Attention scouts: Crops that are insect “magnets” in the greenhouse

Heidi Lindberg<wollaege@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - February 02, 2017

We review the most common hosts for the top greenhouse insect pests.

Some crops are notorious insect magnets for certain insects, like Mandevilla is for spider mites. Every year, the pest pressure in greenhouses fluctuates with many factors. West Michigan IPM, who provides scouting services to clients in west Michigan, has put together a list of common greenhouse insects and crops on which pests are most commonly found. This list is an aggregation of observations from 2016 and is continually changing with the crops being grown, weather conditions, suppliers, crop movements and many other factors.

For example, root aphids were a problem for succulent growers last growing season, but they were not included on this list. Greenhouse scouts can use this list as a guide when scouting their crops for the 2017 growing season.

Aphids, thrips, mites and whiteflies can be found on many other types of plants grown in greenhouses, but the plants listed below are some of the favorites of each of the pests listed below.

Common hosts for top greenhouse insect pests
Aphids	Broad mites		Western flower thrips		Spider mites
Peppers	Zonal geraniums		Dracaena		Tricolor ipomoea
Celosia	New Guinea impatiens		Ivy geraniums		Dracaena
Pansy	Thunbergia		Ipomoea		Mandevilla (other tropical)
Dracaena	Torenia		Verbena		Herbs
Ipomoea	Verbena		Marigold		Chrysanthemums
Salvia	Rieger begonias		Chrysanthemums		Ivy geranium
Sprengeri (Asparagus fern)	Scaevola		Dahlia		Hedera (ivy)
Marigold	Angel wing begonia		Double impatiens		Marigold
Fuchsia	Ivy geranium		Peppers		Dahlia
Ivy and zonal geraniums	Buddleia		New Guinea impatiens		Buddleia
Whitefly		Mealybug		Scale
Herbs (esp. sage)		Tropical plants		Tropical plants
Poinsettia		Hedera
Lantana		Succulents (Sempervivum)
Ipomoea		Sedum
Black and blue salvia		Pothos
Black and blue salvia		Ivy geranium

Thank you to Mark Crossley of Western Michigan IPM for releasing this list.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).