Text and photos by Rob Danforth
Insects! A challenge to live with them; an even greater challenge to live without them! Insects annoy, bite, sting, and frighten people. They also pollinate our plants, eat the bugs that are a problem, and feed the local wildlife.
Annoy: hornets at a picnic, fruit flies in the kitchen, flies in the compost, houseflies wherever, ants under plants or interlock, midges, shad flies, termites, carpenter ants in my shed, …
Bite: black flies, deer flies, horseflies, mosquitoes, new beetles (ladybug lookalike), some ants & spiders, no-see-ums in my tent, ticks, …
Sting: wasps and certain bees (some do not sting).
Frighten: wasps and bees solo or in nests near people severely allergic to the venom, stinging/biting insects in your car while you are driving, insects that may carry debilitating diseases (e.g., mosquitoes & West Nile, ticks & Lyme), …
Pollinate: bees (honey, bumble, squash, mason, leafcutter, … there are hundreds of different kinds), various kinds of flies, mosquitoes, hummingbirds, …
Predator insects: parasitic wasps, hoverflies, lacewings, dragonflies, soldier beetles, ladybugs, spiders, …
Food for amphibians, snakes, birds, bats, skunks, racoons …
I have read that in some parts of the world pollination by the hand of a gardener is necessary because of over use of pesticides or insecticides which kill all insects, both the helpful and the harmful – not to mention the problems caused for the rest of the food chain dependent on those insects.
We need insects, the harmful and the helpful! We must live with them and not eradicate them to suit our needs or desires. All over the planet people learn to live within the natural environment without resorting to wholesale chemical purging of gardens, neighbourhoods, swamps, bush, and even cities. I have been in places in which aerial spraying of both cities and neighbourhoods, and backyard spraying or fogging was carried out. And then there is ever the problem of sprays and fogs with wind drift carrying the chemicals elsewhere – like nearby organic food gardens, and grassy areas where children play. Many years ago, some of my non-organic neighbours used insecticides liberally – I could taste it in the air, just as I could smell and taste the aerial spraying and fogging (done by fog machines on a backpack or a flatbed truck driving through my neighbourhood). Ironically, the person doing the spraying or fogging was dressed in a hazmat suit with goggles and a respirator – while we watched, and wondered, and breathed, and tasted. Australia has some of the deadliest insects and creatures on the planet – I wonder how Australians manage.
The following pictures are of insects in one Ottawa backyard. There are many more insects in my rogue’s gallery, but I will stop at ten common ones.
Aphid Ranch
Aphids are sap sucking insects that can weaken a plant by feeding on the nutrient water in the stalks and leaves of plants. They also can carry plant viruses (e.g., mosaic Virus) and cause plant failure. Aphids are ranched by ants which treat aphids as we treat dairy cows. Ants will pick up and move aphids to better locations – look closely at this picture. The aphids excrete a sweet sticky substance which feeds ants. If the ants do not get it all, the “honey” will drop and coat anything underneath, and then attract a black fungus.
A spray of clean water will dislodge them, or a spray of soapy water will kill them, but then you must rinse the soap off the plant after 10 minutes. Otherwise, you can run your fingers over the leaves and stems to crush the insects (they will not move), then wash the sticky from your hands.
Jumping Aphids
These aphids are a little different. They are larger than the ordinary aphids and they leave a white sticky substance that looks like white webbing on the stalks and leaves. If you try to crush these aphids you have to be very fast as they jump away similar to the leap of a grasshopper. Best control is soapy water spray and rinse after 10 minutes. You will have to do this on more than one day until the problem ceases.
Stink Bugs
There are many varieties and colours of stink bugs but the heraldic shield shape of their wing covers is characteristic. The most common ones are mostly brown in colour. These bugs feed on plants and in large numbers they can damage plants. They are also good at visiting you inside your home. Soap spray will not work on their armoured bodies so you will have to shoo or gather them by hand – remember that they fly. Try to drown them in a small tub (margarine, yoghurt, …) of soapy water. Note: apparently there is one – only one – variety of stink bug that is a predatory insect. I have not seen one.
