This week, we’re blogging about organic pest control. The goal of our first pest post (your garden as a mini-ecosystem) was to get you thinking about pest control in a bigger-picture way.

Catching and ID’ing bugs after school. (Photo: three girls, two with colorful nets, one with bug cage.)

The next step is to understand what is eating your plant. Know what’s eating your plant, and you’ll know the best ways to manage the pest. (Bug ID is also a great thing to do with kids right now. Have them photograph bugs in the garden-or catch them and put them in a jar- use some of the tools we list here to figure out what they are, and create a bug guide to your yard.)

Sometimes we just “google” it, but there are resources out there to help you ID your bugs. The following tools help you identify garden pests and offer suggestions about how to control them.

Farming Basics App - Created by the Alabama Cooperative Extension Beginning Farmer Program, this free app has a section all about insects.

Insect Pest Scouting for Crucifer Crops - Alabama Extension publication with great pictures of all the bugs that eat your collards, cabbages and related plants.

Insect Identification and Scouting - Dive deep into this compilation of all blog posts related to insect id on the Alabama Cooperative Extension website.

Insects in the City - From Texas A&M Extension, ID info, activities for kids, tips for management, and more, so much more!

I Naturalist - App used to identify all kinds of living things, including garden bugs. People around the world upload photos and observations and get help identifying plants, insects, birds, animals.

Now your assignment: go outside, find a bug (in Alabama it shouldn’t take long), and use one of these tools to figure out what it is. We want to hear from you! Share what you’re finding in your backyard.

Get Growing: Know Your Pest