Identify my pest

Tired of unwanted bugs but no idea what they are? Below you will find the most common pests and the Insect Heroes that will help you solve the pest.

Recognizing mourning flies

Fungus gnats, also called fungus flies, can be recognized as small black flies that fly around the potting soil of houseplants. Many people confuse them with fruit flies.

Adult mourning flies

Mourning flies are not actually flies but non-stinging mosquitoes. They have long antennae, a dark color and fly quite slowly. The adult mosquitoes are up to 3 mm in size and easy to see with the naked eye.

Mourning flies eggs

The adult mourning flies lay eggs in the potting soil where larvae hatch. The damage can only be seen underground.

doorzichtige larve rouwvlieg zonder pootjes in aarde

Mourning flies larvae

The fungus fly larvae are transparent in color and resemble small worms. The larvae cannot move far and therefore damage is always local.

doorzichtige, wormachtige larven van rouwvliegjes die plantenwortels opeten

Mourning flies damage

The larvae of fungus flies live in the soil and prefer a moist and nutrient-rich soil. They mainly eat rotting plant material and the fungi that grow on it. The larvae also gnaw on the roots of young plants.

Be careful not to water the plants too much, especially in winter. This way you create a perfect environment for the mourning fly larvae.

groene bladluizen met verschillende grootte op onderzijde blad

Recognizing aphids

Aphids are small, bulbous insects of a few millimeters in size. They can reproduce very quickly, which means you can quickly have a large pest in the plants.

rijtje donkere bladluizen op stengel plant

Aphid appearance

Aphids can have all kinds of colors: green, black, brown or red. They like to sit in groups on the underside of the leaves or on the stem.

witte vervelhuidjes van bladluizen op blad lijken op levende bladluizen

Aphid white

Aphids molt several times as they grow. These white skins are an indication that you have aphids in your plants.

mieren die honingdauw van bladluizen melken op stengel plant

Aphids and ants

You can recognize aphids indirectly by the presence of ants. Aphids secrete a sweet, sticky substance that attracts the ants. This substance is called honeydew. Fungi can also grow on this, which is often called sooty mold.

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gevleugelde donkere bladluis naast ongevleugelde bladluizen

Aphid wings

If there are a lot of aphids together, they form wings and fly to another part of the garden. This way the plague spreads quickly.

donkere volwassen trips op blad met zwarte stipjes

Recognizing thrips

Thrips are so small that you have to look carefully to find them. Thrips has an elongated body with small ragged wings. They are about 1 to 2 mm in size and often yellow, brown or black in color.

donkere volwassen trips naast lichtgele trips larve

Thrips larvae

The larvae of thrips are light yellow to transparent in color. They are therefore more difficult to discover than adult thrips. In this photo you see the larva and the adult tobacco thrips.

schade trips witte vlek op blad met zwarte puntjes erin

Thrips damage

Thrips cause damage by sucking plant cells dry. This causes silver-gray spots on the leaves: dead plant cells. You also see black dots in the gray spots. These are the droppings of thrips.

Thrips eggs

Many thrips species lay their eggs in the leaf tissue. The eggs are difficult to detect and combat.

spint schade blad gele vlekken verdroging en zwarte stipjes

Recognizing spider mites

Spider mites drink plant sap from the underside of leaves. A plant cell is punctured and sucked dry, and the dead plant cell turns yellow. This causes yellow spots on the leaves of your plants.

verdord blad met webjes en spintmijten erin

Spins webs

The mites also make silk, small webs, between the leaves. The spider mites use the webs to move quickly. Together with the yellow spots, they make the plant look less attractive.

macro foto van roodgekleurde kasspintmijt op blad

Spider appearance

Spider mites are small round creatures that look a bit like spiders or ticks. They are up to 0.5 mm in size and are best seen with a magnifying glass.

Spider mites colors

Spider mites can be different colors, from brown to red to green. The color depends on the type of food that spider mites eat. The spider mite can be recognized by two dark spots on its body.

witte pluizenbolletjes op stengel tomatenplant

Recognizing mealybugs

You can recognize mealybugs at first glance by the fluffy white spots near the veins of the leaves. This is a substance that the mealybugs secrete.

volwassen witgekleurde wolluizen Phenacoccus solani

Adult mealybug

If you remove the waxy threads you will see small white to light pink creatures appear. They are 4-5 mm in size.

