What is the most difficult pest you deal with in your garden?

Rabbits this year....

We have had too much rain so we have that powdery mildew on melons and squash. Bugs on tomatoes that look like stink bugs and sting the tomatoes and ruin them. That Bayer fruit and veggie spray got rid of them in one application. Ants are everywhere. And recently started losing pepper plants with a white fungus around the base of stem. Maybe more info than you asked for. I am in zone 8, southeast part of Texas.

Leaf miners love my tomatoes and white fly gets the plumeria and areca palms. Rust gets the pikake and black spot gets the sunflowers. I haven't determined what is getting the gardenia or the lantana, I think there are at least two different things at work but I'm treating them with neem oil and the jury is still out. Slugs and snails aren't a problem only because I'm container gardening. Oh yeah, the birds get the papaya if some weird disease doesn't get them first. It's a jungle out there.

Flea beetles are the most evil thing! The last couple of years I've managed to protect my arugula and other brassicas with row cover when they're small but somehow, despite having the entire edge buried, my tatsoi, bok choy, arugula, chinese cabbage...ALL turned into ugly lace by the little buggers. I've heard they're less of a problem in the fall and I hope that's true because I didn't get squat out of those crops so I'll be trying again this fall. Stupid bugs! (Can you tell I don't like them? )

I HATE white flies!!! It's almost impossible to get rid of them.

Slugs. Snails.

Pie tin full of Schlitz seems to take care of them, also a bit of copper tubing/strap laid around the seedlings really helps. Have to stay after it though, they are pernicious and prevalent here.

slugs. beer is sort of keeping them at bay, but I might have to try that copper tubing trick mentioned by nukeday around my purple beans. they are stunting their growth.

I also have a mystery diner...and by diner I mean something has figured out a way around my chicken wire fence and ate all of my spinach...I protected my kale and it got wiped out today, my swiss chard has been munched on, and my parsley must have been dessert. The parsley wasn't touched when it was in the front yard. And the kale was left alone for a good 2 weeks. :\

Grasshoppers!! So far we haven't had too many but I know near the end of July we will be swarming with them. I really am not sure what the best way to deal with them is.

not much yet, did see some nibbles on my peas by deer, I see the deer every day out with the other animals just munching away on stuff. I can get with in 10 feet of the deer at my house and they just kinda wander off slowly. I am guessing my place is a safe haven for the deer and they feel no threat from me. they never wipe out the garden just a nibble here and there. It is almost time to start letting my chickens do some free ranging again to help control bugs. just a couple more weeks of growth is needed on the garden plants then the chickens get to get busy.

During my cool weather crop: slugs, snails, & flea beetles-even with row covers & an organic spray applied. Now my warm weather crop: aphids & still some flea beetles & some kind of "funky Alice in Wonderland Red Horned Massive Eating Machine" that took out my new potato leaves & stems in one day. It was as long & as round as my middle finger...may it rest in peace.

My midnight diners were discoverred after I put in a motion detector light, then I set a trap and took 2 possum for a long trip in the woods.

did some further investigation on what could be feasting on my greens...chipmunks. my nemesis this season. they are way too clever. they found a weak spot in my chicken wire, tunneled under it and wedged themselves up between the chicken wire and the raisedbed boards. I have added yet more staples to the chicken wire and hopefully this will be the end of their meals. they should be full at this point anyway, little gluttons.

I have also noticed a bit of powdery mildew/mold cropping up on my squash plants. I had this problem last year and didn't get it under control fast enough. Spraying milk does seem to work.

isadorah said:

slugs. beer is sort of keeping them at bay, but I might have to try that copper tubing trick mentioned by nukeday around my purple beans. they are stunting their growth.

I also have a mystery diner...and by diner I mean something has figured out a way around my chicken wire fence and ate all of my spinach...I protected my kale and it got wiped out today, my swiss chard has been munched on, and my parsley must have been dessert. The parsley wasn't touched when it was in the front yard. And the kale was left alone for a good 2 weeks. :\

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^^I had the worst case of potato bugs last year. I couldn't put anything in the ground without them munching on the stem. I did manage to fix the problem with beer.

This year, however, has been all about slugs. My son has a pet turtle that enjoyed feasting on them. I put some food grade diatomaceous earth in those hard to reach places and it did the trick. Yep. I think the D.E. will be my 'go to' pest problem solver.

stink bugs on my tomatoes but i have managed to control them with soapy water

squirrels have been having fun with my topsy turvy strawberry experiment. I've scared an opossum one night. And something attacked my pepper seedlings but I haven't had any trouble with them for a few weeks and they are fruiting.

For me it's been squash bugs. Last year they literally killed all my squash. This year I planted some marigolds in among my squash and other veggie's and so far it seems to have solved my problem, not only with the squash bugs but also it's brought some more butterflies and bees around

Vine borers have taken out 3 of my 7 squash plants. Looks like 2 more are about to die. Luckily I have a long growing season and have started more seedlings. Think I will keep these under cover and hand pollinate - what a pain.

West TN. Tobacco horn worms on tomatoes. Pick them off and stomp them!

Squirrels are my biggest pest right now...not so much stealing vegetables, but digging holes in the garden...uprooting beets, onions, and radishes. I come home from work and find any number of holes in the ground. I'm just lucky they haven't taken out a tomato plant yet. This is the first year I've experienced this, so I know what the squirrels smell or why they're digging, but it's becoming a real pain. :-(