When bugs grow to be backyard pests

Insects are our friends.

Without it, the web of nature collapses. That’s how important insects are to the world we live in.

However, aside from insect hotels, we all agree that there are some insect pests that need to be controlled.

Here is a list of the most common insect pests invading our gardens at this time of year – and our recommended non-chemical controls:

Japanese beetle. Hello climate change. A generation ago, this common garden pest was unknown in these areas as our winters were severe enough to kill them. Now, Japanese beetles love to forage on lawns, linden trees, grapevines, roses, and more. You are voracious.

You can read elsewhere that the best control is hand-picking. We say nonsense. Once you get started, you might as well quit your day job as it becomes endless. Pheromone (sex) traps work best in the urban garden. Hang them where the problem is most persistent and empty them at least once a week.

Gypsy moth. The caterpillars of the gypsy moth arrive in such numbers that they can really be called hordes. Many communities spray with the relatively benign Bacillus thurengensis – or BT – when the moths are in the larval stage. The liquid reacts with the stomach lining of the larvae and makes them burst at the seams. Unkind. But also not the defoliation of your trees when they arrive. Or the grass, their droppings, when they fall from the trees above.

The stickiest stuff in the universe has to be Tanglefoot. Squeeze a ring of it around the perimeter of a tree, just below the lowest branches, and larvae will get stuck in it. We hear reports that supplies are limited and other reports that small birds can get stuck in it (it’s so sticky).

You can hand pick the larvae and dip them in a bucket of water with a little vegetable oil. Note that the gypsy moth larvae rarely kill trees, despite the leafless state in which they leave them.

Grubs. White maggots, gray maggots, both eat grass roots and cause damage. But not so much as the raccoons, skunks, and possums that roam your lawn at night looking for them. Grubs are shrimp cocktails for these nocturnal critters.

Control them now with nematodes, which are available from specialist gardeners. Mix them with water and spray the solution on your lawn and water it thoroughly. Nematodes occur naturally and do not harm your plants.

Colorado beetle. If you grow potatoes, you have the Colorado potato beetle. Where are you from? We have no idea. Once Colorado, but now here, they’re Ontario Colorado beetles.

Choose them by hand or apply a dry powder of silicon dioxide or diatomaceous earth; It is packaged in a squeeze bottle and sold as an ant or crawling insect control. It removes the waxy, protective coating on the beetle’s belly. Apply again after rain or watering.

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Cabbage moth. This pretty white little butterfly that you will see flying around your garden is laying eggs from little green caterpillars. Unlike a Cabbage Patch doll, which is fun and cuddly, the moth larvae are hungry for the leaves of every member of the cabbage family, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and of course, cabbage. Silicone dioxide works well in dry weather. A butterfly net works, but when you catch a desirable butterfly, thank it and let it go.

Which brings us to the core of the topic: 99 percent of all insects are useful and freelancers work in nature in the natural cycle of eating-and-being-eaten. A nesting family of downy woodpecker eats up to 14,000 caterpillars per day (busy mother), so we need them.

The gardener also has many pest control fans. Songbirds and bats look for insects with devotion. Frogs and toads eat flying insects including mosquitoes. Snakes, possums, skunks, and even raccoons look for and devour ground insects.

We have friends in the pest control department. Let’s not rock the boat.

Mark and Ben Cullen are seasoned gardeners and contributors to the star. Follow Mark on Twitter: @ MarkCullen4