Insect Damage and control

15 years ago

I recently attended two interesting talks in Boscawn NH, presented by Dottie Perkins of UNH Cooperative Extension, on garden pests. What I esp liked was her organic approach to things and encouraging beneficial insects.

Last night a friend said her garden has been destroyed by insects this year - she thinks grasshoppers. I have seen a couple of grasshoppers in our yard but not many. I am now on tomato hornworm patrol and last night saw the first one with parasitic wasp eggs attached so he go to live (which probably won't be much longer). I am dismayed to see a lot of activity esp around white garden phlox by hummingbird moths ... which lay eggs that become tomato hornworms. But I don't have serious damage like she does.

My worst problem is striped cucumber beetles and squash bugs so I try to find eggs to remove/squish.

What seems to be odd is that the Japanese beetles seem to favor a particular weed. There's a few of this particular weed and at this point in the summer, the leaves are skeletonized. Adjacent bean plants aren't touched. I wonder if this weed is a trap crop?

Do you have plants that act as trap crops for you? Any advice on preventing/controlling cuke and squash beetles?

My husband recently mowed the meadow that abutts my vegetable garden. We had a 4' swath of lawn grass as a buffer. Now I'm worried that the hungry bugs that used to live in the meadow are going to take up new residence in my vegetable and flower gardens.

BTW Borage might be a little ugly looking but it sure attracts bumble beeds.

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Comments (5)

littleonefb
15 years ago
nasturtium will help deter squash bugs and cucumber beetles

raddishes will help deter squash borers,

marigolds planted around tomato plants is an old, old method that my grandfather used on the farm to keep the bugs away from his 'Prize tomato plants". he never had a damaging insect on them.
I use the same method with marigolds and only once did I have any problem with one plant. forgot the marigold.
Just be sure it was one of the varieties that has the typical "marigold smell."

4 o'clocks planted around and near plants that japanese beetles attack will keep your plants from damage.
those JP just love the leaves of the 4 o'clock and will eat them until they die. You see the leaves are poison to the JP, yet they eat them anyways.

The link below should give you plenty of ideas to use as natural deterrents for you.

Many of them where methods that my grandparents used quite successfully on the farm when I was a kid.

Fran

Here is a link that might be useful: Companion planting
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
15 years ago
I have not found anything that actually deters squash/cucumber beetles. I am ignoring them at this point and trying different varieties that might be more resistant to them. Still too early this year to judge. I have seen some around the garden. I believe row covers might be about the only way to keep those away from your plants.

I grow organically too, and I tend to let things work themselves out for the most part. I also hand pick if I have a lot of problems with some pests. Two years in a row I had a lot of earwigs and would find them active after dark and knock them into soapy water. This year I have barely seen one which I can't help but think may be due to the unusual winter we had. I barely have seen more than a handful of beetles this year too. I do plant what I read is recommended for attracting beneficials as often as I can.

Have you visited the Organic Gardening forum on GW? There's usually a lot of activity there and in the vegetable forum, and I've often found lots of ideas there.
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defrost49
Original Author
15 years ago
Fran, thanks for the excellent link to companion planting. I will use some of the suggestions next year. I have let pot marigolds self sow around but they aren't the right marigolds. Next year, I will definitely plant nasturtiums in the garden, not just in hanging baskets by the door@

Prairiemoon, I think you are right about more resistant varieties. Costata Romanesco zuccchini withstands striped cucumber beetles while an adjacent plant of summer squash is destroyed. Both cuke and squash beetles are working on a winter squash variety I'm trying this year. Thanks for suggesting the Organic Forum here, I've never visited at all. Time to change that.

My friend's garden is adjacent to woods. Mine is adjacent to meadow. I wonder if that is part of the problem.
terrene
15 years ago
Hold on Defrost - Hummingbird Clearwing moths are a type of Sphinx moth (as is the tomato hornworm) and they do NOT lay eggs on Tomatoes. Their host plants are Honeysuckle and Viburnum, etc. They are interesting and beneficial little insects, so don't worry about them!

As for the tomato hornworm, IMO they become another interesting and beautiful moth, quite large. If I happen to attract any to my tomatoes, will sacrifice one of the 4 (!) Beefsteaks just to watch it grow (I raise butterflies and find insects very interesting, so it's a different perspective).

However, I've been having problems with the Cabbage worm on my Kale and Cabbage. They turn into the Cabbage white butterfly, which is NOT native to North America, and I don't have extra plants to spare. So, I pick those caterpillars off and put them in the bird feeder tray - and they're eaten up very quickly!
defrost49
Original Author
15 years ago
ok terrne, I have studied the photo of the 5-spotted hawk moth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato_hornworm

and will proceed to see if this is the moth that is collecting nectar from my garden phlox. Of course, we are having badly needed rain right now so I might not see any moths for awhile. There are so many hawk/sphinx moths and we have probably incorrectly called some of them hummingbird moths.

I'm only squishing the hornworms on my tomato plants that do not have parasitic wasp eggs. Seems like a lot more than last year. I did take a couple to my daughter-in-law's chickens.