Mealybug honeydew

The leaves may feel sticky due to honeydew. Honeydew is a sugary substance excreted by mealybugs. Sooty molds can grow on the sugars.

stengel plant met groepje wolluizen en witte wasdraden

Mealybug damage

Most damage is caused by mealybugs sucking plant sap, which weakens the plant and makes it grow less quickly.

laurierplant met groepje wolluizen rondom bladoksel

Yellow leaves due to mealybug

Leaves may turn yellow and fall off. Flowers or fruits can also eventually fall off.

taxuskever schade ronde happen uit zijkant blad

Recognizing vine weevil

The vine weevil, also known as the vine weevil, is easy to recognize by the damage it causes to the plant. The round bites from the side of the leaf indicate its presence.

Adult vine weevil

The vine beetle is a small, dark beetle measuring 7 to 10 mm. He has light spots on his elytra. and cannot fly.

schade taxuskever ronde happen uit zijkant blad

What plants does the vine weevil eat?

During the day the weevil hides, but at night it happily nibbles on leaves of rhododendron, cyclamen, azalea and strawberry.

macro foto taxuskever lichtbruine vlekjes op dekschild

Catching vine weevil

You can catch the adult beetle by placing a plank of wood in the garden with grooves on the underside. The Taxus beetle crawls into the groove and can be removed during the day.

Recognizing whiteflies

Whitefly is a small insect about 3 mm in size with white, powdery wings. As soon as you shake the plant, the bugs fly up.

doorzichtige ronde larven van kaswittevlieg op blad

Whitefly larvae

The larvae of whiteflies are transparent in color and are located on the underside of the leaf. Here they suck on the plant sap of the plant.

wit poeder op onderkant blad schade van witte vlieg

Whitefly damage

Adult whiteflies also suck on the leaves. This weakens the plant. They secrete the excess sugars that the whiteflies ingest. This sweet, sticky substance is called honeydew. Sooty molds like to grow on honeydew, which is not a nice sight on the plant.

Whitefly species

In the Netherlands there are 3 species of whitefly: tobacco whitefly, greenhouse whitefly and cabbage whitefly. In the photo you can see greenhouse whitefly. The greenhouse whitefly has its wings slightly crossed, in the shape of a triangle.

Recognizing grubs

In the lawn you can recognize grubs by yellow spots in the grass. The beetle larvae gnaw on the roots of the grass, causing the grass to die.

Grubs appearance

Grubs are larvae of different species of beetles. The larvae can be recognized by their milky white, worm-shaped body that curls up like the letter 'C'.

Grubs and leatherjackets

Many people confuse grubs with leatherjackets. Grubs are easy to distinguish from leatherjackets by looking at the legs and head. Grubs have a rusty brown head with 3 pairs of legs, which are missing in leatherjackets.

Recognizing leatherjackets

Leatherjackets are the larvae of crane flies. They also nibble on the roots of grass, causing bare spots in the lawn.

duiven pikken en schoffelen in gazon op zoek naar insecten

Leatherjackets and birds

If you see many birds in the lawn, this may also indicate leatherjackets. The birds peck, dig and toss in the grass to find and eat the leatherjackets. This can cause additional damage to the lawn and lead to bare spots.

Leatherette appearance

Leatherjackets look like gray-brown, fat worms of 1 to 5 cm in size. No clear head can be distinguished. Leatherjackets have no legs, unlike grubs and wireworms.

Discovering Emelten

Leatherjackets are located in the top layer of the lawn. You can find the leatherjackets by removing some dead gas and digging with a shovel.

Recognizing box tree moth

Box tree moths do not cause any damage, only the box tree caterpillars. The caterpillars eat the leaves of boxwood bushes, causing the boxwood bush to become completely bare. The damage often starts at the bottom of the shrub. Spinning also appears between the leaves.

Boxwood caterpillar appearance

To find boxwood caterpillars, you have to look carefully between the leaves of the boxwood shrubs. The young caterpillar is green in color and therefore easily disappears between the green leaves. The animal is easily recognizable due to its black head. When the caterpillar is a bit older, the black longitudinal stripes on the body are more visible.