Lady bugs to the rescue!
eradicating garden pests the natural way
One day the garden and yard looks wonderful. The tomatoes and peppers are budding, the lawn is a verdant green and the flowers are a-popping. And just like that, there’s trouble. The buds are withering and disappearing, brown spots are appearing and growing on the lawn and the roses are wilting.
It’s quite possible that an army of creepycrawlers have taken up residence, laying waste to everything in their path.
While it may seem like all hope is lost for the season, fear not as there are ways to repel that army and restore the lawn, garden and flowers to their previous glory.
Perhaps the biggest pest prospective green thumbs need to fear, but one that is fairly easy to handle, are the many varieties of aphids, said Daniel Schwery, a pharmacist with Osuna Nursery.
Aphids will generally look like small, green bugs with a soft shell, but they also can be black, red, yellow or brown depending on the species, of which there are about 5,000 different varieties, he said.
“Aphids are the most common by far,” Schwery said. “They attack many different varieties, but we only have a small handful of varieties of aphids here. They specialize in attacking certain type of plants, the big one was the roses by the little green ones, but they’ll attack most any plant that is sending up a flower bud because the growth is more tender and easier to suck sap from.”
There are natural ways to attack an aphid attack – which can produce a honeydew substance that attracts a fungus known as sooty mold, making the infected area black, while the sugary substance can also attract other bugs like ants.
“A natural approach is always the best way
to go,” Schwery said. “I prefer organics because it keeps the balances in your yard. Once the balances get farther and farther off, the necessity to use chemical control is stronger when it gets too bad, but that can throw the balances off even more and also it kills both the bad and good insects.”
So it comes down to getting green lacewing or ladybugs – which are harder to come by this time of year.
“One of the best things is lady bugs,” Schwery said. “They eat up to 50 aphids in a single day and green lacewings eat up to 200. We do sell (lady bugs) in the spring and fall, but summer they don’t ship them because they would end up dead. Apply them spring and in fall. Give them time to lay their eggs. There is an application method. Spray down the plants first, and then release the lady bugs. Do it at night time because lady bugs are extremely clumsy flyers and they won’t fly away at night. With lacewings, sprinkle the eggs around and they hatch.”
For an immediate respite, a product called Pyrethrum that is made from chrysanthemum and is safe even for edible plants, provided the fruit is washed thoroughly before consumed, he said.
When those brown spots start appearing in the lawn, there’s a good chance grubs are at fault. If digging in the affected area reveals three or more within a cubic foot, the war is on.
“They turn into June bugs,” Schwery said. “What they do is attack the root systems. If they get to a high-enough level, they can cause severe damage. No matter how bad the infestation is, a natural approach includes using microscopic beneficial Nematoids. You put them in water and put the water on the lawn. They seek out the grub worm and they actually last in the soil for five years so you’re buying a five-year treatment. A single nematoid can have up to 2 million eggs in its lifetime and they multiply quite quickly in your soil.”
Spider mites are nasty little critters that take up residence on the underside of webs and can be readily detected by the fine, silk webs. Although common on junipers and other evergreens in New Mexico, they also attack vegetables.
“They’re from the spider family and are microscopic red, green and brown,” Schwery said. “They’re also sap-sucking insects and leave speckling on the leaves with the webbing. Try Captain Jack’s Dead Bug Brew, a bacterial-based insecticide that’s naturally based and not chemically based.”
Don’t be fooled by grasshoppers because while they may look cool, they also can do a lot of damage.
“They will go after most green stuff, but they hide in the grass because it provides the protection,” Schwery said. “Nolo Bait that is infused with oatmeal is great. Sprinkle it around. It makes the older one go crazy and eat the younger ones and for the younger ones, it juts kills them outright. And it safe to use around pets, but just don’t let them eat it.”
Finally, bagworms is in their larval stage is wrapped in a cocoon, but when not, they will both deciduous and evergreen plants, eating the leaves, causing them to turn brown. Eventually, they will form their cocoon and await their transfiguration into a moth.
The best way to treat a plant with bagworms is to apply spinosad or acephate. Spinosad is a natural and organic way to get rid of bagworms, killing the feasting worms within 1-2 days of ingestion. Acephate is a foliar systemic insecticide. The best time to treat your plant is when the bagworms are active. If not treated, your plant could suffer from dieback or the bug could winter over and produce more larvae.
If you have questions or an issue with your plants, take them or photos to the pharmacy at Osuna Nursery, where they will help diagnose the problem and offer a remedy.