June 11, 2009
The Good, the Lovely and the Just Plain Ugly
Today in my garden, I saw a variation on that Clint Eastwood movie, “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.” But for me, it was the good, the lovely and the just plain ugly. You are probably wondering what I could be referring to.
Basically, I’m talking about insects. Yes, bugs have been on my mind a lot since my quest to identify the woolly aphid on my eggplants.
The Good: I saw a good variety of beneficial insects at work. Assorted bees were busy in the beds near my birdbath. Salvia ‘Black and Blue’ in particular was drawing a large number of bees. Lady beetles have settled in around my container vegetables and seem to be controlling both those woolly aphids and the more common green ones. You will find a good discussion of beneficial insects in Alabama here and here.
The Lovely: I don’t think that another shrub has a more appropriate common name than butterfly bush. Butterflies were in good numbers on all of my eight large buddleias. I saw viceroys, swallowtails and variegated fritillaries, I think. My identification skills on butterflies are not top notch. I am hopeful that my recently planted dill and parsley will lure some black swallowtails to lay their eggs. For more information on bringing more butterflies to your garden, check out this publication from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
The Just Plain Ugly: It really was too much to believe that I would not find some insect pests as I wandered in my garden. But, really did it have to be Japanese beetles? I don’t think there is an insect pest that I dislike more than Japanese beetles. Not only do they attach my roses, but they also love to chew on my double pink Rose of Sharon.
Fortunately, I didn’t see that many of those pesky iridescent beetles so I think I will start with a coffee can with an inch or so of warm, soapy water that I can thump the beetles into. If that isn’t enough, I will look for some solutions here.
Then, if Japanese beetles were not enough, there was brown scale making itself at home on my Buddha’s Hand citron and ants busily harvesting the honeydew secretions from the scale. It appears that I have caught that pest early so I think wiping down the infested areas with a wet cloth may do the trick. But I’ll have to keep a watchful eye to make sure it doesn’t spread. If it does, I will have to use an insecticidal soap to bring it under control.
Lessons to be learned: First, improve your insect identification skills. That will allow you to identify beneficial insects as well as insect pests. Then, choose your control methods wisely. I try to use mechanical and other organic options before choosing synthetic controls for two reasons. First, mechanical and other organic options have less impact on the beneficials I want to keep. Second not only am I a lazy gardener, I am a cheap one. These options are usually a cheaper control method, but not always.