Why do plants have pests?

We would all like to have plants that are always perfectly healthy and beautiful, but unfortunately sometimes we will have to treat them so that pests do not weaken them and spoil them. And it is that, where there are vegetal beings, there is a great variety of parasites ready to attack them as soon as the opportunity arises.

So if we ever wonder why plants have pests, then we will get the answer we are looking for 🙂.

Why can plants have pests?

There are several reasons why a plant that, one day was healthy, the next day becomes weak. The main causes are:

• Lack or excess of water: plants must be watered whenever necessary, no more, no less. It will always be better to stay short than to go too far, but it is best to check the humidity of the soil before watering, for example by introducing a thin wooden stick (if it comes out practically clean, we can water since it will mean that it is dry).
• Lack or excess of compost: for them to have good growth and development, it is important to fertilize them throughout the vegetative season (spring and summer) with specific fertilizers, following the instructions specified on the packaging.
• Excessive use of pesticides: chemical-synthetic pesticides eliminate pests quickly, but also beneficial insects.
• Inadequate planting framework: plants that are too close together, as there is no air flowing between them, have a greater tendency to have pests.
• Alien species: The native plants They are resistant to pests in the area, but non-native ones.

How to prevent them from having?

So that the plants do not have pests or, at least, that they have a lower risk of having them, it is very important to do the followinge:

• Water whenever necessary, at sunset.
• Fertilize them regularly throughout the growing season.
• Put them in the right place (shade plants, like Ferns, begonias, aspidistra, etc., must be protected from direct sunlight, while the cactus, bulbous, or flowering plants such as dimorphic libraries, among others, must be in direct sun.
• Do preventive treatments, with neem oil, potassium soap o insecticidal oil.
• Treat them with natural products.
• Plant them in the right area, taking into account the size they will have once they are adults.

That way, pests won't have much to do with plants 🙂.