00:00:00
We talk a lot as gardeners about how to do things in the garden
00:00:05
that deter pests specifically the insect pests, that likes you
00:00:08
to holes in our leaves. Devour our fruit, and just
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generally, lay waste to all of our hard efforts.
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We also talked about attracting beneficial insects to the
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Garden, both pollinators and predators.
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What we don't talk about as often is how to identify, which
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of those Critters is beneficial and which is causing Havoc.
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Sometimes they can look very similar to each other and
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sometimes the ones that look, the most menacing are actually
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the good guys ever seen a ladybug larvae.
00:00:38
Yeah, those tiny little orange and black alligator.
00:00:41
We want those in the garden. So today in just grow something,
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we're talking insect identification, how do we know
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what? Insects in our garden are pests
00:00:52
in our region. And how do we even start to
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identify these pests? By the end of the episode?
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You'll know what steps to take to find out, what's good, what's
00:01:01
bad and how to tell the difference let's dig in.
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Hey, I'm Karen. And what started as a small
00:01:07
backyard garden 20 years ago turned into a lifelong passion
00:01:11
for growing food. Now, is a market, farmer and
00:01:13
horticulturist. I want to help you do the same
00:01:15
on this podcast. I am your friend in the garden,
00:01:18
teaching evidence-based, techniques to help you grow your
00:01:21
favorite and build confidence in your own garden space.
00:01:24
So, grab your garden journal, and a cup of coffee and get
00:01:27
ready to just grow something. Before we jump in, this is your
00:01:34
gentle reminder to add nutrients to your containers.
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If you are growing in pots or small Planters, yes, we should
00:01:41
be amending our containers in some way.
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And sometimes in the same way that we do our larger Planters
00:01:49
and our in-ground containers. But, but the smaller stuff, we
00:01:52
may not always feel the need to add compost or refresh the soil,
00:01:56
as often as we should the smaller the volume of soil.
00:02:00
The more quickly, the soil nutrients are going to be
00:02:04
depleted, especially if we have a very demanding planes in that
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soil. So, we need to be adding some
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food of some sort for that soil. And for those plants, if you've
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got a lot of containers and you don't want to buy specific plant
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food for each one, depending on what it is that you're growing
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in each one. That's okay.
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Just get yourself a balanced Amendment and followed
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directions for using that Amendment on the package.
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I like a liquid version. And I like to do it about once
00:02:34
every two weeks or so, or maybe once per month, depending on
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what I'm growing. But a granulated version is
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fine, too. If you want to work that into
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the soil and then just let it slowly release into that soil,
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over a period of six rate weeks. Just make sure that you are
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feeding those plants so they can continue to produce for you all
00:02:53
season long or for as long as they are viable.
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Also, shout out to Rook my newest Patron over on patreon.
00:03:02
Rick has joined at the bicar in a coffee level to support my
00:03:06
caffeine habit while I'm over here cranking, these episodes
00:03:09
out to you, if you want to be like rook and other patrons who
00:03:13
are supporting this show in different ways you can head to
00:03:15
patreon.com slash just grow something or buy me a coffee.com
00:03:21
slash just grow something for both monthly or one-time option
00:03:24
to support the show. Both of those links are always
00:03:27
in the show notes, thank you, Rick, for your support.
00:03:30
It really does mean a lot this episode was inspired by a
00:03:38
comment that I got from Manda on Spotify for the episode that we
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did on companion planting myths and tips that was episode 246
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She said can you please do an episode on beneficial bugs
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versus the damaging one? I struggle to identify the good
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and the bad ones. That was a great suggestion.
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So here we are today. If you ever have a suggestion
00:04:02
for an episode, feel free to comment on the episode in
00:04:06
Spotify or on YouTube you can also send me a DM on socials or
00:04:11
just send me an email to grow at just grow something podcast.com.
00:04:15
I read every single comment and every single message and every
00:04:18
single email and I am happy to have suggestions for Content
00:04:22
after four years of doing this every single week.
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So thank you for the suggestion, mana on we go. so, Understanding
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which insects are beneficial and which ones are harmful is really
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crucial for maintaining a healthy garden.
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Ecosystems, we obviously don't want the insects that are going
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to continue to predate on our things that we are trying to
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grow to be able to each or even just for the beauty of them.
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And we also want to encourage the beneficials that are in
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there at without damaging them. So we don't want to just blanket
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Lee being, you know, spraying insecticides or using things
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that might hurt the pollinators and all.
