With various insects in Indianapolis, IN, your trees and shrubs are at risk of the damage they can cause! Four of the main insects that cause damage to plants in our area are Japanese beetles, bagworms, emerald ash borers, and mites. These pests can cause extensive damage to your trees and shrubs, by either feeding on their leaves, sucking out essential plant juices, or creating unappealing bags that make your plants look messy. Keep reading to learn more about these pests, the damage they can cause to your trees and shrubs, and how to eliminate them from your plants!

1. Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetle infestation destroying a tree's leaves.

Known for their metallic bodies, Japanese beetles are pests you never want to see on your trees and shrubs. These pests are 1/3 to 1/2 an inch long and have five strips of white hair on both sides of their bodies. Japanese beetles start as white grubs that overwinter underground in your lawn, pupate in the spring, and then emerge as adult beetles around late June to early July.

While their shiny blue-green bodies can be nice to look at, these tree and shrub insects are not harmless. Japanese beetles will damage your trees and shrubs in Indianapolis, IN, by feeding on their foliage. When left to their own devices, they will skeletonize the leaves of your trees and shrubs. It's best to call professionals who can treat your plants with insecticides and know the best time to apply the treatments to effectively protect your trees and shrubs from Japanese beetle damage.

Japanese beetles can feed on over 300 different tree and shrub species.

2. Bagworms

A number of bag worms stealing nutrients from a cedar tree near Greenfield, IN.

If you want to keep your trees and shrubs looking gorgeous, bagworms are the last thing you want! These pests are the larval form of moths, and they are called bagworms not because of their appearance but because of the unappealing spindle bags they create from foliage and silk material. To make things worse, female bagworms can lay as many as 200 to 1,000 eggs inside the bags! These insects can feed on the leaves of your plants, causing substantial damage to them. The best way to protect your plants is by applying highly effective insect control treatments!

3. Emerald Ash Borers

Emerald ash borer damage on a tree trunk in Fishers, IN.

One of the most destructive pests your trees and shrubs in Indianapolis, IN, will ever have to deal with are emerald ash borers. These pests can be identified by their metallic green bodies that are 1/2 to 1/8 of an inch long. Emerald ash borers are native to Asia but are believed to have come over to the U.S. through wooden packing materials.

They will damage your trees by boring themselves into the trunk between the sapwood and bark layers where they feed. By tunneling themselves into your ash trees, emerald ash borers divert nutrients away from your tree and into them! This will deprive your plants of the nutrients they need to grow strong! Being proactive is the best way to tackle emerald ash borers, which means you need to schedule preventative insect control treatments to ensure emerald ash borers don't become a problem in the first place.

4. Mites

A red mite is crawling on an exposed tree trunch.

Mites are tiny insects that damage your trees and shrubs by feeding on the leaves of your plants and stealing nutrients from them. While there are various types of mites, one of the most common and invasive types is spider mites. Common symptoms of mite damage include:

  • Leaves falling off of your plants
  • Curling, yellowish leaves
  • Wilted leaves
  • Speckled leaves

The problem with spider mites is that they are extremely tiny and hard to detect. This means by the time you see signs of their damage, the mite population on your trees and shrubs has blown up! To stop these pests in their tracks, you need to take advantage of professional insect control treatments.

We can protect your trees and shrubs from pests with our insect control treatments. Call us today to schedule!

Your trees and shrubs don't need any pests in their lifetime. That's what we're here for. Our team at Green Again Lawn offers top-notch tree and shrub disease and insect control treatments to commercial, residential, and HOA properties in Indianapolis, Greenfield, Fishers, and Carmel, IN. Give us a call today at (317) 747-0146 to schedule our insect control treatments and we'll work hard to ensure your plants are protected from damaging pests!