Squash Vine Borer
This is the larva of a moth. While moths are pollinators (usually active at night and the colour and stronger fragrance of white flowers attract them) they also have young that must be fed, which makes this moth both a blessing and a curse. The moth lays an egg near the base of a squash plant and the worm that hatches will bore a tiny hole – hard to see – in the stalk of the plant. It enters and proceeds like a tiny subway train eating its way along the heart of the stem – completely out of sight. Eventually the stem behind this worm dies and decays – looks very nasty! If you are lucky, the squash vine will re-plant itself at a node (a lot of vine plants will do this) and the rest of the plant can be saved. To prevent the moth from laying, cover the first 10 to 12 inches of stem with mulch, or wrap the first 10-12 inches in aluminum foil. Sadly, most discoveries of a vine borer happen at the rotting stem stage and the Vine borer will be found a foot or two along from the rot.
Cutworm
A cutworm is another moth larva that is particular in its tastes. These worms climb out of the soil at night and weaken stalks of newly planted seedlings by chewing into them for food and drink, until the stalk can no longer support the plant – plant lumberjacks! However, the cutworm is not fond of left-overs and will not feed on the fallen plant; it will move on to the next nearest plant, looking for fresh food – I am not that fond of left-overs either. To safeguard your seedlings, destroy any cutworms you find while planting, and use cutworm sleeves. These sleeves can be of any material that will encircle the stem and keep cutworms from getting to the stalk. A sleeve 3 inches tall with one inch pressed into the soil will be enough. A sleeve can be a toilet roll core, a cardboard container from frozen juice, a plastic juice or water bottle cut in half, a bottomless paper or plastic cup, an aluminium foil wrap, or a small bottomless plastic germination or seedling pot.
If you see a perfectly healthy plant toppled over and lying on the ground with a lethal wound about ½ inch above the soil, your garden probably has cutworms. Cutworms vary in colour, look like caterpillars, and curl up like the letter “C.” If a plant has fallen, you must search for and destroy the cutworm. In daytime, the cutworm will be underground within a 6-inch radius from the latest fallen plant, and between 2 to 3 inches down. With the stalk as center, describe a circle around the plant 6 inches out from the stalk and gently remove the soil away from the stalk until you find the cutworm. A gloved hand or a trowel can mash the cutworm, or the cutworm can be dropped into soapy water. Sleeves will protect other seedlings from cutworms on the move.
Earwig
Earwigs seem to favour the cabbage family – any member – but they also will eat beans and lettuce. If not caught or discouraged, they will render the plant inedible. They like small tight places so they (and their poop) will usually be found inside the foliage. Contrary to looks, they do not bite or sting or pinch. They will shelter in the cracks between soil and container or in any item (e.g., bamboo) that will provide a dark, tight space – even underground.
To trap them, use one or more of the following: PVC tubes closed at one end (I use a cork), bamboo cut half way down the span between knuckles (the knuckle is a closed wall – no through traffic), rolled & moistened newspaper (can be stuffed in an upended flower pot and parked on a stick above the garden – they will find it, just as they find plants on 7th floor balconies), yoghurt tub pool of cut fruit or fish oil. Drown these insects in soapy water, drop them on a firm surface and stomp your feet, or add them alive to your compost where they will do some good! The composter should not be too near the garden – a mistake I made in early days and lost a lot of greens and members of the cabbage family.
Lawn Grubs
I am not sure which insect (most probably Japanese Beetle) planted these grubs but it doesn’t really matter – I do not want them feeding on the roots of my grass and later emerging as adults to feed on my plants. I mash them when I find them, but luckily, we have a neighbourhood skunk and a family of raccoons (most probably you have their cousins, whether you have seen them or not) which come around each night and dig holes in the lawn to find and eat the grubs. I am not sure what ground penetrating radar they use to locate these grubs, but I must say they are efficient, if somewhat messy. Skunks make a modest hole, but raccoons make larger ones. These critters can actually destroy a newly sodded yard by turning over all the sod in their search for grubs and other insects – happened to a neighbour of mine – the whole yard! Consider using pegged-down bird netting over the sod as a deterrent.
Japanese Beetle
Lately these beetles have arrived like an invasion. The Japanese Beetle has favourite foods but will eat a wide variety of leaves and flowers when hungry. Infestations are common and the beetles eat all the soft parts of a leaf and leave the ribs and veins. My wife and I have lost over 120 feet of fence line Virginia creeper, many roses, zinnias, mallows, bean leaves (bush and pole), cucumber leaves, and soybean leaves, as well as the wild grape vine on my back fence and the leaves of my neighbour’s Linden tree. While I have named some plants we do not eat, these plants were used to provide a windbreak for our vegetables and composters, and food and shelter for birds, pollinators, and predator insects.
