MASTER GARDENERS:

Identify insects before getting rid of them

New Haven Register, Jul 2, 2010 | by Judith Hsiang

BUGS BUGGING YOUR GARDEN?
Most garden insects are harmless or even beneficial to your plants. The beneficial ones are important in pollination and preying on harmful insects, so their presence is important.
You wouldn’t want to accidentally kill a firefly because you have not seen one in daylight. Many immature insects look nothing like adults. You wouldn’t want to squish the larva of an insect that could develop into a beautiful butterfly or aphid-hungry ladybug.
Only about 1 percent of insects are harmful to humans, their pets or plants. Identifying an insect will help you know if it is potentially damaging and what is the best action to take against it.
There are many excellent sources of information about insects. Local resources with experts that you may consult are:
- Master gardeners at the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension Center, 305 Skiff St., North Haven. Call 203-407-3168.
- Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, 123 Huntington St., New Haven. Call 203-974-8500.
- A local garden center where you buy your plants. Many employees have experience in identifying insects. — Your local library has books on insects.
- Or visit www.ct. gov/ caes/ cwp/ view. asp? a= 2823& q = 377514 or www.ento. psu.edu/ ImageGallery/ default. htm.
If you can catch an insect, put it in a plastic bag so you can show it to an expert. If you cannot get to an expert within a day or two, place the bag in your freezer so that the insect is preserved. For caterpillars and similar creatures, call the master gardeners at 203-407-3168.
After you have identified it, if it is harmful and there are a large number of these insects in your area, you should take action. As general guidance you should choose the most-targeted, least- toxic approach. The local experts listed above can help you with that choice.
The best approach to managing garden pest problems is a process called integrated pest management. This considers a range of approaches beginning with those that are cultural (use insect- resistant plant varieties) to physical (remove the insects and damaged plant parts) to biological (use natural enemies to attack the insect) and finally, if the other approaches are ineffective, chemical methods.
Generally, the safest chemicals are organic. Typically, they remain on your plants for a long time and are least toxic to other animals, particularly fish and bees. Examples of organic insecticides that may work (but check the label to make sure that the insect that you are attacking is listed) are horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps.
If you use a nonorganic (or synthetic) insecticide, it can sometimes create additional problems. Most synthetic pesticides are broad spectrum, so they kill many other animals in addition to the targeted pest.
Some of the others killed are beneficial and this can give an advantage to the targeted pest after the pesticide wears off. If you do use synthetic pesticides, it is critically important that you read, understand and follow the product’s label. More is definitely not better.
So, when you find insects in your garden, identify them so you will know if they are beneficial or harmful. Determine how large a threat they are, if they are harmful, and use the most-targeted and least-toxic approach to control them.

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