When I was a kid my dad would give me an old coffee can with several inches of gasoline in the bottom and send me out to the potato patch to pick potato bugs. I would go from plant to plant plucking striped Colorado potato beetles and their orange grub-like larva from the leaves and dropping them in the can. Dad promised me a penny apiece, but he never really counted. I probably came out ahead on the deal. It's not clear how the leaded gasoline fumes affected me.
This year I only found one potato beetle on my plants and I knocked it off and crushed it with my foot. I wasn't disappointed that they missed me.
I'm very careful about insects these days. Rather than kill every one I see, I take a moment to identify it as good bug or bad bug. I saw leaf hoppers on my sunflowers yesterday. They are hard to catch, but the destruction they cause can't be ignored. As I crept up on one I noticed an assassin bug creeping up on it from the other direction, so I left it alone. Better to leave it to the professional.
During my childhood I was fascinated with nature and had guidebooks to plants, fish, reptiles, rocks and insects. I wasn't squeamish about handling bugs because I knew what was what. Blister beetles were never to be touched, June bugs made good fish bait and grasshoppers didn't bite, but their spit would stain your skin.
In order to maintain a healthy organic ecology in the garden, it is necessary to stay calm about the first signs of insect damage. It would be tempting to start spraying all sorts of plant-based insecticides, blanketing the whole area and killing anything that moved. The problem with that approach is that it also kills beneficial insects like ladybugs, praying mantis and braconid wasps. Nuking the garden hasn't worked for chemical-based farming and it won't work for organics. Bad bugs bounce back faster and develop resistance to pesticides quicker than good bugs.
One of the first things to do is carefully inspect plants for insects or insect damage. When I see a leaf with the telltale trails of leaf miners, I pick it off and seal it in an old can I keep around for that purpose. The damage is caused by larva that live in the leaves until they hatch out. They don't live long in a coffee can. Insect eggs are usually easy to spot on plants and those leaves also go in the can.
Most of the experts I've read recommend carrying a coffee can with soapy water in the bottom to knock stink bugs and squash bugs into where they will drown. I never have a can of soapy water handy when I discover stink bugs or squash bugs, so I either knock them to the ground and smash them with my shoe or I squash them between my thumb and forefinger. As I said, I'm not squeamish. Besides, fingers are washable.
This year I only found one potato beetle on my plants and I knocked it off and crushed it with my foot. I wasn't disappointed that they missed me.
I'm very careful about insects these days. Rather than kill every one I see, I take a moment to identify it as good bug or bad bug. I saw leaf hoppers on my sunflowers yesterday. They are hard to catch, but the destruction they cause can't be ignored. As I crept up on one I noticed an assassin bug creeping up on it from the other direction, so I left it alone. Better to leave it to the professional.
During my childhood I was fascinated with nature and had guidebooks to plants, fish, reptiles, rocks and insects. I wasn't squeamish about handling bugs because I knew what was what. Blister beetles were never to be touched, June bugs made good fish bait and grasshoppers didn't bite, but their spit would stain your skin.
In order to maintain a healthy organic ecology in the garden, it is necessary to stay calm about the first signs of insect damage. It would be tempting to start spraying all sorts of plant-based insecticides, blanketing the whole area and killing anything that moved. The problem with that approach is that it also kills beneficial insects like ladybugs, praying mantis and braconid wasps. Nuking the garden hasn't worked for chemical-based farming and it won't work for organics. Bad bugs bounce back faster and develop resistance to pesticides quicker than good bugs.
One of the first things to do is carefully inspect plants for insects or insect damage. When I see a leaf with the telltale trails of leaf miners, I pick it off and seal it in an old can I keep around for that purpose. The damage is caused by larva that live in the leaves until they hatch out. They don't live long in a coffee can. Insect eggs are usually easy to spot on plants and those leaves also go in the can.
Most of the experts I've read recommend carrying a coffee can with soapy water in the bottom to knock stink bugs and squash bugs into where they will drown. I never have a can of soapy water handy when I discover stink bugs or squash bugs, so I either knock them to the ground and smash them with my shoe or I squash them between my thumb and forefinger. As I said, I'm not squeamish. Besides, fingers are washable.
Insect damage on a summer squash leaf.
Squash bugs hide on the underside of leaves, usually closest to or in contact with the ground.
An immature squash bug waiting to be smashed.
An adult squash bug. They look like an elongated stink bug and smell just as bad when smashed.
Stephen
All photos are copyright 2017, Stephen P. Scott
Comments
Post a Comment