Garden Landscaping 11 Garden Pests That Are Eating Your Plants—and How to Stop Them If you notice your plants are being devoured, it's likely by one of these common garden creatures. By Michelle Mastro Michelle Mastro Michelle Mastro is a writer and author specializing in home and garden topics. She has written for Architectural Digest, The Spruce, Midwest Living, and other publications. Editorial Guidelines Published on August 8, 2024 Close Photo: Tammi Mild / Getty Images While there are plenty of beneficial insects and cute mammals in your yard, there are also a lot of garden pests. These can be insects wanting to dine on your vegetables, or they can be animals who've decided to dig underneath your garden's foundation, like gophers. Of course, not all garden wildlife is bad! It's just not great to have plant-damaging critters in your garden if you want to harvest vegetables or enjoy your flowers. Here are the top garden pests and how to deter them (using non-lethal methods), as these creatures are great for other environments—just not a home garden. Meg Pearson, training manager at Critter Control, a wildlife animal control company using non-lethal animal removal and wildlife release on-site methods, and more. 17 Bug-Repelling Plants That Keep Unwanted Pests Out of Your Garden 01 of 11 Rabbits Rabbits can be found in yards and gardens year-round. "They target a variety of crop plants," says Meg Pearson, training manager at Critter Control, a wildlife animal control company using non-lethal animal removal and wildlife release on-site methods. Rabbits can be a garden pest because by dining on immature plants, rabbits can stunt the plant’s growth. "Rabbits can also transmit tularemia, a disease also known as 'rabbit fever.'" But this is rare. One of the best ways to deter rabbits is through physical barriers like chicken wire and fencing. How to Keep Rabbits Out of Your Vegetable Garden, According to Experts 02 of 11 Aphids paula sierra / Getty Images Aphids eat plant sap by biting into the plant and sucking out the sap. This weakens the plant, while the bugs also secrete honeydew, a sweet and sticky substance that attracts ants (that collect the honeydew) and can also allow black fungus to grow on your plants. Besides removing the insects by hand or including trap plants to lure away bugs, you can bring in (native) ladybugs as well. A ladybug larva can eat 50 aphids a day. 03 of 11 Gophers JeannetteKatzir / Getty Images Gophers love to eat food growing in vegetable gardens. "Gophers can consume up to 60 percent of their body weight daily which can quickly make them a nuisance to your lawn and garden," says Pearson. But perhaps more troubling is the fact that these animals can harm your landscape equipment. "They can inadvertently wreak havoc on irrigation pipes, sprinkler systems, and other underground systems with their burrows." Raised beds can deter gophers if you provide a layer of hardscape or stones between the raised bed and the ground. 04 of 11 Squirrels While cute, squirrels can negatively impact gardens. "They eat a variety of grasses and plants found in gardens and will regularly see them as a safe, reliable place to eat," says Pearson. But the real problem with squirrels is they like to cache their food and dig many holes in the garden to store it, says Pearson. One way to keep out squirrels is to add mulch to your garden, which will make it harder for them to dig in the garden. How to Keep Squirrels Out of Your Garden 05 of 11 Tomato Hornworms lauraag / Getty Images As its name suggests, the tomato hornworm loves tomatoes. But they will eat other fruits and vegetables as well. These caterpillars are green with a single "horn" or spikey tail protruding from its end. They can grow 4 inches or larger—and they are easy to spot in the garden. The easiest way to remove them is by hand. You can relocate them to other plants in a nearby park or other open space as they grow up to become food for bats and other beneficial predators. 06 of 11 Pack Rats Pack rats are nest builders and include anything from sticks to shiny objects like aluminum foil in their nests. But they also like to visit gardens. "Pack rats frequent gardens to eat vegetation, seedlings, flowers, fruits, nuts, and berries," says Pearson. "These nimble critters are also known to gnaw the bark off of nearby trees and can transmit several diseases." The best way to get rid of pack rats is through physical removal via trapping, says Pearson. "It is recommended to reach out to a licensed wildlife control 0perator," she says. 07 of 11 Grasshoppers sandra standbridge / Getty Images Grasshoppers will chew all your plants’ leaves from flowers to vegetables. One way to deter grasshoppers is by making birds feel welcome in your garden. Birds eat grasshoppers, and if you leave bird feeders and water out for them, they will start to see your garden as a safe space to hunt for insects, including grasshoppers. 8 Ways to Attract More Birds to Your Yard, According to Experts 08 of 11 Earwigs Mostly beneficial to gardens, earwigs eat dead or decaying matter. They also like to eat aphids. But if your garden happens to have dahlias, chrysanthemums, lettuce, celery, beans, or squash, bear in mind that the earwig will also eat these. To avoid earwigs, you can keep these plants separate from your main garden or remove the earwigs by hand and relocate them. 09 of 11 Groundhogs Jean-Paul_Lejeune / Getty Images Groundhogs (or woodchucks) are herbivores and will eat fruits and vegetables. "If they can’t find vegetables and fruits, groundhogs will eat twigs, barks, blossoms, and seedlings, destroying your ornamental garden too," says Pearson. The best way to stop groundhogs from entering your garden is to remove the brush they hide in. So, trim overgrown shrubs and get rid of brush piles and tall grasses near your garden. 5 Simple Ways to Get Rid of Moles in Your Garden 10 of 11 Slugs Slugs eat at night, so they can be hard to spot, but they leave behind tell-tale signs like holes in soft plants, such as tomatoes or strawberries. Slugs will also eat leaves like those on hosta plants. Slugs follow their slime trails back to their homes, so you can find them this way if you want to capture and release the garden pest elsewhere. Otherwise, try to welcome slug predators into your garden like birds, toads, turtles, and snakes. 11 of 11 Deer Deer are majestic and beautiful, and if they wander into your garden, they are a sight to behold. However, those same beautiful deer may be coming in for a nibble—deer love to chomp on hostas, roses, azaleas, ivy, and pretty much anything in your vegetable garden. Keep them away from your garden by growing naturally deer-resistant plants and shrubs like alliums, juniper, and boxwood. You can also build a physical barrier to keep the deer out, like a fence. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit