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More than eighty years ago, during the twentieth century’s first decade, I learned natural insect control: how
to distinguish between garden pests and garden beneficials.
Our family garden plot became my outdoor classroom. Mother, a master gardener, whose vegetables won numerous prizes
at the county fair, provided instruction.
During one lesson, Mother called my attention to a small, white butterfly alighting on a cabbage plant. “Female
pests, laying eggs on garden growth, produce plant-damaging larvae,” she explained. “When eggs become larvae, the
tiny creatures eat holes in developing plants.”
When the butterfly left, Mother and I examined the cabbage leaf to locate deposited eggs. “Should we destroy the
eggs?” I asked.
Mother shook her head. “At least not now,” she said. “Beneficial insects will attend to the larvae when the creatures
hatch. Predators, too, require food to eat.”
“Don’t predatory beneficials damage plants?” I asked.
“Predators harm no plants. They eat only insects,” she replied.
During one of the earlier lessons, parasitic insects’ methods revolted my thinking. “Aren’t parasites unnecessarily
cruel?” I asked. “Predatory beneficials lay eggs on and in pests. Emerging larvae eat and eventually destroy the
victim.”
Not long after the parasite lesson, Mother called my attention to a tomato hornworm. “Eggs astride the pest’s back
will, in time, become larvae,” she explained, “and consume the hornworm’s vital parts, eventually destroying yet
another garden pest. Insects live in a bug eat bug world.”
Tiny trichogramma wasps use still another pest-destroying tactic. Each female wasp lays an egg inside a pest’s
egg. The larva, when hatched, consumes the pest egg contents, destroying yet another unwanted insect.
After a later insect lesson, I asked Mother a thought-provoking question. “How did natural insect control for gardens
originate?”
“No one knows for certain,” she said; “but the method has worked for untold centuries.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked.
“Without natural insect controls, leaf-eating insects could have denuded earth’s food-producing areas, depriving
creatures, including mankind, of necessary food to eat. Fortunately the calamity did not happen and we are still
able to garden and grow produce.”
“Are insects really necessary?” I queried. “Could we get along without them in the garden?”
“Insects represent a vital part of vegetable production,” she said, “even as sunshine, warm rain, and fertile soil.”
I also learned that insects not only control each other; but earth’s numerous creatures also provide a vital garden
service.
Nectar-seekers, notably honeybees, searching for nature’s sweets, transfer pollen grains from one flower to another,
completing a process necessary to produce much of the food human beings depend upon.
During one lesson, Mother explained how insects and microorganisms converted fallen leaves and other waste organic
products to useable soil nutrients. Decomposed wastes became valuable additions to soil and growing plants.
When earth began its journey around the sun, the planet contained a limited nutrient supply, with more made available
by waste plant decomposition.
“What might happen if no wastes were decomposed?” I asked.
“Earth and its occupants would be in deep trouble when soil nutrients became exhausted,” she hastened to explain.
In time, I learned insect pest control is not entirely dependent upon beneficial insects. A number of creatures
also eat insects.
Insect-Eating Animals
A number of animals help control insect pests, including bats, toads, songbirds, snakes, spiders, anoles, armadillos,
even skunks.
Bats, cruising nighttime skies with open beaks, consume vast numbers of flying insects, including mosquitoes. Toads,
nighttime prowlers, search garden soil for grubs and other pests primarily active at night. Songbirds capture and
carry insects to nestlings.
Spiders, considered prime pesticides, erect insect-catching devices. Strangely enough, many types of spiders rebuild
their webs each morning, swallowing and reusing aging strands. Snakes, ever on the lookout for an insect meal,
consume many insects each day.
Anoles, sometimes known as chameleons, a southern insect-hunter, assume a position where insects are likely to
pass. Whenever a quarry ventures near, a long tongue flicks out to draw the prey into a waiting mouth.
Armadillos and skunks, avid grub hunters, dig holes in lawns and gardens while searching for favorite prey.
Encouraging Beneficials
Gardens lacking predatory insects may lure more from surrounding areas. Here is how. Provide pollen-bearing
plants, especially goldenrod, to lure beneficials whenever insect pests are at low ebb.
Entice songbirds. Plant trees and erect nesting houses. Local libraries usually have birdhouse-building books.
In addition to nesting accommodations, provide an elevated bird bath where they can also get a drink.
Beneficial insects also benefit from a drinking area. Set a shallow, small, stone-filled pan at ground level where
the tiny creatures can safely drink.
Provide a bat house for night-flying creatures. Purple martins enjoy communal living, and like to occupy an elevated,
multiple dwelling. Anoles and toads require no more than a safe retreat where the insect hunters can rest from
insect-destroying labors. An overturned wooden box or large flower pot, raised approximately one inch on one side,
provides safe hiding quarters.
Purchasing Additional Beneficial Insects
Additional beneficial insects, whenever needed, may be purchased from one of the nation’s more than one hundred
insectaries. Two reputable insect-providing organizations are listed below for reader convenience. Before ordering,
request insect availability and prices.
If you have questions or comments about this Web page or site, e-mail:
mary@vanmeer.com© 2002 Leo VanMeer
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