Yes, it’s best to stay ahead of scale, especially if your landscape has any of the following plants:

• Cryptomeria (Japanese scale)
• Pachysandra (Oystershell scale)
• Crape myrtle
• Magnolia (Magnolia scale)
• Camellia

As you can see, scale comes in different varieties that attack specific landscape elements (over 8000 scale species in seven families). While feeding on plants, they also cause more issues as they can attract other pests that feed on the “honeydew” they produce.

Timing is everything with this pest. It’s best to tackle this nuisance while they’re in the “crawler” stage. Take advantage of this opening, or else you could face replacing plants that fall victim to these “greenery vampires,” sucking nutrients away from plants with their weaponized needle-like mouths.

Scale Signs and Timing 

This pest’s prime time is June to July but it can run through September’s end.

Look for white spots that can be scratched off bark, leaves, or trunks. Scale is often responsible for chlorosis and branch die-back.

Success in managing this Southeast plant pest includes encouraging ladybugs and scale destroyer beetles. Pruning heavily infested branches can reduce populations, too (avoid composting scale-infested plant material).

Our final trouble-causing Southeastern pest has an odd trait that makes it hard to battle.

3) Ambrosia Beetle Damage
The ambrosia beetle has a symbiotic relationship with fungi, which is a powerful ally for any plant pest, especially this crafty beetle. It uses fungi to help spread diseases and viruses to trees and is known to attack the highly beneficial Avocado tree. Other commonly affected plants are:

• Dogwood
• Japanese maple
• Crape myrtle
• Rhododendron 
• Azalea  

This beetle is considered a “secondary pest” (they don’t typically attack healthy plants), so nearly any withering vine, shrub, or tree is susceptible. However, this insect can wreak widespread havoc. All it needs is an opening, and as you know, openings happen all the time due to drought, poor plant selection for the environment, or other pests weakening a plant.

Signs and Timing of Ambrosia Beetle

They usually emerge in March, peaking in early April.

Be watchful for "toothpick-like" growths on tree trunks or branches due to female ambrosia beetles boring into the wood and laying eggs in their tunnels. 

Those tunnels are incredibly effective defensive positions for ambrosia beetles. These tiny fortresses make it hard for pesticide treatments to reach the dug-in insect.

Proactive plant health maintenance is your best strategy to repel ambrosia beetle infestations in the first place. Disrupting this bug’s pheromone-based communication and mating has potential for future management, but research has been limited.

Most Effective Treatments for Southeast Top 3 Plant Pests
There’s a reason these three pests rank at the top of problematic insects in the Southeast. They are survivalists. 

That means it takes a comprehensive pest management approach to keep them from destroying elements of landscaping you’re in charge of maintaining. Key steps for success are:

1. Identifying the insect so you can target the correct pest in precise locations versus broad treatments.
2. Noting life cycles and how the weather alters those cycles.
3. Using their vulnerable stages to your advantage.
4. Understanding when pesticides are needed and when no action is the best tactic.
5. Leaning into the newest integrated pest management strategies to benefit the entire landscape.

Lastly, there’s the most critical step… 

Avoiding the Top 3 Southeastern Plant Pests
Never give them an inch. You can avoid many pest problems and save money by starting with the healthiest plants you can source. Strong, properly grown plants come with their own defense system for even the wiliest pests like Japanese beetles, scale, and ambrosia beetles.

Also, start with the right plant in the right environment to reduce worries about withering plants, shrubs, turf, and trees. Pests take down weak plants first, so leave harmful bugs as few openings as possible. 

Now, we’ve given you battle-tested tactics to fend off three of the worst pests in the Southeast. We can also advise you on specific landscaping issues related to any pests. So contact our landscaping experts today with your questions and concerns.

And if you’re ready to partner with MNI Direct to ensure you always get the healthiest plants available, sign up with us today.