Gardening requires your time and effort, so do not let it all go to waste with pests and diseases. All the diseases that we will be covering in this article can easily help you prevent pests and diseases through a few precautionary measures that you can easily take.

These pesky pests and diseases are prevalent outdoors and can also be a source of misery for indoor gardeners.

To help you identify these diseases and pests so you can take the appropriate action, here is a simple checklist.

Common Pests in your Garden

Hundreds of different pests can attack and wreak havoc in your garden. Since we cannot possibly get into all of them, let's take a look at some of the typical pests you can run against.

Aphids

These tiny, lice-like bugs are difficult to spot on your plant. If you look closely, you can spot these white, black, brown, or yellow-colored insects living underneath the leaves of your plant. These sap-sucking pests can cause considerable damage to your plants and grow room.

Stunted and yellow leaves characterize an aphid infestation; these leaves usually have a sticky substance left behind by these pests, known as honeydew. The honeydew, in turn, causes fungal growth on the plant and attracts ants.

Spray them daily for over a week to get rid of them. Check out our detailed guide on how to get rid of aphids to understand them better.

Caterpillars

If your plants have holes or chewed-up leaves, then there is a possibility that caterpillars are the culprits behind them. The tops of the leaves of your plant are where butterflies lay their eggs, from which these larvae emerge. Caterpillars consume the leaves in addition to leaving behind the botrytis fungus, which causes the buds to decay. Read our guide on getting rid of caterpillars if your plants are struggling with them.

You can either spot them from the leaves or look for small black fecal matter left behind by the larvae. Once spotted, getting rid of these pests is fairly easy; pick them right off the plant, or if the problem involves more than just a few caterpillars ' apply Safer Brand Caterpillar Killer.

Fungus Gnats

Small black flies called fungus gnats are usually drawn to sweet substances like nutrients or grow medium. These mosquito-like insects' larvae feed on algae, fungi, and plant roots in the growing medium. You can control the fungus gnats’ population in your garden by allowing it to dry between every watering.

If that is ineffective, you can spray these gnats with a gnat-specific spray or use sticky traps to catch them. Please read our complete guide on fighting fungus gnats to better understand what you are dealing with.

Spider Mites

Since spider mites are difficult to see with the human eye, it can be challenging to determine whether there may be an infestation. However, if you look closely, you can confirm a spider mites infestation through tiny yellow spots and spider webs on the leaves and stems.

These pests are bad for your garden because they rapidly reproduce and suck the sap at alarmingly fast rates. Follow the correct grow room sterilization procedures by properly cleaning all your grow room instruments and equipment to keep them from taking over the complete grow space.

Since these mites grow resistant to any spray you use for extended periods, we recommend using two kinds of sprays, one after the other. Read our extensive guide covering everything you need about spider mites treatment to learn more.

Thrips

Your grow room may be under attack of a possible thrips infestation if you spot silver or bronze-colored scars on your leaves. These pests can fly from one plant to the other as they feed on developing flowers.

They can be very destructive for your plants as they deprive the leaves of chlorophyll and carry various viruses with them. To get rid of thrips from your grow room, we recommend using Doktor Doom and Fox Farm Force of Nature Insect Repellent.

Read more about thrips in our guide titled how to get rid of thrips.

Whiteflies

These tiny moth-like creatures reside under the leaves and can be spotted flying around the plants. They can devastate your entire grow room by diminishing chlorophyll production in the plants and spreading diseases.

To prevent whiteflies from spreading, plant zinnias in your grow room and observe proper grow room quarantine procedures. Treat plants by spraying them with insecticides and removing leaves that are damaged beyond help. Read our whitefly control guide to understand these pests better.

Snugs and Snails

These bugs can eat whole plants down to the roots if left unchecked. Look out for slimy trails to confirm a snug or snail infestation in your grow room. You can prevent an attack by keeping things dry and using salt or bleach sand around the plant.

Preventing common pest infestation

Certain practices can prevent a broad range of pests from attacking your grow room. Prevention techniques work better as a strategy because they are much more effective than any form of damage control you will have to resort to towards the end.

Follow these tips to keep your plants safe from pest infestation:

• Maintain a healthy, grow room atmosphere.
• Ensure that you are thoroughly cleaning all your tools and equipment when using them in another grow room area.
• Ensure that any decaying plant matter is removed as soon as possible.
• Quarantine all the new plants you plan to introduce into your grow room.
• Keep pets away from your grow rooms.
• Make sure your clothes are free of any pests or bugs when you enter one grow room from the other.
• Use growing media such as diatomaceous earth to discourage pest production.
• Use neem oil.

Common Plant Diseases

Now that we have covered all the common pests let's move on to all the diseases you should watch out for.

It's worth pointing out that some nutrient deficiency symptoms are similar to common plant diseases before we start. Read our guides to ensure that you are not just facing a simple nutrient deficiency first.

Blossom end rot

Check the bottom of your flowers to spot possible signs of rotting. As easy as it is to identify the problem, it is not as easy to treat.

This disease, which is mistakenly thought to be brought on by overwatering but is actually brought on by a calcium deficit in the plant, makes it simple to ignore.

One way to treat this problem is to add calcium supplements such as a Cal-Mag and calcium-rich soil amendments such as a bone meal.

Powdery Mildew

This fungal infection is common in cool and damp weather and appears as spotting or yellowing old growth leaves.

What makes it particularly more dangerous is that it can overwinter on dead plants and compost. To stop the fungus from contaminating the entire garden, remove the damaged leaves as soon as you see the first signs of the infection.

To find out more about Powdery Mildew, check our guide.

Root rot

Root rot is caused by overexposure to humid conditions, often caused by overwatering or poorly draining soil or fungus present in the soil. You can spot root rot by checking if the roots appear slimy and brown.

To prevent that from happening, use well-draining soil and practice better water habits so that the soil does not become water-logged. You can even try using growing media made specifically to prevent roots from rotting ' learn more from our guide on getting rid of root rot.

Preventing Common Plant Diseases

Carrying out individual prevention methods for each disease can be cumbersome, not to mention extremely expensive. Following are a few broad prevention tips that discourage the spread of diseases:

Maintain healthy watering habits and use a well-draining soil.

In order to control the humidity in the grow room, use dehumidifiers.

Stay vigilant and actively look for signs of infestations.

Discard infected parts of the plant immediately.

Once your roots start rotting, there is very little left to be done. You can try your best to salvage whatever is possible from your plant or use any of the products mentioned above specifically made to clean root mass.

Fusarium wilt

What makes this disease dangerous is that it hits the seedling stage and is a soil-borne disease. Fusarium wilt can last for years and can be extremely difficult to prevent or treat.

The only thing you can do to combat it is to use resistant varieties of plants or relocation when spotted. Learn more about this disease from our guide titled eliminating fusarium wilt.

Leaf spot

Caused by a fungus named Septoria leaf spot, this disease is prevalent in wet and humid conditions. You can spot leaf spots by looking for small dark spots on older leaves.

You can spot this virus in seedlings as well, so make sure you watch for any signs of a possible infestation. You can prevent the spread by removing debris and mulching properly. Find out more about this disease by reading about preventing and getting rid of Septoria leaf spots.

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