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So the other beneficials that you know, kind of do pest
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control for us. so, Just to kind of Define what it is that we're
00:05:12
talking about when I'm saying beneficial insects, I'm talking
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about those insects that play very vital roles, like
00:05:18
pollination or Pest Control meaning they predate on other
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insects and decomposition. So for instance, ladybugs
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specifically ladybug larvae, they consume large quantities of
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aphids. All right of course we're all
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thinking about bees bees are our essential pollinators and I'm
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not talking about honey. Bees necessarily goes are
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imported here in North America. If you're someplace over in
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Europe, then yes. Maybe you know the bees, the
00:05:47
honey bees are you know, doing a lot of the pollination there but
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our native pollinators here as well are native bees, but all,
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so butterflies and that sort of thing, even things like pill
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bugs. They are very good for breaking
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down that detritus. That is in our soil, or on top
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of our soil. So those data indicating matter
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and breaking that down. So it works its way as fresh
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hummus into our soil, right? These are all beneficial things
00:06:15
that we want happening in our Gardens.
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The pest insects are the ones that can damage what we are,
00:06:23
growing by feeding on the leaves, or the stems, or the
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roots, or the fruits, or just by transmitting diseases through
00:06:33
that, feeding activity, or even pollination activity.
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So, you know, it may not be necessarily that they're feeding
00:06:41
is destroying the plant but then in that point they transmit a
00:06:44
disease and that disease ends up damaging the plants.
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So Aphids for example, they suck the sap from the plants, they
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can also spread viruses, but in most instances it's about, you
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know, the damage that they do, if they get to be overwhelming
00:07:00
for a plant, a lot of plants can handle a little bit of aphid,
00:07:03
predation, but once it starts to get overwhelming, then they
00:07:06
start to succumb cucumber beetles.
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They don't necessarily damage the plants as much as you might
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think. They damage the fruit.
00:07:12
They can absolutely damage the actual cucumber itself, but as
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their feeding on the plant, they are actually transmitting
00:07:20
bacterial Wilt and that is what eventually ends up killing off
00:07:24
your cucumber plant. Those pill bugs that I
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mentioned. Yes, they are beneficial in the
00:07:31
garden because they are eating that dead and decaying matter.
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And so it's turning that matter back into nutrients in the soil
00:07:37
and really good hummus for the soil.
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But in two high of a quantity in the garden.
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They can also cause damage to the crops that we are trying to
00:07:46
grow if there isn't enough in the soil for them to be breaking
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down. And they are being attracted to
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those copious amounts of mulch that we're laying down and that
00:07:54
mulches too close, maybe to our plants or it's trapping a lot of
00:07:58
moisture. And we've had a really, really
00:08:00
rainy season. Then the pill bugs will, you
00:08:03
know, be there in Mass. There's nothing for them to eat,
00:08:06
so they start to eat your plants or the roots of your plants.
00:08:10
I've, you know, how to radishes damage here recently, because of
00:08:13
the high number of pill bugs had a friend message me saying, oh
00:08:16
my gosh, these pill bugs are eating my lettuces.
00:08:18
What do I do? So, don't ever let anybody tell
00:08:20
you that pill bugs. Don't eat your plants, they
00:08:22
absolutely do, but they generally will do it.
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When they're is a mass amount of them and they don't have
00:08:28
anything else. To chew on are they don't have
00:08:30
anything else to eat, right? So, these are all things that we
00:08:33
have to concern ourselves with and we talk about something
00:08:35
being a pest. When we are trying to identify.
00:08:40
What is in our Gardens in terms of good bug versus bad bug,
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right? There are a couple of different
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resources that I'm going to recommend to you and places for
00:08:49
you to start. I always think it's a great idea
00:08:52
to start with your local University, extension service
00:08:56
and or your State's Department of Conservation.
00:09:00
This is going to give you very region specific information on
00:09:07
insect ID. You know, I talk a lot about
00:09:11
squash bugs and Vine borers and cucumber beetles because again,
00:09:15
those are the bane of my existence in one of the largest
00:09:18
crops that I grow out here. People in other areas of North
00:09:22
America have no idea what those things are because they just
00:09:26
don't exist in that area or they are so few and far between that
00:09:30
it's not something that they have to concern themselves with.
00:09:33
They don't need to identify those insects. but, In their
00:09:38
area. It may be Melanie worm or
00:09:40
pickleworm, which I have never seen and I would have no reason
00:09:44
to worry about what a melon more a pickle worm looks like or how
00:09:47
to keep them out of my garden because we don't have those
00:09:49
here, so your University extension service.
00:09:54
Oftentimes, they are going to have places on their website,
00:09:57
that is going to talk about the crops that are most commonly
00:10:01
grown in your area. Whether that is a commodity type
00:10:05
crop or it is something that gardeners are growing and every
00:10:08
University extension is different, you know.
00:10:11
It varies from state to state but this is, you know, a general
00:10:14
rule of thumb for your extension services.
