You may have heard the old adage, “The best fertilizer is the footprints of the gardener.” It is certainly true that a garden visited frequently by its owner is more likely to be a more productive and attractive one than a garden left to fend for itself.
I would add to this adage another proclamation, “The best pest control is the footprints of the gardener.” Pest problems can take off like a wildfire. Left unmanaged, they often grow into an outbreak that is difficult to bring under control.
The earlier you identify a pest problem and take steps to manage it, the easier it is to manage. At an early stage, you have more options for controlling the pests, your efforts are more effective and your options include some of the less toxic or environmentally disruptive choices. Once pests grow larger and approach maturity, many of these options are no longer effective.
People are also reading…
This involves frequent visits to the garden, along with some observations of what is going on at plant level. I was out in the garden last spring turning over some broccoli and kale leaves and noticed the clusters of eggs that look like a group of wine barrels that indicate a group of harlequin bugs were about to invade my garden.
It is much easier to smash a couple dozen of these destructive devils with thumb and forefinger than to wait until they hatch and reach adult stage and chase them around the garden with a spray wand. The key is knowing what you are looking for and then getting out there often to look.
While this story might make me sound like a wise, diligent, entomologically astute gardener, I can assure you that there are many stories in which the garden was neglected for two or three weeks while I attended to other things. Upon returning, I found a horde of harlequin bugs and some severely abused cole crops or other pests.
The same advice goes for stink bugs on your tomatoes, squash bugs, cabbage loopers, squash vine borers, aphids and most any pests that threaten to spoil the show each gardening season.
Most gardeners are at least somewhat familiar with what most of the major pests look like. However, few are familiar with what these same notorious criminals on the “most unwanted” list look like at other stages of their lives. Insects go through various life stages, including, depending on the order they belong to, eggs, larvae, pupae and adults.
Being able to recognize both pests and beneficials in their different stages of life will help you stay a step ahead of the situation. It will serve all of us to be lifelong learners when it comes to the pests, and diseases that impact our gardens and landscapes.
Even a commonly recognized insect such as an adult lady beetle is often unrecognized when in its egg, larval or pupal stages of life.
Get the kids involved in the insect safari. A magnifying glass and some easily found online images of pests and beneficials can make for a great Sherlock Holmes-style investigation. Let them bring the suspect in and even raise them in a glass jar to see what they grow up to be.
They may be creepy to some adults, but when kids are encouraged to learn and investigate, it opens up another world of wonder and an appreciation of the complex world around us in the garden.
You may not consider yourself a bug lover, but trust me, as you learn more and do some exploring around your garden, it gets to be addictive. One minute, you’re out examining an unknown insect and the next you are inside with a book or doing an online search to discover its identity and begin learning what it is up to in your garden.
So, spend some time turning over a few leaves. Many pests begin as eggs or larvae on the underside of the leaves allowing them to go unnoticed unless the gardener is periodically checking things over.
Many gardeners spray indiscriminately, while others spray at the first sign of a pest. As you learn and observe, you’ll find that pest management is a more interesting process than just “shoot at first sight,” but involves seeing what beneficial insects may also be present and even tolerating a few pests when beneficials are present.
There are certainly times when spraying to protect your garden is necessary, but a wise and informed gardener will find these to be few and far between. The footprints of the informed gardener are a key to success and the opportunity to learn more with each visit to the garden.
Robert “Skip” Richter is the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension horticulture agent for Brazos County. Gardening questions? Call Skip at 823-0129 or email rrichter@ag.tamu.edu.