UC Gardening Blogs
Some Thoughts about Using Insecticides
While thinking about ideas for this blog, I happened upon an advertisement for a well-known “big box” store. On the front were listings of “needed” garden products: namely a known brand of insecticide NEEDED for keeping the yard and garden safe from insects (180 varieties!) that are chewing their way through gardens and yards with great glee!
I got to thinking of my knowledge of insects and discovered that I could not even name that many! Yes, aphids and thrips are on my radar, BUT 180 different varieties (?), no way. To be perfectly honest, without insects, there would be no fruits, vegetables, or flowers – THEY are the reason we have food to eat and beautiful flowers to look at. Sorry, but a garden without “bugs” would be a sad-looking picture of green for the 1st year, and then nothing the 2nd year, especially for annuals.
People often want to plant a butterfly garden, and then complain about the caterpillars eating the plants: “They are eating the plants I put out for the butterflies!” Well, the caterpillars are the butterflies to come; these folks will stop complaining when those little munchers will disappear and reappear as the butterflies they wanted in the yard, flitting among the flowers, and stopping here and there to rest or sip nectar from the blooms for a snack.
Yes, there are times when some management of insects is needed, mainly on food plants or roses (how the aphids and thrips love them). For caterpillars munching their way through the veggie patch, a product like Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is just the thing to stop those mighty jaws in mid-bite. If you have chickens, or your neighbors do, pick off the little munchers (or big in the case of tomato worms) and give those chickens a real protein snack, or otherwise toss them into a can of soapy water until they drown and then toss into garbage.
For other insects, sticky traps placed near plants can get rid of pests; blowing off aphids with a strong stream of water will do the trick, or running your fingers down the stem and squishing them works too. Soapy water is another cheap trick to get rid of insects – just spray it on.
Please do not use an indiscriminate spray – not only will you kill off the “bad” guys, but the “good” guys as well. Remember that pollinators like the bees are having enough problems as it is – do not add to them!
Fritillary caterpillar. photo by Sharon Rico
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