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They're going to have that information somewhere on the
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site and under the description of each of those things,
00:10:21
oftentimes they will tell you what the insect pests are.
00:10:27
That predate on, that particular crop for your particular area.
00:10:32
So, you know, if I go to a general website that says, okay,
00:10:37
you know if you're growing squashes you could potentially
00:10:41
have these insect pests. And it gives me a whole laundry
00:10:47
list of insects that might predate on squash, that's not
00:10:52
getting me anywhere. Because now, I think I have to
00:10:54
figure out what 12 different insects look like when maybe
00:10:57
only three of those actually exist in my state.
00:11:01
So starting with your University extension service or again going
00:11:04
to your Department of Conservation.
00:11:05
They oftentimes are also going to have lists of insect pests
00:11:11
for your particular state or at least your region that is going
00:11:15
to give you a place to start. So as you are planting your
00:11:21
garden or you are even just planning your garden and what it
00:11:24
is that you want to grow. You might want to familiarize
00:11:26
yourself ahead of time of what you might want to be looking
00:11:30
for. So another resource that you can
00:11:33
use or other resources, you can use online, are things like bug
00:11:38
guide.net. This is an online community and
00:11:40
a database that is how hosted by Iowa State University.
00:11:44
So it offers a lot of information and identification
00:11:47
assistance for North American insects and for my non-north
00:11:52
American listeners. I apologize.
00:11:54
I am not super familiar with all the resources that you have, but
00:11:58
I'm hoping that there is something that is the
00:12:00
equivalent. In your area to like our
00:12:03
University extension service or our Departments of conservation
00:12:06
that will help you all with regions, specific information.
00:12:09
And then maybe you have something like a bug guide dot
00:12:12
net. That does for you what they do
00:12:14
for us here in North America. It is specific to you know,
00:12:19
identifying North American insects and it's really good,
00:12:24
it's got pictures, it's got all kinds of things.
00:12:26
It's got a search function in there that will help you to
00:12:28
break down. You know, the identifying
00:12:31
characteristics of what it is that you're searching for and
00:12:33
help you to find it. You can also use Google and
00:12:39
other search functions to help you.
00:12:41
Identify these insect pests. Particularly, if you are able to
00:12:46
use Google's lens function, it's very very helpful to take a
00:12:52
photo of the insect that might be in question and then use your
00:12:58
Google Lens search in order to be able to find images that are
00:13:02
very similar to what Google Lens sees in your photos.
00:13:05
So your guide for this is going to make sure that you're getting
00:13:08
as close up as possible, you're showing as much detail as
00:13:11
possible. You're kind of cropping out and
00:13:14
anything extra that might be in that photo so that the search
00:13:17
function. Can actually focus on just what
00:13:19
it is that, you want it to identify and then see what you
00:13:22
can find. That is very similar, then Trace
00:13:26
that image back to where it originated and make sure that it
00:13:30
is a trusted source for identification.
00:13:32
So, again, a University, extension website, Maybe it does
00:13:37
lead back to bugguide.net or some other service that is
00:13:40
helping to identify insects. The thing about using these
00:13:44
online searches is that you need to be very specific about what
00:13:49
information you are entering into these resources and how you
00:13:53
enter it in order to be able to really narrow down the search
00:13:57
and we will get to that in here in a second, okay?
00:14:00
And then finally, if you can get your hand on something like a
00:14:05
Peterson's Field Guide for insects, this is what I use.
00:14:10
And the only reason I even have this is because I got it as part
00:14:14
of my undergrad studies. So it has a lovely pictured.
00:14:20
He to the principal orders of insects in the front and the
00:14:25
back cover, and it has a really cool.
00:14:27
So sort of method for being able to Identify or break down what
00:14:33
you're looking at. By asking very specific
00:14:37
questions. Does it have wings, does it not
00:14:40
have wings? You know, if it does have wings,
00:14:42
is it got you know, two parts to the wings?
00:14:45
Is it have four parts to the wings?
00:14:46
Are they visible all the time? Are they not?
00:14:48
Are they talked under, you know, and then it goes on to the next
00:14:52
thing and the next thing. And the next thing in bite order
00:14:55
of elimination, essentially it goes all the way through the key
00:14:59
until it finally gets you To at least the family that that
00:15:05
insect falls into and then you can go and look up the family
00:15:09
and it has all kinds of pictures in it of what the insects are
00:15:14
that fall into that family that are most common and so it gives
00:15:18
a description of each one of those insects and it shows a
00:15:21
picture, you know, breaking it down and makes it a lot easier
00:15:23
for you to figure out. Okay, if you figured out that
00:15:26
this insect is in the family homoptera, then we break it down
00:15:31
into the cicadas and The Hoppers and the white flies and the
00:15:36
aphids and then it breaks it down into.
