The newest bug-killers and disease-fighters on the market aren’t cutting edge chemicals. They’re insects.
Heard of IPM?
“Integrated Pest Management” was originally developed in the 1950s by one of the world’s foremost authorities on insect control, a scientist named Edward Knipling. Farmers noticed that some of the most awful insects were developing resistance to DDT. Dr. Knipling looked for ways to identify their natural enemies – and “IPM” was born.
Ladybugs. Praying Mantises. Non-stinging, predatory Wasps and beneficial Beetles that attack the planet’s most evil insects and stop them dead in their tracks. Almost too good to believe, but GOOD bugs top the list of every 21st-century gardener’s best friend. Odds are, they’re already flying around your backyard right now.
What makes these beneficial bugs unique is that they all do something your old-fashioned, noxious, chemical pesticides will never do. They hunt.
Garden-friendly, carniverous insects sweep through your yard like mini-robotic vacuum cleaners, sucking up bad bugs and their eggs and larvae. No sweat. These are the perfect pesticides. And they could not be cheaper, simpler, more effective, or Earth-friendlier.
Take Tea Roses. If you’re a Ladybug, there’s no better way to start your day than with a breakfast of fat, juicy Aphids clustered around an unopened Rosebud. Aphids are the highlight of any Ladybug’s day.
Sprinkle a packet of Ladybugs at the base of infested plants and watch. Ladybugs instantly go hunting for breakfast. These insects are on your side. For the hapless enemy – aphids – there’s simply no escape.
Lawn grubs? These and their Japanese Beetle adult relatives can kiss your grass goodbye when you sprinkle a dose of lethal Milky Spore Disease over the soil. Don’t worry – the Milky Spore bacterium is benign when it comes to plants and animals.
Gypsy Moths? No problem. Pint sized Ooencyrtus kuvanae, a helpful, non-stinging Wasp, lays its eggs directly on top of a clutch of Gypsy Moth eggs. When the Wasp larvae hatch, their first meal is right underneath them. O. kuvanae is also fond of Eastern Tent Caterpillars. Put the O.k. out and watch them work.
Praying Mantises do their work in the dark at night, crawling up stems and along branches until they find a sleeping insect. Any bug that gets in the way of a Mantis is in trouble – and that includes Ladybugs, so don’t mix the two, or you’ll diminish your population of those good insects.
Friendly Pirate Bugs can’t resist thrips,
