5 Pests That Love Your Valentine’s Day Flowers

Now that Valentine’s Day has come and gone, the only holiday souvenirs are the clearance shelves full of unsold candy and the lovely flower bouquets that adorn our kitchen counters. Red and pink are the customary colors for the day of love, but any type of flower is welcomed on this holiday. Flowers are so appealing that humans are not the only species who enjoys their presence. As gardeners and florists know all too well, flower bouquets are major attractants for pests if the blooms are left alone for too long. Let’s take a look at 5 frequent flower pests before we give our best tips on how to protect your Valentine’s bouquet from these creepy-crawlies.

Aphids

Favorite Flowers: dahlias, zinnias, marigolds, rose buds, peonies

Aphids are a gardener’s worst enemy and an ant’s best friend (seriously, ants farm aphids for their honeydew secretions). Using their sharp mouthparts, aphids pierce a flower on its stem or leaves and drink the sap that oozes out. This will eventually kill the flower if the aphids aren’t removed soon enough, which is easier said than done. These pests typically hide on the underside of leaves and lay their eggs directly on the plant. The adults are about 1/8 of an inch long and green-colored, so they blend in upon first glance. Aphids reproduce faster in hot weather, but even small groups of them will cause a plant or flower to wilt, curl, and yellow prematurely.

Beetles

Favorite Flowers: magnolias, goldenrods, white or green-colored flowers

Considering the fact that beetles are the most common animal on Earth — with over 400,000 species — it’s easy to see how they are common flower pests. Certain species can chew through flowers and leaves, leaving behind small holes that weaken the flower. Many species can see colors and have a good sense of smell when it comes to finding flowers. Beetles usually target young or cut flowers because they’re easier to eat, but they enjoy any blooms that are large, open, fruity, or clustered. In fact, beetles are common pollinators because the pollen sticks to their bodies and is dispersed among each flower they visit. Some species are mess and soil pollinators, meaning they leave feces on the flower after eating it (gross!).

Caterpillars

Favorite Flowers: asters, sunflowers, lavender, violets

One of the prettiest sights of spring is a butterfly fluttering around a flower garden, but to get there, we unfortunately have to experience hungry caterpillars first. The larvae are determined to become as chunky as possible in order to have enough protection when they’re inside the chrysalis, so caterpillars eat far more than butterflies. Cut flowers, young blooms, and new flowers are all vulnerable to caterpillars, so it’s not unusual to find a stray one within your Valentine’s bouquet. The butterfly’s eggs are often laid on flowers and are too small to see at first. This is what gives caterpillars and cutworms easy access to their food source. If you want to keep the caterpillar alive, you can pluck it off the bouquet and place it outside. But be warned: your outdoor plants may be at risk of becoming the caterpillar’s next meal if they’re nearby!

Flies

Favorite Flowers: daisies, roses, marigolds, white-colored flowers

We typically think of flies as nasty pests that swarm garbage dumps and trash cans, but even these unlikable creatures can’t resist a lovely flower bouquet. Flies have a few more requirements for their flower bouquets than other pests. First, there must be plenty of moisture on and near the flowers, since flies cannot eat in fully-dry environments. Also, the flowers have to have a strong odor that the flies find appealing. Certain flowers smell like mold or decay, which is a turnoff for us but great for flies! Finally, any flower that’s rich in nectar is attractive to the fly and its liquid diet. Hover flies in particular love sweet flowers and are known to visit over 50 types of crops.

Spiders

Favorite Flowers: sunflowers, snapdragons, goldenrods

Spiders are the odd pest out on this list because they don’t actually eat the flowers they visit. Instead, they use the blooms as their hiding spot while they wait for their prey to unknowingly get close enough to grab. Aphids, beetles, and caterpillars are a spider’s most common meals when they live within a flower. Spiders can survive in a wide variety of environments, so they don’t always start out living in a flower. They can hide under natural debris (rocks, soil, thick brush) outdoors, and eventually make their way inside to hide in a place rife with food sources. The crab spider is one of the most common spiders that live on flowers, but they’re pretty harmless to humans despite the arachnid’s nightmarish appearance.

