If you have gardens, you most likely have pests of some sort such as slugs, aphids and the dreaded Japanese beetle (among several other types of beetles.) Believe it or not, there are several bugs that are extremely beneficial to the garden including ladybugs, soldier bugs and lacewing bugs.
This year, the bane of my existence has been the four lined bug. While this pest is typically attracted to herbs, I have found it feasting on my daisies, Russian sage and in my containers. Four lined bugs suck the life out of leaves, but not the blooms, leaving brown/black spots and often holes that make the plant look more diseased than pest ridden.
Aside from physically witnessing a pest in action, how do you know which are good and which are bad?
Unfortunately, chemical pesticides don't distinguish the beneficial insects from the destructive ones. And although it is tempting to reach for the bottle, there is much you can do control the bad pests long term by encouraging the good bugs through the flowers and plants you choose. Beneficial Insects 101 has some good advice for attracting and even buying good bugs for your garden.
I haven't picked it up yet, but I've also heard good things about Jessica Walliser's "Good Bug, Bad Bug," a gardener's complete guide to garden pests and how to manage them organically.
2 comments:
In the 3.5 years I've lived in my house, this is the first year I've had bugs on either my flowers or vegetables—and not good ones. I used Sevin on them, which I was reluctant to do because I hate chemicals. One dose seemed to do the trick though. Must be the weather this year- conducive to bugs!
I encountered the four-line pest for the first time two years ago. I couldn't identify it through my web searches...thanks for your detective work! Now I know thought the red and the yellow ones are the same bug!
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