Even though the prevalence of pests increases later in the season when generations bump up the number feeding on or affecting your plants, it doesn’t mean the spring seedlings are immune. Even now, as the soil is finally warmed up  in many areas to plant, the circle of life has begun. 

Cabbage root maggot

This is the one of the darling pests that winters over in the soil emerging early in the season. As soon as the soil temperature warms up to their desired temperature, the adults fly off and lay eggs in the soil around your plants. If your Brassicas, along with carrots, onions, and radishes, wilt or turn a yellowish, or even purple, color on the outer leaves, you can speculate the root maggot as the culprit.

The best way to deal with them is to plant later in the season (such as closer to the end of May in northern regions). You can also heap soil – and some people incorporate ash – around the base of the plant to protect it. If root maggots have been a problem in the past, cover the plants with a floating row cover. This prevents the flies from choosing your plants to lay their eggs. You can also use nematodes first thing in the season to knock out the numbers before they become a problem. If you think your plants are affected, pull them and start over, preferably in a new area of the garden. There is no good way to be rid of them. 

Tent caterpillars

As the leaves emerge on the trees and shrubs so will the tent caterpillars. While they typically don’t do a lot of harm to the plant, if it is established, but they are unsightly. You can take them out of the tree with a long tool of some sort (such as a broom) or shoot it down with a powerful stream of water. Or, you can just leave them. 

Japanese beetles

In April and May, the grubs of these nuisances are feeding on the roots of the grass in your lawn. They create brown patches among the lush spring green. The bad news is you really can’t do much about them now. Although, I will say if you have an emergency situation where they are doing an excessive amount of damage, look for a chemical control with Trichlorfon in it. The adult pests will emerge in July. Then, you’re in for a battle on your broadleaf plants. They feed for several weeks before laying eggs and starting the process all over again. Plan on treating areas of the lawn in July and August to knock out next spring’s batch of grubs. 

Fire blight

After cutting down my best pear tree because of fire blight, I wanted to stress the importance of good orchard management. It completely died at the end of last fall. Any pruning you do should be with clippers that are disinfected after each cut. Another option is spraying them with a copper dormant oil spray. Spray from now until there is about 1/2 inch of leaf exposed to stop already existent fire blight bacteria. 

Even though there aren’t grasshoppers and high numbers of pests in the garden at the moment, spring is the time to be vigilant. You don’t want to start your year already counting losses.