Protect Your Beautiful Bouquet

Flowers cannot help but attract pests, what with their floral scents and sweet nectar. That being said, it’s entirely possible to prevent pests from attacking your pretty bouquet of flowers. All it takes is a bit of checking on your bouquet’s health to make sure it isn’t prematurely dying — or crawling with tiny bugs!

The best ways to keep your flower bouquet pest-free are:

• Inspect the flowers daily. You probably do this one naturally if your bouquet is in a high-traffic area, like the kitchen counter or dining room table. But it’s still important to make sure your flowers aren’t becoming unhealthy when they would otherwise be perfectly fine. Inspect the flowers for any signs of discoloration or wilting, and remove unhealthy flowers from the bunch.

• Keep it isolated. If your household is one that has so many houseplants that it looks like the garden center of a hardware store, adding a bouquet of flowers seems like no big deal. The specific location of your holiday flowers is up to you, but we recommend keeping them away from any other houseplants. If the bouquet is right next to a houseplant that’s invaded by pests (or vice versa), the pest-free plant is at risk of gaining the exact same pest problem.

• Shake them off. By this, we don’t mean vigorously shaking the bouquet until the petals are flying off (maybe if you really hate the flowers you received). Giving your flower bouquet a soft shake is actually a great way to remove any small pests that hide within the blooms. Gently shake the bouquet from side to side outdoors for a few seconds or until you don’t see any more loose petals or bugs falling off.

• Prune the bouquet. Speaking of loose petals, it’s a good idea to remove any unhealthy parts from the bouquet each day. Pests target plants and flowers that are already weak, so they will easily invade a Valentine’s bouquet that is a little rough around the edges. Carefully remove any dead petals and leaves every day, and make sure the vase has enough water.

• Use strong herbs. Lastly, it’s time to make use of those fresh herbs that you haven’t found a purpose for quite yet. Any type of strong-smelling herb repels most pests because they can’t stand the scent. Some common pest-repellants include lemongrass, mint, thyme, and basil. You can stick a couple sprigs of herbs into the sides of the bouquet to form a barrier around the blooms.

Pointe’s Services Bloom With Productive Solutions

Pest problems are incredibly frustrating for any homeowner, especially when the infestation only seems to grow with each passing day. Enter: Pointe Pest Control. Our experienced technicians are dedicated to solving each pest issue with the utmost efficiency and care. We begin every service with a full inspection of the property to find every area of pest activity. These findings then help us create a customized treatment plan that targets the species involved and puts preventative measures in place. We look forward to keeping your home pest-free, so contact us today for a free quote on our non toxic (and flower-friendly) services!

Citations

Beetle pollination. (n.d.). USDA: U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved February 2, 2024, from https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/beetles.shtml

Beetles. (2024, January 16). Earth and Animals. Retrieved February 2, 2024, from https://www.earthandanimals.com/advocate/wild-animals/params/post/1292907/beetles

Fallon, C. (2020, June 16). Notes from the other orders: Beetles as pollinators. Xerces Society. Available at https://www.xerces.org/blog/notes-from-other-orders-beetles-as-pollinators (Accessed on February 2, 2024).

Grozinger, C. (Dr.). (2021, August 26). Feeding the flower flies: How to attract flies to your garden. PennState Extension. Available at https://extension.psu.edu/feeding-the-flower-flies-how-to-attract-flies-to-your-garden (Accessed on February 1, 2024).

Katsipoutis, S. (n.d.). Bye, bye, buggy: How to remove bugs from plants. 1-800-Flowers. Available at https://www.1800flowers.com/blog/flower-plant-care/how-to-remove-bugs-from-plants/ (Accessed on February 1, 2024).

Smith, T. (2015). Cut flowers: Insects and mites in commercial production of field-grown cut flowers. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Available at https://ag.umass.edu/greenhouse-floriculture/fact-sheets/cut-flowers-insects-mites-in-commercial-production-of-field (Accessed on February 1, 2024).

Suyash. (2023, October 9). How to keep bugs off flowers: 5 simple ways. Balcony Garden Web. Available at https://balconygardenweb.com/how-to-keep-bugs-off-flowers/ (Accessed on February 1, 2024).