Gardeners have many pests to contend with. Some of the worst of these are cutworms, black vine weevil and earwigs. They don't fight fair - they do their damage after dark and are seldom spotted by the gardener.

If you find holes eaten in your tomatoes and other produce, cutworms may have caused it. Typical cutworm damage would be plants that are cut off near ground level. Surface cutworms do this. The cutworms that are eating your tomatoes are the climbing variety. They feed above ground on any part of the plant. Sometimes they will climb up into the tops of fruit trees to feed. In one night, climbing cutworms can devour all but the stem of a plant and then move on to another plant to feed.

Cutworms are hairless caterpillars that can grow up to 2 inches long. They curl up, however, when disturbed. To detect cutworms during the day, dig the soil around the plants to a 2-inch depth. They can be eliminated at night by inspecting plants with a flashlight. Cultivation of the garden in the late fall will help expose and destroy larvae and pupae before the next growing season.

If the leaves on your rhododendron and yew are scalloped or notched on the edges, that is a sign of black vine weevil damage. This insect is black or grayish and is about ½-inch long. It has an elephant-like snout with rows of tiny round depressions on its back. The adult weevils feed at night, notching leaf margins.

The feeding detracts from the appearance of the plant, but usually does not cause serious damage. However, severe damage and death of the plant may result from the larvae of the weevil, which feed on the roots of the plant. The weevils have been laying eggs for several weeks now. The white larvae feed on the roots until fall and again in the spring. When infestations are heavy, the plant no longer receives enough nutrients and water and eventually dies.

To control black vine weevils, spray the foliage and soil around the plant with Isotox or Orthene. Start spraying immediately and repeat three more times at intervals of three weeks.

Earwigs are 1-inch long, reddish brown insects with forcep-like pincers that extend from the back end. The pincers are used as offensive and defensive weapons and sometimes catch insects - which they eat.

Earwigs' main sources of food are plants, ripe fruit, and decaying organic matter. Young earwigs eat ragged holes in the leaves of many vegetables and flowers in spring and early summer. Older earwigs feed on blossoms and corn silk causing poor kernel development on the cob.

Earwigs feed only at night and hide during the day. They hide in damp, dark places such as under flower pots, in wood piles, plant refuse, or homes.

Unlike other nighttime insects, earwigs do not leave a distinctive sign that they have been feasting in your garden. If you think they have been eating your plants, inspect the plants at night with a flashlight.

Diazinon is the recommended control for vegetables and flowers. Baygon is an earwig bait that can be used around flowers but cannot be used around vegetables.