Bugs Behaving Badly?
Yikes-Kill that bug!
No, take a breath and THINK FIRST –
- What is the bug?
- Should you be thankful it’s in your garden?
- Is it really hurting something?
Some insects are good, beneficial insects that you can welcome to your garden. For me, the caterpillars of butterflies are always welcome.
Aphids on my milkweed plants – not welcome.
Ladybugs that eat the aphids – welcome. Ladybugs that eat Monarch eggs – not welcome.
Just realize that there are good bugs that behave badly. And some bugs we’d rather not share the milkweed plant with, but there they are.
So, how do you manage bugs that behave badly? Well first, never with insecticides. Try planting specifically to avoid the problem in the first place.
- Plant enough to share… I plant potted parsley as well as parsley directly in the garden. If I’m lucky enough to have a black swallowtail caterpillar appear in the garden, I move it to the potted parsley plant and put the potted plant into a netted butterfly metamorphosis container to protect and raise.
- When planting milkweed for Monarchs, I plant several milkweed species. Insects will likely choose one over another. There are many species of milkweed native to a wide range of US states. (go to the LEARN section to find out more)
- Add marigolds and onion plants. They’ll both attract the bad insects away from your milkweed, and they’ll repel some insects from visiting in the first place.
If the aphids do take over, I cut down the affected plant and move cuttings away from my garden. If that’s not enough, I let it go. Eventually lady bugs will move in and eat the aphids.