The beetle is active most of the summer months. They show a marked preference for warmth and tend to choose the sunny topmost leaves and flowers in the morning. They can also be found on the undersides of leaves, as well as tucked in between the petals of flowers. Later in the day they can be found most anywhere on plants, but exposure to the sun’s warmth seems to be important in choosing a feeding site. Once they begin to feed, they release pheromones (an insect perfume) that signal other beetles in the neighbourhood that both feeding and mating should begin in earnest. And it does! Clusters of beetles show up and it becomes difficult to determine if they are feeding, mating or both at the same time – not that you really care! When ready to lay eggs, they stay near the food source and lay eggs in nearby soil or grass. The larvae live and feed underground.
Unfortunately, the best organic control method we have found is to hand pick the beetles and drown them in soapy water (e.g., used dish water in a recycled yoghurt tub). While hand squashing the Colorado Potato beetle works well, squashing Japanese beetles is not advised because of the release of pheromones. A soapy spray is not effective either, since the beetle is armored with a hard-shell carapace and the spray must soak the adult beetle to block the breathing pores in its abdomen. Ours just seemed to enjoy the bath!
Traps work, but there are serious drawbacks and I do not advise their use. The trap looks a bit like a WW2 bomb and has a pheromone patch attached to one of the vanes. The container or bag at the bottom collects the beetles and can become quite full and very smelly very quickly. Plus, the pheromones bring in lots of beetles your garden might never have attracted. Some stop to snack on your plants on the way to the trap. If you use this trap, use it to lure the beetles away from your garden, not to it! Place it away from all plants you wish to protect — about 50 feet + — and clean it out often.
To collect beetles, hold the container of soapy water about 3 inches directly under the beetle. At 4 or more inches they will fly away or bounce off your hand or the rim of the container. The beetles are slow to react so knocking them into the container is not a problem. They usually let go and drop three or so inches before flying. However, be prepared for a cluster of beetles all on one leaf. I have had as many as 7 on one pole bean leaf – two mating pairs and three wannabes. At Montreal Botanical I saw 12 on one rose flower. Hard to see any of the flowers due to the beetle orgy in progress.
Cucumber Beetle
Well, like the Colorado “potato” beetle (actually eats eggplant, tomato, & pepper as well), the Cucumber beetle does not confine its appetite to the plants associated with its name. The cucumber beetle is smaller than the Japanese beetle and can be found in the flowers of cucumber and squash plants as well as on the leaves. They may also be carrying a plant virus (notably, the mosaic virus) which is a systemic disease that will destroy the plant – remove all parts of such a plant from leaves to roots. Naturally, they arrive in your garden to coincide with the blooming of these plants. Unfortunately, they are awkward to get in the deep throats of some flowers, so hand picking or squashing them is a challenge. Drowning them in soapy water is effective if you can get at them. A hand-held vacuum with a crevice tool has been suggested by some, but I doubt one can vacuum the beetles without sucking up the whole flower or at least the flower’s reproductive parts. A soap spray is not effective. A garlic spray (no need to rinse) sprayed into the flowers and on the leaves can help discourage them. Yellow sticky cards also work, but they catch many different insects as the colour yellow is popular with garden insects; you will have noticed that many vegetable plants and flowers have yellow petals or yellow centers. I have used garlic (chunks of garlic scape) and at times I have resorted to long, needle-nosed scissors that can reach into the throat of the flower – I leave what happens next to your imagination.
Spotted June bug / Grapevine beetle
Annoying and not very harmful to plants in the adult stages, this beetle is large and colourful. Remember those lawn grubs above? This beetle is a contributor, and it is the larvae which are the problem. One could always purchase a container of nematodes and spray the lawn. The nematodes are safe to use and they will get rid of the grubs – and other insects. Unfortunately, most traps (live and kill traps) and chemical sprays affect more than the targeted pest. Nematodes may be just fine, but I choose not to use them. I prefer to cover the plants (row covers or bug netting) that bring in the harmful insects, to prevent them feeding or take a vacation from some plantings until the insects go elsewhere in search of food. They will lay their eggs near any food source.
Happy Gardening, if you can accept that what will be, will be. Nature gives and also takes. Can you roll with it?