There are plenty of insects that eat plants and these can be damaging. At Harlequin’s we usually recommend supporting plant and soil health, creating diversity and allowing some insect damage before acting. With some pests, it is good to be prepared to act quickly, and sometimes there isn’t a good solution. Even poisons, which we never recommend, can be ineffective.
Here are some safe methods and products we have found helpful.
Grasshoppers: The one product that worked was Nolo Bait, a disease that only affects grasshoppers and crickets. The one facility that produced it had a fire several years ago and never recovered. As far as we know, it is no longer available.
Garlic has been used as a repellant with some success. We do have a strong garlic spray, and an even stronger garlic spray. No smell after it dries.
Neem is an anti-feedant and they don’t like the taste. If they do eat it, they will not be able to molt (get out of their exoskeleton and continue to grow), and will subsequently die.
Our ducks have helped protect us for years, but they cannot be trusted around vegetable gardens.
Mikl made a grasshopper fence that works. Attach a 2×4 horizontally across the top of your fence, attach a piece of heavy shade cloth from the ground to the top of the 2×4. Screw a piece of rain gutter, UPSIDE DOWN to the 2×4. The grasshoppers can climb the shade cloth, but cannot go upside down around the gutter.
Japanese Beetles: We have only had to deal with them for the past 5 years, the East has had them for decades, and they never discovered the perfect solution.
We sell a strain of Bacillus thurengensis bacteria which is specific for beetles that eat plants. It is toxic to them, but not to people. It works for the beetles that eat your plants, but doesn’t stop new beetles from flying in. There is one formula to put in the ground for the grub stage, Grub Gone, and one for the beetles eating the foliage and flowers, Beetle Gone.
At the nursery, we use the Japanese Beetle bait traps. We use the following method, taught to us by a consultant from Ohio. Skip the plastic traps; use a 5 gallon bucket and attach the bait (it has a self-sticking surface) 2” down from the top on the inside of the bucket. Put 4” of soapy water in the bucket. The beetles fly to the attractant, hit the bucket and fall in the soapy water and die. They need to be cleaned out periodically. Said to be more effective than the plastic traps and easier to clean (and cheaper, as the bucket can be cleaned and used again).
Do the traps attract more beetles than they kill? Some say, yes. We believe they help. An improvement that is supposed to help: locate the bucket upwind from the plants you are wanting to protect. The logic is that if the beetles fly in on the wind, they will get to the trap before getting to your plants. We have been told this is effective.
Hand picking works: since they often fly when you reach for them, an improved method is to put a big funnel in a gallon milk jug with soapy water, knock them into the funnel and they go down into the soapy water. Be sure the narrow end of the funnel is wider than the beetles.
If fighting them is too much work, one method is to keep cutting off all the flowers on your repeat-blooming roses, then when the beetles are gone, the roses will have the energy to put on a good late season bloom.
Flea Beetles: These small black or dark blue jumping beetles can riddle the leaves of plants with holes. They are most destructive on young, small plants. We recommend spraying the plants with a non-toxic pesticide, like the one we sell made by Sierra Organics, then, while the plant is wet, dusting with diatomaceous earth. Be sure to wear a dust mask with the diatomaceous earth since the same scratchy material the cuts through the exoskeleton of the beetle can scratch your lungs, but it is non-poisonous. Garlic and chili sprays may also work, followed by diatomaceous earth. Repeat this treatment 2 or 3 days in a row, spraying late in the day after the heat has subsided.
Alternatively, a light row-cover fabric, like our Seed Guard, can exclude them if you apply it immediately after planting and keep it sealed.
A formula we just found in the Old Farmers Almanac by Catherine Boeckmann is: 2 cups of isopropyl alcohol, 5 cups water, and 1 tablespoon liquid soap. Test on a few leaves before spraying whole plants. We have not tried this. Let us know if you try it and it works.
Flea beetles usually come in waves that last about 2 weeks. In veggie
gardens there are 3 main types, all of them tiny and black.; Brassica
specialists, tomato/eggplant/tomatillo specialists, and generalists. In
the flower garden, the generalists may infest certain plants, like Rocky
Mt. Beeplant. There is also a slightly larger species that infest
Evening Primrose and Sundrops and others in the Onagraceae family, like
Fireweed, Zauschneria, and Gaura.
Sluggo – in store now
Slugs: Slugs can do a lot of damage in a single night, making big holes in plant leaves. To check for slugs, go out at night with a flashlight and look where you have seen damage. Alternatively, a slice of potato will attract them and reveal their presence. Sluggo, a granular product that is safe for pets and wildlife, can be sprinkled on the ground to kill slugs. The active ingredient is iron phosphate, a natural component of soil. And a time-tested control is to put one or more shallow tuna cans of beer (darker beer is best) set into the ground so the rim is at ground level, and they will crawl in and drown. Replace the beer every couple of days.
Mosquitos: We carry non-toxic mosquito dunks that kill the larvae in water, and are not harmful to pets or people. The latest research we have heard (NewAtlas.com) is to add a little surfactant like liquid dish soap, Dr. Bronners soap or Yucca extract to plain water and spray shrubs or plants or the ground where mosquitos may be hiding. If the spray touches them, they will die. A much better idea than spraying pyrethroids that can lead to health problems in humans and can kill cats!