Tag: IPM

Posted on in Gardening, Green Gardening Tips, Insects & Other Critters, Nature

IPM: Pest-eating Vertebrates, Part 2

Mountain Bluebird_Johnson'sCorner-CO_LAH_2843Last month I explained how amphibians, such as frogs and toads, and reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, are beneficial to our gardens. This time I’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
As an avid birder, I have up to a dozen feeders scattered around our yard. It may seem as if I’m doing the birds a favor, 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.

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Posted on in Green Gardening Tips, Insects & Other Critters

Ladybug, Ladybug

ladybug-on-fernleaf-dbg-19sept05-lah-193The quintessential “good bug,” ladybugs (aka ladybird beetles) are the poster child of the beetle world. Everyone knows that ladybugs eat aphids and other “bad bugs” (especially scale insects) and should be welcomed in the garden.

Actually, not all ladybug species are red. Some species are orange, yellow, white, black, brown, or gray. And not all ladybug species eat aphids, although most do. Some are even agricultural pests, such as the infamous Mexican Bean Beetle. Still, most ladybugs are red, and they eat vast numbers of aphids, as well as scales, mealy bugs, leaf hoppers, mites and other soft-bodied insects and their eggs.

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Posted on in Gardening, Green Gardening Tips, Insects & Other Critters, Veggies

IPM: Cultural Control

caterpillar-and-leaf-damage_blkforest_20090729_lah_7823The 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.

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Posted on in Gardening, Green Gardening Tips, Insects & Other Critters, Veggies

Green Solutions to Garden Pests

grasshopper-bf-lah-007Oh no! My organic garden is being consumed by organic bugs! Now what do I do?

Green is definitely the color of the decade, and more and more gardeners are turning to organic gardening principles for their landscapes and kitchen gardens. But what do you do when the hordes attack? Just because your harvest is in danger of premature consumption, doesn’t mean you have to abandon all your “green” principles. You are not defenseless!

Before reaching for the sprayer, consider all aspects of the problem. Chemicals, even organic ones, are only one weapon in your arsenal.

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