Warming temperatures and moist soils are the perfect breeding environment for insects to emerge.
Hydrangeas have tender new leaves and budding flowers prime for insect feeding.
Early pest control will keep your hydrangeas looking their best and healthy.
Credit:Robbie Caponetto
They have long antennae and typically travel in large populations.
Aphids excrete the sap as honeydew, leaving leaves sticky and susceptible to sooty mold.
The mites feed on leaves, leaving a freckled appearance and light webbing.
Japanese Beetles
These are not your cute redladybugs.
Japanese beetles have copper-colored backs with a metallic green or blue head.
The beetles winter underground, with adults emerging in late spring.
They are easy to spot thanks to their size, about 1/2 inch long, and coloring.
The beetles usually feed on oakleaf hydrangea foliage, leaving veins behind for a lace-like skeleton.
Slugs
Picture Jabba the Hut fromStar Warsand it’s possible for you to quickly identify aslug.
They are brownish-gray, soft-bodied without any legs but have two pairs of feelers on their heads.
Slugs produce slime and use it to move.
Discovering a dried slime trail means that slugs are active in your garden.
They feed and pupate within the shelter.
Mealybugs
If you see tiny cottony spots on tender hydrangea stems or leaves, those aremealybugs.
The insects are small and oval with a white or gray fluffy wax coating.
They crawl and move slowly but reproduce quickly and in large numbers.
Similar to aphids, they suck sap from the plant and excrete honeydew that attracts ants and sooty mold.
Mealybugs are most often found on hydrangeas grown as houseplants.
Damage includes stunted, yellow, or wilted leaves and loss of flower buds.
Control methods include hand-picking pests from the plant, using insecticidal soaps, or applying pesticides.
A strong plant is less likely to be attacked by pests.
Avoid overhead watering to keep the foliage and blooms dry to help deter pests.
Ongoing Maintenance to Keep Pests Away
Regularly inspect your hydrangeas for early signs of pest damage.
Small infestations are much easier to control.
Dispose of the damaged branches in a trash bag; do not add clippings to the compost pile.
