Pest Control Solution Chart

Deer among trees in the Pest Control Solution Chart graphic

Start with the plant, the damage, and where it appears. Chewed leaves, sticky residue, distorted growth, tunnels, spots, wilting, fruit damage, and root injury can point to very different pests or disorders. Use this page to narrow the possibilities, then open the pest-specific guide and confirm the diagnosis before selecting a product.

Download the Pest Control Solution Chart PDF. The HTML guide below adds current diagnostic and label-first pathways.

Identify the Problem by Damage

Damage or clue Likely possibilities Next step
Holes, missing leaf edges, or skeletonized foliage Caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, slugs, snails, or earwigs Inspect both leaf surfaces and visit at night if damage occurs without a visible daytime pest.
Curled growth, sticky honeydew, or ants on plants Aphids, whiteflies, scale, mealybugs, or other sap feeders Check new growth and leaf undersides; identify the sap feeder before choosing a control.
Fine stippling, bronzing, or webbing Spider mites or other mites Use magnification and check heat, dust, and water stress that may contribute.
Leaf mines or serpentine trails Leaf-miner larvae Identify the host plant and mine pattern; many controls must be timed before larvae are protected inside leaves.
White growth, colored spots, cankers, or spreading wilt Plant disease or an environmental lookalike Use the Plant Disease Diagnosis guide before applying a disease-control product.
Cut seedlings, root loss, mounds, gnawing, or browsed shoots Cutworms, root pests, gophers, moles, rodents, rabbits, or deer Look for tracks, droppings, burrow shape, feeding height, and time of activity.
Damaged fruit, internal tunnels, or frass Codling moth, fruit flies, maggots, beetles, birds, or disease Cut open representative fruit and match the entry point, tunnel, and life stage.

Choose the Right Control Pathway

  • Integrated Pest Management: identify, monitor, set an action point, prevent, control, and evaluate.
  • Plant diseases: separate infectious problems from irrigation, nutrition, weather, roots, and chemical injury.
  • Weeds: match prevention, mulch, cultivation, solarization, heat, or labeled herbicides to weed stage and site.
  • Beneficial insects: build habitat or select a purchased organism for the identified pest and release conditions.
  • Animal damage: distinguish gophers, moles, deer, birds, rabbits, and rodents before selecting exclusion, trapping, or repellents.
  • Worms in apples: confirm codling moth, monitor adult activity, and time sanitation, exclusion, or labeled treatment.
  • Tomato hornworms: identify caterpillars and natural enemies before hand removal or treatment.

Before Using a Pest-Control Product

  1. Confirm the target pest, crop or site, and life stage.
  2. Read the entire current label and verify that the use is permitted.
  3. Check rate, timing, coverage, weather, protective equipment, reentry, harvest interval, storage, and disposal directions.
  4. Consider non-target exposure and avoid treating open bloom or active foraging periods unless the label specifically permits the use and all precautions can be followed.
  5. Monitor after treatment and reassess the diagnosis if damage continues.

After identification, browse Pest Control & Beneficial Insects or the narrower collection linked from the applicable guide.

Related Pest Control Resources

Content role: Pillar · Topic: Pest identification & solution chart

Identify the pest or problem first. For pesticides, repellents, traps, and biological controls, confirm that the current label or directions cover the target site and pest. Follow all directions and precautions.

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