What with the cold weather last winter I am not seeing any huge over wintered grasshoppers like a “winter” one year ago. There was some cold weather and it seemed to last more than 24 hours. At the time it seemed bothersome but I think it may have “thinned” the bug population.
Now I have seen a few blister beetles and a couple spotted cucumber beetles but even for it being somewhat cool, they all looked and acted like they were in bad shape and were all easily dispatched.
There is an area of concern though, I have been seeing some freshly hatched grasshoppers. This is a bit confusing to me because other than .05 of an inch of rain a month or so back, there has been no rain. Rain is what is needed to hatch insects. All I can figure is they are hatching from my irrigation water. It is the only regular source of water to hatch them.
I am hoping that we do not have a “buggy” year but it does not hurt to be prepared. If your garden is protected with covers or other chicken proof means, it is not wise to let fowl into your garden. They not only do a good job on the bugs but on your garden too. Most likely your garden would be the only source of greenery since it is soooo dry (chance maybe this week of rain).
It is always a good idea to be well in informed about bugs before disposing them. One very good example is hover fly’s. Mature hover flies are pollinators but their larvae (maggots) are ferocious eaters of aphids. Because they look like a bad guy can be unknowingly dispatched. A good book to study that has both the good guys and bad guys is “The Texas Bug Book” by Howard Garrett and C. Malcom Beck. I highly recommend it.
Sometimes push comes to shove and you find yourself in a need to dispatch bugs more aggressively. I find for most bugs cold pressed neem oil works the best. Other than the oil property of neem oil when it is first sprayed there is no other effect on beneficial insects. For the neem oil to do its magic it has to be devoured. When this happens, the bugs stop molting and also stop eating. I recommend 3 sprays 7 fays apart. I have found with grasshoppers after the second spray you can pick them off plant at noon. They are sick puppies. Cold pressed neem oil has to be ordered on line, all that is available locally is clarified hydrophobic neem oil. This not even close to cold pressed because the hormone’s that dispatch the bugs has been removed. This works on most bugs but cucumber beetles are a different story. I have not had as good a success with them using cold pressed.
It must be noted that because it is not the neem oil directly that kills the bugs but the hormones, bugs cannot build up immunity to cold pressed. This is not so with other pesticides. All the rest are what are called contact killers and must be rotated with other pesticides so that immunity is not developed in the targeted bug.
I like to rotate between Pyganic (derived from a flower) and Mycotrol (derived form a soil borne bacteria).
As always before you use a pesticide read the label carefully, use proper protection and follow the directions. Even though these are organic it does not mean there are not any consequences for improper use.
To protect beneficial insects spraying of an evening is when they are least active.
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