00:15:38
Okay, well this is what a plant Hopper looks like and this is
00:15:40
what a white fly looks like. So it is very, very handy for me
00:15:46
and somebody who is very nerdy when it comes to this kind of
00:15:51
stuff. But I understand that not
00:15:54
everybody has a Peterson Field Guide for insects sitting on the
00:15:58
bookshelf in their office. For these particular things.
00:16:02
Something that you want to pick up, its really great.
00:16:03
All so for like when you go on a hike, And you see something that
00:16:07
you've never seen before. If you can take a picture of it
00:16:09
and come back, you can actually, you know, use this guide and a
00:16:14
very clear photo of the insect that you're trying to identify
00:16:17
to go through and figure out what it was.
00:16:19
You were actively looking for. But also you know the things
00:16:23
that this field guide talks about in terms of its
00:16:26
identification are really essential for helping us enter
00:16:31
in those parameters into an online search as well. the
00:16:35
identification of insects is not that much different from iding,
00:16:43
a bird or a mammal or a plant, even if it's just a matter of
00:16:47
knowing, What to look for? And then using a process of
00:16:53
elimination, essentially, to figure out what we're looking
00:16:56
at. The thing that complicates
00:16:59
identifying insects is that there are so many different
00:17:04
kinds. I think in North America alone,
00:17:06
there are over 88 species of insects.
00:17:12
And a lot of them are really really small, which makes it
00:17:16
hard to see all the different parts that we need to see in
00:17:19
order to recognize those parts in order to ID them.
00:17:22
So, you know, yeah, this is not something that is easy to do and
00:17:26
it's people, you know, people spend their entire careers
00:17:29
identifying insects and and finding new ways to identify
00:17:33
them. And then we also have to take
00:17:34
into consideration that a large portion of these insects look,
00:17:38
completely different as larvae and as or juveniles as they do
00:17:46
as adults. So, I mean, remember, the
00:17:48
ladybug larvae I mentioned. Yeah, looks nothing.
00:17:51
Like a ladybug when it's in its infancy, right?
00:17:54
So I am going to try to give you some key information that you
00:17:59
can use to help narrow down your search.
00:18:02
When you are trying to identify an insect in your garden, the
00:18:06
more information you have, when you go and do that search, the
00:18:10
closer, you'll get you absolutely want to start with
00:18:14
understanding. What it is that you might be
00:18:16
looking for. Again, making sure that, you
00:18:19
know, what insect pests or beneficials are prevalent in
00:18:24
your area by looking at University extension or looking
00:18:28
at your department of conservation or natural
00:18:30
resources or whatever. And then understanding these
00:18:33
basic insect identification techniques.
00:18:36
So you can enter your search and be more accurate.
00:18:41
I am super excited that my rose bush from Heirloom Roses has its
00:18:47
first Bloom of the Season. It opened up this week and there
00:18:51
is another one not far behind and I cannot wait to see how
00:18:54
many I get this year after I got three immediately after I
00:18:58
planted it last fall. The one thing I'm paying
00:19:01
attention to is the nutrition of the plant and Heirloom Roses has
00:19:05
me covered on that one with all kinds of options on their
00:19:08
website. They have multiple options for
00:19:10
feeding your roses and one thing I'm obsessed with and that's the
00:19:14
mint compost. Mint compost is exceptional, at
00:19:18
providing. Moisture, retention in Sandy dry
00:19:20
soils, while also rich in natural humans to help break up
00:19:24
hard, clay soils, if you're planting your rows in the
00:19:27
ground, your I, of course, opted for a container from my roads.
00:19:30
And the mint compost can also be used as a mulch, top dressing
00:19:34
around my rose bush to help repel aphids and spider mites.
00:19:38
And the other damaging insects that Talking about today that
00:19:42
like to play our roses head to heirloom roses.com, pick out
00:19:46
your beautiful rose plants, add some soil, amendments, and some
00:19:50
mint compost and use code. Just grow at checkout to save
00:19:54
20%, heirloom roses.com with code, just grow the link as
00:19:59
always is in the show notes. Okay.
00:20:02
So what are the basic sort of insect identification techniques
00:20:09
that we can use in order to track down what it is that we're
00:20:15
looking at? The first thing to do is
00:20:18
identify its physical characteristics.
00:20:19
Now, This is going to be a lot easier.
00:20:23
If you can take a picture and then you have time to sit and
00:20:28
look at the darn thing and figure out what it is that
00:20:32
you're looking at. If you try to do this on the
00:20:34
Fly, I mean, yes. Unintended I guess it makes it a
00:20:39
little bit more difficult because you're trying to think
00:20:41
back in your brain, okay, what am I supposed to be figuring out
00:20:44
what? So, you know, I get it.
