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Invertebrate Pests

Invertebrate pests – insects, spiders and mites, snails, and slugs

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Snails can mow down new transplants in one night. Photo: Pexels
Snails can mow down new transplants in one night. Photo: Pexels


An invertebrate is any animal without an internal backbone including insects, spiders, mollusks, crustaceans, and worms. 
 

Insects (Arthropods) 

• Have three main body segments, three pairs of walking legs, and antennae 
• Live in the air, on and in soil, and in water
• Majority are harmless or even beneficial; less than 1% are considered pests 
• Aid in the production of fruits, seeds, and vegetables by pollinating blossoms
• Improve soil’s physical condition by burrowing throughout the surface layer 
• Some parasitize or prey on harmful insects
• Serve as food sources for birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, and other animals

> Ants
> Managing Ants in the Home
 

> More on Ants
> Managing Aphids
> Earwigs
> Scale insects
> Common types of Thrips
> Centipedes & Millipedes
> Sowbugs & Pillbugs
> Identifying and managing Yellowjackets
 
Spiders and mites (Arachnids)

• Have two main body segments, four pairs of walking legs, and no antennae
Spiders are generally beneficial because of the large number of insects they eat
 

Snails and slugs (Mollusks)

• Move by gliding along on a muscular “foot” 
• The “foot” constantly secretes mucus that helps them move and later dries to form the silvery slime trail

> More on Snails & Slugs
 
> BACK TO PROBLEMS
> GARDEN PESTS:
> Vertebrates
> Diseases