Beating The Bugs - integrated pest management in pesticide-free gardening - Brief Article

Flower & Garden Magazine, Sept, 2001 by Karen Dardick

The tenets of IPM call for using the least toxic methods to solve pest problems.

As any skilled gardener knows, it's a bug eat bug eat plant world. Conventional gardening wisdom used to dictate spraying pesticides in gardens at least once or twice a month to combat the hoard of chewing, sucking and biting bugs that attack flowers and vegetables. Novice gardeners are easily tempted by widespread advertising to use systemic pesticides as a seemingly simple solution to bug problems. But advanced gardeners know these quick fixes lead to more problems in the long run because plants are weakened from the ingested poisons, soil microorganisms are adversely affected, as are the numerous beneficial insects that should be dwelling in well-managed gardens * Experienced gardeners can use the principles of IPM (Integrated Pest Management) to bring invading pests under control in an environmentally benign manner. * The first step in managing a garden is to know what's happening. Be a garden sleuth. Watch your plants carefully, especially under leaf surfaces so you can detect infestations when they first occur. Some garden enthusiasts even invest in a magnifying glass to more closely observe what's crawling around under the leaves.

The next step is one that only you can decide. How much damage are you willing to tolerate? Do you exhibit your prize flowers or vegetables? If you want blue ribbons, then your pest tolerance is almost zilch. But if you're gardening for your own enjoyment or consumption, you may be able to use less aggressive attack measures and rely on Mother Nature entirely.

The tenets of IPM call for using the least toxic methods to solve pest problems. Where possible, IPM adherents encourage beneficial insects in their gardens, either by purchasing the adult or juvenile stages or by including plants to attract them. For every so-called bad bug, there's a predator eager to consume or parasitize it. The trick for gardeners is to provide a landscape where the populations are in balance. The result for the gardener is a modest amount of leaf or crop loss and a healthy environment filled with useful bugs like green lacewings, ladybird beetles, tiger beetles, green spiders, honeybees and wasps.

Another key is to recognize both the adult and the larval stages of both harmful and beneficial insects. Many beginning gardeners can recognize ladybugs with their shiny red, yellow or orange bodies, but fewer people can spot their larvae. Shaped like alligators, with red bands on black bodies, these tiny-legged creatures actually eat more aphids than the adults do. Each ladybug larva can consume 30 to 40 aphids each day.

Also learn about the eggs that good bugs lay in your plants. Ladybug eggs are yellow-orange and can be found on the undersides of leaves, so avoid the temptation to rip off the leaves because you fear a fungal attack. The eggs of lacewings are on slender filaments, again on the undersides of leaves. Their yellow or pinkish-brown larvae are shaped like spindles and have curved mandibles with which they impale aphids or other soft-bodied insects. They suck them dry and have voracious appetites.

Spiders, such as crab or green lynx, are very useful garden allies. They consume all sorts of insects, although unfortunately some useful ones, like honeybees, are part of their diets, too.

If you see wasps flying among your roses, don't bash or banish them. Entomologists (bug experts) confirm that wasps are meat-eaters and feast on the bad bugs that can attack flowers. One of their targets is thrips, tiny insects that burrow into petals and suck sap. You can tell if thrips have invaded your garden if white or light-colored flowers turn brown on their petal edges. They enter while the bud is so tight that sprays usually can't penetrate. So predators are their most effective control.

Grasshoppers can also attack gardens, chew leaves and flowers. You can dispatch them by mechanical means including the use of long-handled shears to grab them and instantly cut them up. But an even more effective control is to encourage birds to be a part of your garden. Bird feeders will attract them, but even more birds will visit your garden if you give them a safe source of water like a birdbath. Be sure there's a gently trickling source of water as it's the sound that brings many feathered visitors.

Japanese beetles are a menace in much of the nation. Handpicking really works. There are also some effective mechanical traps on the market. Check with your local nursery.

If you feel there's an infestation of invading bugs that's, well, driving you buggy, you can spot treat by hosing off the offenders or spot spraying with an environmentally benign product like insecticidal soap or a neem oil derivative. Be sure to thoroughly saturate underneath the leaves as well as top surfaces, and repeat every day for at least three or four days until most of the colony has died off.

If you're just changing from chemical poisons to IPM methods, be patient. It might take a full calendar year for your garden to establish a bug balance. But your patience will be rewarded as you save time, money and effort--all the better to enjoy your garden.