00:20:46
If you have your phone with you out in the garden, you can snap
00:20:49
a picture great. This makes it easier if you
00:20:52
happen to be out there with a notebook in your, maybe taking
00:20:54
notes in your garden journal, wink, wink nudge.
00:20:58
Then you might be able to write down some quick notes about
00:21:01
this, but just know that this is going to take some practice in
00:21:04
in figuring out what it is that you're looking at.
00:21:06
So, you know, don't beat yourself up if this sounds like
00:21:08
it's hard. the first thing that you want to do is, Note its body
00:21:14
shape and size. So is it elongated?
00:21:17
Is it oval? Is it more round?
00:21:20
How big is it? And if you can kind of compare
00:21:23
this to something else that is stable in the garden.
00:21:25
So, you know, if you see it land on a flower and then it flies
00:21:30
away and you're trying to approximate its size.
00:21:32
Well, then measure the size of the flower and then you can add
00:21:34
that in there. This is an insect that is, you
00:21:36
know, 0.25 inches long, or it's four centimeters or whatever it
00:21:41
might be, okay? So the body shape and the size
00:21:44
are some identifying characteristics Coloration and
00:21:48
marking, this is something else. So what colors does it have,
00:21:52
does it have any distinctive patterns or spots on it?
00:21:56
And when we talk about the colors, you know, is it orange
00:22:00
and black? And where is the orange?
00:22:02
And where is the black? Is it happen?
00:22:04
Orange. Body with black wings, does it
00:22:06
have, you know, orange and black wings with a black body?
00:22:09
All of these things are very particular information that you
00:22:13
could be entering into these search engines or into these
00:22:16
online resources. That is going to help you
00:22:18
further identify what it is that you're looking at.
00:22:21
So determine whether or not it has wings.
00:22:26
Whether or not those wings remain visible at all times, say
00:22:30
like a dragonfly, or if it's something that it tucks
00:22:34
underneath a hard shell, like certain Beatles, okay?
00:22:38
If you can count the number of wings, it's a single set of
00:22:42
wings. Are they dual sets of wings like
00:22:44
again on a dragonfly where it has two larger ones, and then
00:22:47
two smaller ones behind it. Also, what about its legs?
00:22:51
How long are the legs are they tucked up underneath its body?
00:22:55
Are they out splayed out to the side.
00:22:57
These are things that you can you know, put in as another
00:23:00
identifier, another one that's really good.
00:23:03
Is whether or not it has antennae if it does have
00:23:06
antennae How long are they antenna?
00:23:09
And what is the shape? There are some very specific
00:23:12
shapes to antenna that will indicate what family that insect
00:23:18
is in. Does it look like a fan?
00:23:20
Is it straight with like a little ball at the end of it?
00:23:23
Like, we typically think of, oh, and antennae are those actually
00:23:26
antenna or are they eyeballs. That's the other thing.
00:23:29
Make sure you understand what it is.
00:23:31
It's you're looking at. So that is why it's really a
00:23:34
good idea if you're trying to ID something that you take a
00:23:36
picture of it, okay? The next thing that we want to
00:23:39
observe is its behavioral traits.
00:23:43
Specifically, we are looking at feeding habits.
00:23:47
So what does it doing? When it's eating, is it chewing
00:23:52
on the leaves? Is it sucking the sap or is it
00:23:55
praying on another insect? Right?
00:23:58
This is going to let us know number one, if it's a problem in
00:24:02
the garden, if it's chewing the leaves, or if it's sucking the
00:24:04
sap or if it's praying under insect, that's likely a
00:24:08
beneficial insect. In our garden.
00:24:10
The feeding habits of the insect is going to indicate to us what
00:24:14
its mouth parts are like. And so we have you know biting
00:24:18
mouth parts, we have sucking mouth parts and we have chewing
00:24:21
mouth parts and so these are things that we can use to
00:24:24
identify the insect, the time that it is active in, the garden
00:24:29
is also important. Is it during the day, or is it
00:24:32
more at night? Obviously, a lot of us aren't
00:24:34
out there in our Gardens, in the pitch black.
00:24:37
But if you're out there very, very early morning, like Dawn,
00:24:41
or if you're out there late at night, or late in the evening,
00:24:43
when it's dust, you know, our pollinators and our beneficials,
00:24:47
a lot of the time are really most active between.
00:24:50
Like 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. So if you're out there very
00:24:54
early morning, just as the sun is coming up and you're seeing
00:24:56
this insect activity, it very well, may be something that's
00:24:59
left over from the overnight hours.
00:25:02
Same thing as you're going late into the evening, the Moon is
00:25:06
coming out. The Sun is going down.
