Feb. 27, 1999
The Organic Way: Getting the bad bugs out
By Gail I. Morris
So-called bad bugs account for only about 2 percent of the insect population. Beneficial insects can be released to destroy infestations of bad bugs, allowing the remaining population of good bugs, or beneficials, to live safely.
Gail I. Morris writes this column for the Star-Telegram. She is a member of the Organic Garden Club of Fort Worth.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Work with nature to establish healthy populations of beneficial insects: Grow native or adapted plants, use organic fertilizer and avoid products that kill life in the garden. If your garden needs help while converting to the organic approaches, release beneficials to fight infestations of bad bugs.
Beneficial insects include those bugs we normally think of as friendly: ladybugs, lacewings, praying mantises, dragonflies, fireflies, damselflies. But many bugs that most commonly try to kill are also beneficial. They include assassin bugs, predatory stink bugs, wasps, bees, spiders and predatory mites.
If aphids arrive in the spring to suck the juice from new growth on plants, release ladybugs directly onto the plants. Ladybugs emerge from their containers thirsty as well as hungry. After lightly watering infested plants at dusk, release ladybugs directly onto the affected leaves. If you can't release them on a cool evening, then refrigerate the container overnight and release them on dew-moist plants in the early morning. Beneficials will linger in the garden if moisture and food are provided in a chemical-free environment.
Buy ladybugs at local nurseries in small boxes or net bags that contain from 1,500 bugs in a pint up to 70,000 bugs in a gallon for large-scale agriculture. From early spring through September, release ladybugs as needed on aphid-infested plants.
Green lacewings control not only aphids but also spider mites, thrips, caterpillars and other bugs. The adult is about ½-inch long and feeds on honeydew and nectar. It's the larvae that kill the bad bugs. Begin releases of green lacewings at the first sight of problems in the spring. Release 2,000 to 4,000 eggs weekly for two to four weeks.
Trichogramma wasps (no, they don't sting) are released from containers or cards that can be attached to plants that are susceptible to pecan casebearers, cabbage worms, tomato hornworms, corn earworms and other orchard pests. Trichogrammas are tiny gnatlike, parasitic wasps. In late March, April and May, release approximately 10,000 to 20,000 eggs weekly for four to six weeks.
Begin releasing beneficials when you see problems in the garden or if during the past growing season you had problems with pests. If you don't have problems, you have probably gardened organically for some time, and beneficials are already established and there is no need to purchase and release them. If you do have problems, repeat releases during the growing season to establish a population of adults, larvae and eggs.
Discuss your specific bug problems and the size of the problem site with the personnel from whom you purchase the beneficials. These experts can determine how many you need for control of your problem pest.
If you cannot find the beneficial insects you need locally or you grow crops on a large scale, buy from one of the following insectaries: ARBICO, (800) 827-2847; Biofac, (512) 547-3259; M&R Durango, (800) 526-4075); or Kunafin Insectary, (210) 757-1181.