Experts discuss protecting your plants against insect problems in East Texas

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - The heat doesn’t just spike the temperatures — it also spikes insect activity, and that can mean bad news for plants.

You’ve heard of the Beauty and the Beast — but summertime brings out the plants and the pests.

And that duo is no fairytale.

“We’re all working so hard to have a pretty garden, pretty flowers and pretty leaves...and they’re gonna eat all of those things!” Master Gardener Laurie Brown said.

There are two main things Brown said to look for first.

“If you have a bunch of miscellaneous white flies all flying around a plant or you look over and you see a bunch of holes in the leaves — that’s something,” Brown said.

Extra visits from animals digging around may indicate a problem underneath.

“That’s also a heads up that you’ve got maggots under the ground or something like that,” Brown said.

Longview Arboretum Gardener Ken Davis said not all bugs are harmful.

“Your ladybugs, your praying mantis are beneficial in the garden,” Davis said. “I try to steer away from chemicals that will affect bees and butterflies, cause we need them. Without pollinators we wouldn’t have any food.”

And some insects may scare off bigger threats.

“They have defense mechanisms,” Davis said. “A predator insect comes in and they see this weird lookin’ bug with strange eyes and different colors — it can distract the bug.”

As for checking for the bugs you can’t see:

“You can take a piece of paper underneath the plant and shake the plant onto the white paper, rake your hand across that and if you see red streaks — that’s spider mites.”

Davis said insects usually pick leaves over blooms, so a rough-looking plant doesn’t necessarily mean the end.

“Nobody wants this in their yard. But it’s healthy. You can see right here, there’s a healthy cambium layer it’ll leaf back out,” Davis said. “Happy gardening!”

Both Davis and Brown said, as simple as it sounds, sometimes the best plant health tip is to keep them hydrated. The healthier the plant, the harder it is to take it out.