00:25:08
If you have a lot of very active insects out there, those also
00:25:12
might be more nocturnal insects and that is going to help you
00:25:15
determine what it actually is. And whether or not, it's a good
00:25:18
guy or a bad guy, right? And then all so consider, you
00:25:23
know, its habitat, its location. Where was the insect found was
00:25:29
it on specific plants? Was it in the soil?
00:25:33
Was it out and flying around the flowers Its Behavior and where
00:25:41
you're finding, it is all going to be something that's going to
00:25:44
help narrow down what it is that you're looking at and keep in
00:25:48
mind. A lot of insects can be
00:25:51
recognized. By their General parents as
00:25:56
belonging to a specific family and that's going to give you
00:25:59
some really good information. So, you know, you know you you
00:26:02
generally know what like a grasshopper looks like.
00:26:05
You don't necessarily need to know what kind of grasshopper it
00:26:08
is. Because, you know, most
00:26:09
instances, The Grasshoppers are not going to do things that are
00:26:12
really, really good for your garden.
00:26:13
So if you have too many of them, I might be a problem. but, The
00:26:17
closer you look. And the more information that
00:26:20
you have about the insects body parts, its behaviors its habits.
00:26:26
The more likely you will be to track down the insect, the
00:26:30
actual insect that you are. Looking at on one of your
00:26:32
resources, and get more info is to whether or not, it's always a
00:26:37
pest or if it's only sometimes a pest, if it's there in Mass
00:26:41
again, like, you know, the Pill bugs, or even grasshoppers, or
00:26:46
if it's something that's always a beneficial or, you know, it's
00:26:50
always one of the bad guys, right?
00:26:51
So I mean look we have some very common beneficial insects
00:26:56
ladybugs and generally speaking, this is all ladybugs and when I
00:27:02
say all ladybugs, I mean anything that is in the Cox of a
00:27:05
Cox in Nelly, I think I said that properly Cox and yellow Day
00:27:10
family. Um, we do have certain ones here
00:27:15
specifically in Missouri that are not like the ladybugs that
00:27:20
we are used to, in terms of, you know, eating the aphids and that
00:27:24
sort of thing. They're a Japanese ladybug I
00:27:27
believe or Japanese lady Beetle. That tend to congregate in the
00:27:33
fall around, door jambs, Etc, and they can actually bite you
00:27:36
but they also are beneficial. They tend to be treated rollers
00:27:40
rather than you know, dwelling down on our Gardens and so yes,
00:27:44
they again can be a nuisance if they are there in Mass.
00:27:50
So even though all ladybugs are predators of aphids and mites
00:27:55
and other soft body insects, where they reside and what type
00:28:00
of ladybug they are is going to determine whether or not they
00:28:02
are helpful in your garden or if they are helpful in other ways,
00:28:06
maybe up in the trees, but can be a pest if they are a mask
00:28:09
Gatherings, right? Green lacewings.
00:28:12
Anything in the Christopher De family.
00:28:15
They are larvae feeds on aphids and caterpillars and other
00:28:20
pests. So those are good guys to see in
00:28:23
your garden generally speaking and anything in that family
00:28:25
parasitic wasps, okay? These are going to lay eggs
00:28:29
inside or on the past like the caterpillars, of course, that's
00:28:32
going to lead to the pests demise obviously.
00:28:36
Hover flies surface, the adults, pollinate flowers.
00:28:40
So those are great in terms of being a pollinator, the larvae
00:28:45
also eat aphids so, and among other things, too, I know
00:28:48
there's a few other things that the hoverflies will also predate
00:28:51
on. So, These are good guys to keep
00:28:53
in the garden regardless of where you are.
00:28:55
And then these big-eyed bugs, this is Geo courses, no Geo
00:28:59
chorus, sorry species, they feed on mites, they also eat insect
00:29:04
eggs and small insects. So these are all good guys that
00:29:07
we want in the garden. Of course, really common Garden.
00:29:10
Pests aphids, I don't know of anywhere in Northern or North
00:29:16
America that doesn't have aphids in some way.
00:29:19
These are those really small soft body insects that suck on
00:29:23
the plant sap. They lead to very distorted
00:29:25
growth. If you get them in Mass, this is
00:29:28
what a lot of our beneficials do actually predate on.
00:29:31
In fact, these are such a problem for gardeners that I
00:29:33
actually did a standalone afib episode way back in episode or
00:29:40
in season 1. I think it might have been like
00:29:42
episode 8 or something like that.
00:29:44
So that should tell you exactly how many people complain about
00:29:48
having aphids as a problem. Tomato hornworms.
