Pest Control with a Backbone (Part 2)

(This is the last article in our series on Integrated Pest Management [IPM].)

Last month we explained how amphibians, such as frogs and toads, and reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, are beneficial to our gardens. This time we’ll focus on birds and mammals. Inviting these wild animals into ours gardens is yet one more way that we can control the pests that dine on our flowers and veggies.

Birds
Putting out bird feeders may seem like a favor for the birds, but it’s really the other way around! While most birds attracted to feeders eat seeds, many of those same species switch to bugs, with their higher protein content, during the breeding season.

 

Pest Control with a Backbone (Part 1)

Here it is the middle of winter. Garden pests are out of sight and out of mind. Yet, we know that those critters are out there, waiting for warm weather to bring out the first sprouts of spring—just so they can gobble them up! It’s a very good thing, then, that there are other creatures biding their time, waiting to eat those garden pests! We’ve already talked about bug-eating invertebrates. This time the focus is on those animals with some backbone, so to speak.

 

IPM: Good Bugs and Other Garden Heroes

Q: I’ve heard about using ladybugs to eat the bad bugs in my garden. Do they work?

A: If we set a thief to catch a thief, then why not set a bug to eat a bug? Sometimes the best way to control an outbreak of an insect pest is to use another insect, or a close relative (such as spiders). Ladybugs, the most famous of these insect killers, are wimps compared to some of the other predatory critters in your garden. Lacewing larvae, ground beetles, praying mantises, wasps, hover flies, spiders… there are plenty of beasties who are more than happy to keep garden pests under control.

 

IPM: Physical Barriers

Q: I’ve planted resistant varieties and grown healthy plants, but I’m still being bugged. How else can I keep my plants pest free without resorting to spraying pesticides?

A: Let’s say you want to grow apples in your Colorado garden. You’ve selected a variety that’s resistant to fireblight (I discussed disease-resistant varieties in May), and your tree is thriving. In fact, after several years, it’s finally beginning to bear fruit. You pick your first juice, red apple, take a big bite, and… oh no! Yup, you find half a worm. Ewwww.

 

IPM: Cultural Controls

Q: I want to control pests, but I hate using harmful chemicals. How else can I beat the bugs?

A: The best way to ward off insect and disease problems is to grow a healthy plant. Just as a wolf pack will target the weakest member of a herd, insects seem to zero in on a plant that is under stress. Good gardening practices—choosing the right plant for the spot, soil preparation, proper planting, feeding, watering, mulching, and the like, all go a long way to keep our gardens free of damaging pests.

But cultural control goes further than just having a green thumb. Sometimes our yards are invaded by insects no matter how good a gardener we are. In that case, it pays to know the enemy.