An abundance of insects

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You may have noticed the insect population in your garden has increased a lot in recent weeks.

While it may feel like a nuisance to have to deal with insect pests, we would like to urge you to stop and think before you spray.  Not all insects are pests in the garden and don’t deserve to die!

Many insects - like hoverflies, praying mantis, butterflies and bees – are actually working hard for you in your garden. If you stop and listen you might be able to hear the buzz of activity as they go about their work.  Some of the handy jobs they do for you include:


- pollinating your fruit trees and tomatoes
- devouring aphids (a single ladybird can eat thousands)
- eating caterpillars

Have you ever wondered what is the point of flies? Well there is a point to them. They are useful pollinators. And if you just can’t tolerate flies, then invite spiders into your life! They’ll take care of them for you.

Insecticide use

Insecticides are a real problem – not just for insects but for all of us. The insect population has rapidly declined in the last decade (some reports say that as many as 40% of insects could soon be extinct).  

That is a scary number, and here’s why. Insects are the bottom of the food chain. Birds, reptiles, and amphibians are some of the creatures that rely on insects for their survival. So indirectly, by killing insects we impact other wildlife. Imagine a world without birds, lizards and frogs.

Another way that killing insects affects humans is through our food. Insects pollinate plants, which produce our food crops. Directly (or indirectly) spraying insects doesn’t seem like a good idea if we want to feed ourselves in the future.

Spraying highly toxic chemicals is also likely not very good for us. Spraying plants, particularly edibles, with chemicals is definitely not desirable if you intend to eat them.

Furthermore, spraying insectides is not 100% effective anyway. Similarly to the problem with antiobiotic resistance, insects can become resistant to insectides, so all we are doing is creating an insect breed with more robust genetics! 

Low toxic approach to insects

We understand there are times when you need to do something to manage an insect problem that has got out of control. But we encourage our customers to think of the wider impact of choosing to use a chemical, and to only do what is necessary to solve the problem and no more.

For example:

Try the gentlest method first, in the following order

No chemicals:

Accept that insects are a part of the microclimate of your garden and let them all exist together and enjoy watching the biodiversity in your garden!

Insects tend to attack the weakest plants, so keep your plants healthy. Focus on soil health with compost, organic fertilisers and seaweed solutions to boost plant health. This will give your plants a greater ability to resist an insect attack.

If you have a plant under attack think about whether you can deal with it without chemicals, for example:

  • Plant insect repelling plants:

    •    Citronella scented plants to deter mosquitoes

o   Marigolds to detract whitefly in your veggie patch

o   Lavenders can help repel whitefly and coddling moth

o   Basil is thought to be a deterrent to flies

o   Land cress helps manage cabbage moth infestation

  • Encourage beneficial insects:

    • As mentioned earlier, ladybugs, praying mantis, hoverflies, lacewings eat pesky insects so planting a diverse range of flowers can attract these critters into your garden.

  • Physical removal of the insect:

o   Caterpillars can be removed by hand

o   Scale can be wiped off with fingers or a cloth

o   Aphids can be sprayed away with a jet of water from the hose

Low chemical approach:

Horticultural oils like Eco Oil of Pest Oil work by covering the insect and suffocating it.  Oils don’t have the problem of resistance that some chemicals have and can be used for many insects including:

  • aphids

  • scale

  • whitefly

  • two-spotted mite

  • mealybugs

  • citrus leafminer

Oils work on contact so it must be applied directly to the insect.

Note that these oils are still toxic to pollinating insects so avoid use while the plant is flowering, or if you must use it during flowering, apply in the morning or late in the evening when pollinators are much less active. That will give it time to dry. Once dry it becomes non-toxic.

Neem oil has low toxicity for pollinators and can be used to control insects such as:

  • caterpillars

  • curl grubs

  • grasshoppers

  • fungus gnats

  • lawn armyworm

  • mealybugs

  • aphids

  • mites

Microbial insecticides

These work by introducing a bacterial or fungus as an insect control (biological controls such as Bacillus Thuringiensis marketed as Dipel). This particular strain of bacteria targets the cabbage moth caterpillar. These guys are masters of camouflage and can destroy your veggie garden before you even notice them. When the caterpillars eat the leaves of a plant spayed with this organism, they quickly die before doing too much damage. This method is suitable for an organic garden.


Using chemicals as a last resort

If you decide that you do have to use chemicals, please consider the following before you spray.

  • Use only in the area of the problem, and use sparingly and according to application instructions.

  • Identify the insect first. Don’t spray anything if you don’t know what is causing the problem. Different chemicals target specific insects, so if you spray the wrong chemical all you are doing is killing other insects unnecessarily and wasting your money.

  • Don’t spray just in case an insect might come. You will kill beneficial insects doing this. Plus it’s a waste of money.

We need to change the way we think about insects in our garden in order to reduce the impacts of our actions on the environment.  We are heartened to know that many of our customers are becoming increasingly aware of this, and are making positive choices in their gardens. As always, when in doubt, give us a call and we can help you choose the right action for yours.