00:29:51
This is another big one for a lot of people that was very
00:29:55
large fat caterpillars that can defoliate a tomato plant very
00:30:00
rapidly. These are also tobacco hornworms
00:30:03
and I actually have to look it up.
00:30:04
I cannot remember whether or not they are the same And they just
00:30:07
go by two different names or if they're actually two different
00:30:11
insects. I have to look that one up, I
00:30:13
don't remember Japanese beetles. This is one that a lot of people
00:30:16
have problems in Sometimes they are overwhelming in their
00:30:22
numbers and other times we have had to where we've just seen a
00:30:25
handful of them and then that's it.
00:30:27
So I'm not familiar enough with their life cycle to be able to
00:30:31
tell you whether or not they sort of Go In Waves.
00:30:33
I do know that we used beneficial nematodes the year
00:30:38
after we realized we had a really bad Japanese beetle
00:30:42
problem, because they overwinter as grubs in the soil and they
00:30:48
feed on a wide range of plants. They will skeletonize the leaves
00:30:54
and they seem to be have a particular affinity for fruit
00:30:57
trees and rose bushes. And there's one other thing too.
00:31:03
I think that of anyway they especially are a problem when
00:31:06
they start to become, you know, an overwhelming new sense.
00:31:10
Squash bugs. You know, I had to mention
00:31:11
squash bugs, they go after squash, right?
00:31:13
And they also go back to, you know, some of the related
00:31:16
plants. They'll go after your cucumber
00:31:17
plants, if you if you allow them to they'll even go hang out in
00:31:20
your tomato, plants. If you don't, they don't have
00:31:21
anything else to eat. So they're gonna cause the
00:31:23
wilting and you know, death of your plant.
00:31:26
Rose saw flies. These are the larvae that feed
00:31:30
on rose leaves. They create this sort of window
00:31:33
painting effect. This is something else that is
00:31:35
very common for folks. I have not seen them here yet.
00:31:39
Hoping my heirloom Rose stays clean of these pests.
00:31:43
I have not seen them, I haven't looked up to see whether or not
00:31:45
that's something that we have to worry about here.
00:31:47
I do know the Japanese beetles go after them.
00:31:49
So I am just keeping an eye out this season.
00:31:54
I am looking to replace some of the last few wooden raised beds.
00:31:59
I have in my kitchen garden with new beds from plants for box
00:32:03
direct. I'm not one to waste money or
00:32:05
materials just for Aesthetics. So I've been doing this slowly
00:32:08
over the past few years as the wooden beds that we built begin
00:32:12
to break down. It's not just that they look
00:32:14
awful which they do. But there are literally falling
00:32:18
apart at the seams and they're not holding the soil in properly
00:32:21
anymore. I love planter box directs
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Planters because they're UV coated.
00:32:26
So they're not going to break down on me and I can get them in
00:32:29
any color combo. I want and in so many different
00:32:32
style as and sizes, three of the beds.
00:32:35
I'm replacing are tiered bets, but they're in a very narrow
00:32:38
strip on my driveway. The good news is I can choose
00:32:41
from Cascade Planter's. Just like the ones I already
00:32:44
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00:32:50
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00:32:53
box direct has on their Website and they go together in mere
00:32:57
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00:33:00
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00:33:24
So, like we've talked about before, we really want to
00:33:28
regularly, inspect our plants for signs of insect activity.
00:33:33
Good bugs. Bad bugs in different, right?
00:33:36
We want to know what is going on in and around our plants so that
00:33:41
if we do start to see damage, we know what insects have been most
00:33:45
prevalent out there and we're going to know what to look for.
00:33:49
Take clear photos of anything that you don't recognize as
00:33:56
something in your garden, whether it's good or bad, you
00:33:58
know. And that way you can go and you
00:34:00
can use all of these identifiers for a search.
00:34:03
Now, how do you do this? You know, I am have been a long
00:34:08
time, the Google Queen, like I can find just about anything on
00:34:11
Google with a little bit of time, but I have to have the
00:34:13
right information and you have to know what to put in to the
00:34:16
search. Be as specific as possible.
00:34:19
You can enter something like flying insect that eats
00:34:26
cucumbers, that has Two wings. That tuck under a hard shell
00:34:34
that are yellow and black. And fly during the day.
00:34:40
Alright, whatever search engine you type that into is going to
00:34:44
take all of that information and it's going to pair it up with
00:34:47
whatever and you likely are going to come up with the answer
00:34:51
of a cucumber beetle. But again, if you can take the
00:34:55
photo that is going to narrow it down, if you can use like Google
00:34:59
lens and take the photo and all. So add in that additional
00:35:04
information, then you are going to get much clearer results or
00:35:09
at least you're going to have fewer results to shift through,
00:35:12
okay. All in all.
