Preventing insects and mites from damaging your trees and shrubs
By Michael Allen
Aphid infestations are easily controlled with water. I
n this day and age, gardeners are searching for organic approaches to controlling insects and pests on their trees and shrubs. Having been involved with assessing
tree and shrub problems for over 45 years, pest control questions top the list of most asked questions. Here are some tips. Being able to identify problematic pests is key to under-
standing how to properly control them. Aphids
One of the most destructive group of pests, especially
on the early leaves of most of our shrubs such as dogwood and cranberries, are aphids. Aphids usually show up in the early spring just as the new leaves are developing. How do you know if you have an aphid infestation?
Aphids first appear as wingless nymphs on the undersides of newly developing leaves. As most gardeners know, aphid feeding results in the distortion and even death of the leaves. The best organic control is to wash off the aphids before they have developed their wings. Take your hose and wash the undersides of the leaves with a water spray. Do this at least every two days for the next two to three
localgardener.net Lady bugs love eating aphids. Photo by Anderson Mancini.
weeks starting in mid-April. Since the young aphids are wingless, they simply fall to the ground when the water spray hits them and perish. Using a ‘bug blaster’ designed for spraying concentrated
water under the leaves will help your effort. Do this daily, if you can, as one aphid could potentially produce a new colony of aphids. Insecticidal soap and neem oil will also work, especially on the adults. Lady bugs both in their familiar adult phase and in their unusual larval stage thrive on aphids. Lady bugs should be encouraged in your garden by growing plants that attract them such as tansy, angelica, scented geranium and cosmos to name a few.
Early Spring 2016 • 23
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