The most reliable way to protect a garden from insects and pests is to check plants often, keep them healthy, encourage the beneficial insects that eat pests, use barriers, and save insecticides for problems that other steps don’t solve. That layered approach is called integrated pest management, and it works for aphids and slugs as well as for voles and gophers. Saela Pest Control is a residential and commercial pest control company that treats moles, pocket gophers and other rodents that damage yards. This guide covers the common garden pests, the low-impact controls that work first, when to use an insecticide, and when rodents call for professional help.
Which Pests Damage Home Gardens Most?
Most garden damage comes from a handful of insects, mollusks and small mammals, and knowing which one you have decides the fix. Check under leaves, along stems and at the soil line, including at night with a flashlight. Common garden pests include:
- Aphids: small, soft-bodied insects that cluster on new growth and leave sticky honeydew
- Caterpillars: moth and butterfly larvae that chew holes in leaves and fruit
- Slugs and snails: night feeders that leave ragged holes and slime trails
- Whiteflies: tiny white insects that fly up from leaf undersides when disturbed
- Spider mites: tiny mites that leave leaves speckled, yellowed or webbed
- Rodents: voles, pocket gophers and mice that eat roots, bulbs, vegetables and bark
Catching a problem early makes every control easier. UC IPM’s pest note on aphids recommends checking plants at least twice a week while they are growing rapidly, so an infestation can be handled before it spreads.
Low-Impact Ways to Control Garden Pests
Start with methods that protect the insects working in your favor and add no toxic residue:
1. Flowering and Companion Plants
Flowering plants help more by feeding beneficial insects than by repelling pests. UC IPM’s guidance on natural enemies recommends planting a variety of species that flower at different times, so predators and parasites have nectar, pollen and shelter through the season. Many beneficial insects, including adult green lacewings, feed only on pollen and nectar while their larvae hunt pests. Claims that a single plant such as marigold keeps pests away are less consistent, so treat companion plants as one layer rather than a fix.
2. Beneficial Insects
Not every insect in a garden is a pest, and some of the most useful ones eat the pests for you. The larvae of lady beetles and lacewings most often feed on aphids, and tiny parasitic wasps lay their eggs inside aphids, leaving crusty, golden-brown “mummies” behind. UC IPM notes that most insecticides kill these beneficial insects along with the pest, and that ants protect aphids from their natural enemies, so controlling ants on plants can help. Retail lady beetles are unlikely to be enough on their own, so conserve the ones already in your yard.
3. Physical Barriers
A barrier stops pests before they reach the plant and needs no spray at all. Match the barrier to the pest:
- Row covers or netting to keep flying insects off young crops
- Copper strips around beds or planter boxes to deter snails and slugs
- Hardware cloth fencing to keep voles and other small mammals away from beds
When to Use Insecticides in a Garden
Use an insecticide only after monitoring shows the problem is growing and barriers, hand removal and natural enemies haven’t been enough. Choose a product labeled for the plant and the pest, and follow the label exactly. EPA’s integrated pest management principles favor targeted options and treat broad, non-specific spraying as a last resort.
1. Insecticidal Soaps
Insecticidal soaps are contact products for soft-bodied pests such as aphids, whiteflies and spider mites. UC IPM explains that soaps and oils kill mainly by smothering the insect, so thorough coverage of infested leaves is needed. They leave no toxic residue, which is why they are easier on beneficial insects, but they also stop working once dry.
2. Neem and Horticultural Oils
Neem oil and other horticultural oils work the same way as soaps, by coating and smothering soft-bodied insects and mites. Because they act only on contact, spray the undersides of leaves where aphids and whiteflies gather. Check the label for plant sensitivity and temperature limits first.
3. Broad-Spectrum Insecticides
Broad-spectrum insecticides should be the last option, because they also kill the natural enemies that provide long-term control. UC IPM notes that products such as malathion and permethrin destroy beneficial insects along with aphids, which can make outbreaks worse later. Too much nitrogen fertilizer also favors aphid reproduction, so check your feeding schedule before reaching for a stronger spray.
Controlling Rodents in the Garden
Voles, pocket gophers, moles and mice cause a different kind of garden damage: eaten roots, girdled trunks, tunnels and missing bulbs. UC IPM’s pest note on voles lists crops such as carrots, lettuce, tomatoes and sweet potatoes among the plants voles damage, along with fruit trees. Start with these steps, and see Saela’s guide to protecting a garden from voles for more detail:
1. Removing Attractants
Rodents settle where food and cover are easy to find. UC IPM notes that weeds, heavy mulch and dense vegetation encourage voles by giving them food and protection from predators, so keep a clear strip around garden edges and young trees. Store seed, bulbs and pet food in sealed containers, and pick up fallen fruit.
2. Exclusion Techniques
Fencing keeps small mammals out of beds when it is built to their size. For voles, UC IPM recommends mesh of ¼ inch or smaller, extending 12 inches above the ground with the bottom buried 6 to 10 inches. Seal gaps in nearby sheds and garages too, since rodents that live there will visit the garden.
3. Traps and Baits
Traps are the safer choice around gardens, pets and children. UC IPM recommends placing snap traps across vole runways and wearing gloves when handling dead voles, and it notes that the only toxicant for voles in residential settings is a restricted-use product that requires careful placement. For moles, Saela’s mole control identifies active tunnels and places mapped traps inside them, with follow-up checks.
When to Call a Professional
Call a professional when rodents keep returning, tunnels or mounds spread across the yard, or rodents start moving from the garden into the house. Saela’s rodent exclusion service includes inspecting for access points, repairing openings and placing traps for rodents still inside, and Saela also treats pocket gophers. In a February 2024 Google review, Vincent Rose wrote, “The representative did his check and set traps.”
Preventive Measures
Prevention in a garden means making plants harder to attack and pests easier to spot. These habits do most of the work:
1. Maintain Plant Health
Healthy plants recover from pest feeding better than stressed ones. Give each plant the light and water it needs, and avoid over-fertilizing, since excess nitrogen favors aphids.
2. Practice Good Garden Hygiene
Clear dead leaves, fallen fruit and other debris regularly, because they shelter pests and disease. Remove badly infested leaves or plants quickly, and clear boards, stones and dense ground covers where UC IPM says snails and slugs shelter. Watering near sunrise, or switching to drip irrigation, also shortens the time leaves and soil stay damp.
3. Rotate Crops
Rotating crops means planting a different crop family in each bed from one season to the next. This keeps pests that overwinter in the soil from finding the same host plant waiting for them in spring.
4. Use Quality Soil
Start with healthy, well-drained soil and add compost to improve its structure. Plants growing in good soil handle pest pressure better, and well-drained beds give slugs fewer damp places to hide.
A Simple Garden Pest Plan
A garden pest plan comes down to four habits: check plants often, identify the pest before acting, use the gentlest control that works, and limit the conditions pests like. That is the same cycle Saela uses in its integrated pest management approach: identification, activity monitoring, targeted treatment and evaluation.
Keep a simple weekly record of what you find and what you tried, and ask your local extension office or master gardener program about plant-feeding insects such as aphids and caterpillars. If moles are the problem, Saela’s guide to protecting a garden with mole control explains what to expect.
Saela quotes pest control based on pest type, location, property size, visit frequency and treatment products, and its pricing page explains how plans are set up.
If rodents, moles or gophers are damaging your garden, book a call with Saela to schedule an inspection. Saela’s Orem, Utah headquarters holds an A+ rating and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau.
Who wrote this article?
Devin Hutchings (Marketing Director at Saela Pest Control) wrote this article.
Devin leads Saela’s marketing and growth strategy. He brings more than 15 years of marketing experience across Uber, C.R. England, Lugg, and Neighbor. His background spans customer acquisition, retention, and developing marketing channels for service businesses and consumer marketplaces.