00:35:15
We want to avoid taking any immediate reaction.
00:35:18
So before removing, or destroying an insect out of your
00:35:23
garden, make sure that, you know, what its role is in your
00:35:26
garden ecosystem. I know, You know, there's this
00:35:31
sort of knee-jerk reaction sometimes, like, you see some
00:35:33
damage on your plant, and then you see these insects there and
00:35:37
you make the automatic assumption.
00:35:38
That that thing that is on your plant is responsible for the
00:35:44
damage to that plant, and that may not necessarily be the case.
00:35:47
The other thing too is to understand if it is a beneficial
00:35:51
insect that is just not beneficial when it is in your
00:35:55
garden and mass. Remember what I said about the
00:35:57
pill bugs? I get messages.
00:35:59
Especially this time of the year when the soil tends to be very
00:36:02
damp around here all the time. And I get messages from people,
00:36:06
like, oh my gosh, I have these pill bugs, they are just
00:36:09
destroying my garden, how do I get rid of them?
00:36:12
And my answer to that is always you relocate them, you don't
00:36:18
destroy them. So I give tips and tricks for
00:36:20
how to remove the pill bugs from the garden.
00:36:23
Which, by the way, my favorite trick is to cut a potato in half
00:36:26
and put the cut side down into your garden beds in and around
00:36:31
the plants that are being predated on and the pill bugs
00:36:35
will more attracted to the moisture and the decay under
00:36:38
those potatoes and they will gather underneath those potatoes
00:36:42
slices and start to feed on them.
00:36:44
So then all you got to do is walk out.
00:36:46
With a little container of some sort pick up your potato, you
00:36:50
know, tap it into the bucket to drop all the pill bugs off and
00:36:52
put the potato back down again and just keep doing that over
00:36:55
and over again. You will remove a large, you
00:36:57
know, number of the population out of your garden bed, and you
00:37:00
can go and relocate it someplace else into a different, you know,
00:37:04
area of your yard, or your garden or whatever, we don't
00:37:07
want to get rid of these insects because they actually are
00:37:10
helping in the garden, there's just too many of them at the
00:37:13
moment, right? The other thing too, is when you
00:37:15
have an insect that is predating, on your insects, on
00:37:18
your insects, on your plants, we want, we want insects per dating
00:37:21
insects all so, but if you have insects that are predating on
00:37:24
your plants, Make the determination as to whether or
00:37:28
not that damage is actually significant enough to warrant.
00:37:32
Killing off that insect. Because like, I've mentioned
00:37:35
before with aphids, if you have aphids and you are doing what
00:37:39
you can to encourage a really good ecosystem in your garden,
00:37:43
you might find that after a few days of their being some aphid
00:37:48
activity. You start to see ladybug
00:37:50
activity, and they very quickly, keep each other in check.
00:37:53
So I'm never a proponent of removing, an insect or harming
00:37:57
an insect in the garden. Before understanding what is
00:38:00
role is in that Garden ecosystem, but also
00:38:03
understanding whether or not you have any predators that can come
00:38:05
in and feed on that inceptive, okay?
00:38:10
I I don't know if it's I I don't want to say it's like oh, you
00:38:14
know all things deserve to live or whatever.
00:38:16
I mean that might be part of it, but I think it really is if we
00:38:19
are trying to be balanced in our Gardens and we are trying to,
00:38:23
you know, avoid a monoculture and we're using all these
00:38:26
interplanting techniques and everything else and it doesn't
00:38:28
make any sense to All Sorts or remove something else.
00:38:30
That is a part of that ecosystem.
00:38:31
Yeah. Well unless it's a squash bug,
00:38:34
and then by all means, go right ahead.
00:38:39
And of course, one more thing that we want to do, I know this
00:38:42
is all about identification, you know, of the insects but we
00:38:44
really do want to plant a diversity of vegetables and
00:38:48
flowers to attract and support those beneficial insect
00:38:52
populations. And that is going to help us.
00:38:54
If we understand the different roles at the various insects
00:38:57
have in our garden, it helps us make informed decisions that are
00:39:01
not just going to promote our plant health and maybe give us
00:39:05
some peace of mind, but it's also going to promote that
00:39:08
ecological balance. And I think the long the longer
00:39:11
we do that in our own Gardens, the better off we are going to
00:39:14
be each successive season thereafter.
00:39:17
So if we can observe our Gardens very, very closely utilize our
00:39:22
local resources for identification and online
00:39:26
resources. When we make sure that we trust
00:39:28
the source, we can foster environments that support
00:39:32
beneficial insects and ones that predate on those harmful insects
00:39:36
and have a better and healthier Garden overall.
00:39:41
Until next time my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
00:39:43
that dream garden and we'll talk again soon.