Photo by Hannah Armstrong.
Did you know that most of the insects that shuffle through our gardens never venture very far? They stay close to their home base through the shifting seasons. When they do leave, it's often because resources such as food, water, or habitat are diminished or decimated. Or, because they’ve encountered a deadly chemical.
The decision to “control” our spaces using insecticides and other powerful chemicals in our homes and yards should not be taken lightly. