Swiss chard is exceptionally beautiful on top of being delicious , which micturate it doubly frustrative when the leaves turn up with unsightly trap or yellowing leaves .
When pests attack , you require to take fleet action not only to avoid damage to that photo - staring foliage , but to prevent an infestation from taking your industrial plant out whole .
Now , before we jump in : you ’re run low to front at this lean and think it ’s awfully long . That must mean Swiss chard is always harass by all manner of pesterer , right ?
Photo via Alamy.
Wrong ! Even though there are many different types of insects as well as gastropods that will merrily nibble on your chard , this colorful veggie is rarely seriously troubled .
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It ’s a pretty hardy flora , especially if you do your part to keep it healthy – you could learn more about that inour template to spring up Swiss chard .
In this article , here are the pests we ’ll discuss :
13 Common Swiss Chard Pests
Your practiced bet for getting rid of any of these unwelcome garden visitors is to address them as soon as you spot them . So let ’s not hold off one hour more to bound in !
1. Aphids
If you ’ve never had trouble with aphid in your gardening calling , do n’t worry , you will have the chance at some point .
Just about everything you could perchance develop in the veggie garden is pertinent to be set on by one variety of aphid or another .
aphid are opportunists and there are about a dozen specie that will suck on chard if give the hazard .
But bean aphid ( Aphis fabae ) , which are disconsolate Olea europaea in colouration , and green peach aphids ( Myzus persicae ) , which are green or jaundiced , are the two species that most often look for out plant in theamaranth family , Amaranthaceae .
These common muggins - suckers are n’t really a bountiful heap to reveal in small numbers .
Just spray them off your plant with a attack of waterfrom the hosiery . In large numbers pool , they can reduce plant vigor , and even stimulate farewell to turn yellow and die .
A major concern to consider is that they can spread disease . To learn how to forestall and address an plague , arrest outour guide to deal with aphids in the garden .
2. Armyworms
The name “ armyworm ” brings to mind a monumental group of dew worm advancing on your garden like an invading army , and that ’s not far off the mark . These worm emerge all at once and come down on your chard plant en masse shot , cause considerable damage .
These chunky , in - long insect are the larva of numerous different Nox - flying moths in the family Noctuidae .
There are four specie that will usually launch an attack on Swiss chard flora , includingthe beet armyworm ( Spodoptera exigua ) , bertha armyworm ( Mamestra configurata ) , fall army worm ( S. frugiperda ) , and the Western icteric - striped Pseudaletia unipuncta ( S. praefica ) , though there are others as well , depending on where you are locate .
These caterpillar chomp their way through the foliage of the plant , leave ragged hole behind or even skeletonizing the leaves .
They all look a little different , so keep an middle out for dirt ball moving along your leaves and pluck them off when you see them .
A mathematical product that containsBacillus thuringiensisvar.kurstaki(Btk ) , which is a beneficial bacterium , is efficacious against all form of caterpillar and worms .
Bonide makes a mathematical product called Thuricide that you spray on the foliation of the plants . After the worms ingest the bacteria - coated leaves , they stop being able to feed .
Bonide Thurcide
If you ’re fight with army worm , head word to Arbico Organicsto grab a quart- or gallon - size ready - to - usance container , or an eight- or 16 - troy ounce dressed ore .
Learn more about check armyworms here .
3. Blister Beetles
Blister mallet are n’t passing common in the home garden , but when they round , they cause serious damage . They travel in large groups and can quickly defoliate a plant .
There are legion species in the Meloidae family in different colors , including gray , brown , or black . And they can have yellow , red , or cream - color stripe , or gray banding .
They stand out from other beetles because of their long “ necks ” ( aka pronotums ) .
you’re able to be sure that you have a bleb mallet site on your hands if you trouble the leaves and see the blighter drop to the background and shin away . When eat , they start on the edge and move inward .
To control them , words coversare your good wager , but hired hand - picking and even applications of an insect powder that contain spinosad can commonly reduce their numbers enough that you could twist the situation under control , if not uproot them entirely .
tot discourse with a kaolin clay sprayer for a bivalent line of tone-beginning .
Monterey Garden Insect Spray
Spinosad is an organic option that is handy to keep around for dealing with many different types of insects . blame some up in dry pint , quart , or gallon containersat Arbico Organics .
4. Cabbageworms
The imported Pieris rapae ( Artogeia rapae ) chomps irregular hole into the leaves of a number of dissimilar plants , including Swiss chard . Green with light-headed yellow-bellied chevron , they can raise up to an inch in distance .
The adult are extremely mutual white butterflies with black spots on their wings .
The larvae hang out in the vein of the leaves , and you ’ll often remark the dark fecal matter or frass that they leave behind . You may also see clustering of webbing , either empty , or with the small dark-brown pupae or gullible worm inside .
One of the prissy things about Swiss chard is that , while the green worms conceal well among the green foliage of other plants , they support out against the brilliant neon stems of chard .
Handpicking and drowning the larvae in fulsome water is enough to finagle a small infestation , but for additional control , practice a product containingBacillus thuringiensisvar.kurstaki(Btk ) .
5. Cucumber Beetles
Despite their name , cucumber beetles feed on all form of unlike species of plants .
There are two kinds of cucumber beetles that may attack Swiss chard : the tell apart cucumber beetle ( Diabrotica undecimpunctata ) and the Western striped cucumber beetle ( Acalymma trivittatum ) .
distinguish Cucumis sativus beetles are kind of cunning . They almost look like yellow ladybugs . And as you might pretend , the stripy cucumber beetle features contraband stripes on a xanthous body alternatively of spots .
Sadly , the damage they do to your crops is anything but cute .
If you ’re seeing a lot of hurt , you ’ll call for to take a multi - biramous approach . Sticky maw can aid capture some of the adults , and a treatment using beneficial nematodes can take care of both mintage of larvae .
A product like NemaSeek containsHeterorhabditis bacteriophoranematodes , which in effect pop many character of soft - incarnate insects .
NemaSeek Beneficial Nematodes
Nemaseek isavailable from Arbico Organicsin five- , ten- , 50- , 250- , and 500 - million - count container .
You might also require to add in unconstipated covering of a spinosad - based spray , because these tough beetles can be hard to eliminate .
Learn to use beneficial roundworm in our guide .
6. Cutworms
Cutworms earned their name because they manducate through the fundament of young veggies , severing them wholly . That imply all your laborious study raising those chard seedling survive right out the window and into the compost great deal .
These louse are closely related to Pseudaletia unipuncta , and they are also the larvae of night - flying moths in the Noctuidae family .
We have a comprehensive guideto help you identify and do away with these little bugs before they can mow their elbow room through your intact crop .
7. Darkling Beetles
Also called rove beetle , darkling beetle in theBlapstinus , Eleodes , andStaphylinidgenera are common across the US and throughout the rest of the globe in home veggie gardens .
Some species emit a foul - smelling liquidity when threatened .
Incidentally , have you ever run a best-loved Bronx cheer a mealworm , or found a worm in your flour ? These are darkling beetles in their larval contour , and they amount from a huge family of beetles known as Tenebrionidae .
These bugs feast on young seedlings , which they can devour in their totality , but they can also consume the foliage of older plant , leave ragged yap behind .
They ’re scavengers that will also eat molder plant fabric on the garden floor , which is why it ’s important to keep your garden bed light . Do n’t exit dead stuff on the priming .
Unless your plants have a large infestation , you could ignore these pestilence . They might make your foliage look less attractive , but they will rarely kill a plant . seedling are most at risk .
Handpick beetles when you see them and overwhelm them in soapy water . you could kill the larva using an all - purpose hemipterous insect spray containing pyrethrins .
Monterey Bug Buster
Monterey Bug Buster is an excellent selection . It’savailable from Arbico Organicsin eight - ounce and 16 - ounce containers .
8. Diamondback Moth Caterpillars
Diamondback moth larvae ( Plutella xylostella ) will assail all type ofcole crop , likebroccoli , cabbage , andkale .
They in the first place jaw holes in the knocked out luck of leaves , and if you seek to touch or catch one , it ’ll drop from the industrial plant with a silk filament to anchor it .
They can deviate in appearance , but the cat are typically about a third of an inch long and cream , white-livered , or green in color .
The grownup moths overwinter in debris in the garden , which is yet another reason that you should scavenge up your garden in the decline .
Frequent treatments in the spring with Btk will serve as an efficacious way to shoot down the larva . You should also encourage or introduce good predators such asTrichogramma brassicaewasps .
TrichogrammaMoth Egg Parasites
If you do n’t have a healthy population of these parasitic wasps in your garden already , you canpurchase them at Arbico Organicsin various quantities .
9. Flea Beetles
Flea beetle ( Phyllotreta armoraciae , P. family Brassicaceae , P. striolata , andDisonycha xanthomelas ) just lie with cole crops .
These diminutive , smutty , sap - suck in hoppers jump from works to found , leave minuscule shot holes behind in areas where they ’ve been feed , so named because the terms they do looks as though the plant has been shot with a teeny - flyspeck shotgun .
These kettle of fish might go all the way through the folio , or they might just offer only about halfway through .
These hole can subdue the works ’s zip or even kill a untried plant if the plague is large enough .
Even worse , these insects spread disease . There can be multiple generations per year , and they come out once temperatures reach 50 ° F or above .
Tolearn how to identify , forbid , and treat flea beetle , read our comprehensive scout .
10. Leafhoppers
Beet leafhoppers ( Circulifer tenellus ) are disease - spreading threat that champ through your chard leaf . They spread beetroot curly top virus ( BCTV ) , which is definitely a disease you do n’t need your plants to contract .
Look for the grownup , which are wan green or jaundiced , have a sub physique , and are about an eighth of an in long .
Or better yet , avoid an plague altogether by assign up floating quarrel covers in the early spring . parasitical wasps , lacewing fly , and assassin bug love nothing more than to gnaw on leafhopper as well .
die that , a pyrethrin nebulizer can kill off both the adults and larvae .
11. Leaf Miners
You will rarely see folio miners because they ’re very humble and they advert out inside the leaf , but the legal injury they leave behind is more obvious .
There are two kind that usually assault Swiss chard , known as pea plant ( Liriomyza huidobrensis ) and veg ( L. sativae ) foliage miner .
As these tiny larvae feed , they scent tunnels through the inside of the foliage . One day , you come outside to find that it looks like someone has been drawing trivial maze on your veggies . Sometimes these trail extend as the tissue pass back .
While the burrow are untempting ( and may contain live larvae ) , the bigger problem is that they reduce photosynthesis and create openings for disease to acquire a foothold .
Those bloodsucking wasps we just blab about a few pests ago ? They are also extremely efficient against leaf mineworker . dustup cover can prevent the grownup flies from landing and laying eggs too .
But really , the easy form of control is to snip away any septic leaves . If a leaf is only softly infested , smash the trail between your finger . This will toss off off any larvae that are present .
You might need to trim away the bit that you smooshed at harvest home time , so you are n’t wipe out dead microbe – though it wo n’t hurt you if you do .
If smooshing hemipterous insect does n’t appeal to you , break out the pyrethrin nebuliser . You will call for to spray biweekly , starting first thing in the spring to wipe out the adults before they can lay eggs .
Learn to handle leaf miner in our guide .
12. Lygus Bugs
Lygus bugs ( Lygus lineolaris ) , also known as tarnished plant bugs , cause the stems of your leaf beet to twist black and the buds to die back . Terminal ontogeny will be yellowed and distorted , and foliage might be crinkled .
The adults are about a quarter of an inch long , with yellowish and brown markings . The nymph are about a millimetre long and faint xanthous in color .
Not only do they damage your plants , but they can transmit diseases as well . You definitely do n’t need them crawling around in your garden !
But how do you manage with them ? First , preventative measurement like hold open weeds out of the garden and clean house up any debris will help . They especially wish dock , goldenrod , vetch , and wild mustard . Crop rotation and row concealment are also key .
Parasitic white Anglo-Saxon Protestant are your good friend in this situation . promote native wasps if possible , or purchase and introduce wasps such asPeristenus digoneutisandP. relictus .
13. Slugs and Snails
slug and snails wo n’t usually obliterate your plants unless they turn up in large numbers , or if your flora is just a little seedling . Otherwise , they just carve horrifying holes in the foliage .
No doubt you ’re conversant with these common garden foes , but if you need a few tips for dealing with them , wehave an excellent guide .
Kiss Swiss Chard Pests Goodbye
Although there are many of them , common Swiss chard blighter wo n’t usually destroy your harvest .
That said , you require to be able to take fleet action if they do show up . Hopefully this usher help you feel more positive in handle any payoff that heads your way .
quick to take yourSwiss chard arise skillsto the next level ? We have a few more usher for you to read next :
© postulate the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . Product photos via Arbico Organics . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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Kristine Lofgren
