Sometimes the cause of a garden problem is easy to identify. Fan‑shaped mounds of soil littering a lawn are obviously the work of a pocket gopher; slime trials leading to plants with large, ragged holes in the leaves can only mean slugs or snails.

Proper planting is no guarantee that roses will continue to thrive, especially if Japanese beetles are in the neighborhood.  Japanese beetles are those winged copper and green critters you want to take a baseball bat out on.  

Ladybugs or ladybird beetles.  Whatever you call them they’re great for the yard and garden.  However, they're not without their problems. Ladybugs have nothing to do with Volkswagens or the love bug – though they are a lovable insect. 

As soon as the weather starts warming and the first sign of new growth emerges, so do aphids.  All we need is one day of warm weather and that's enough for plants to start manifesting new growth.  And that's a calling card for aphids.  

Whether there is one or a hundred and one they're called Thrips. When I was in college my entomologist instructor impressed on the class that its Thrips not  thrip that's the main reason for damaged ficus trees this time of year.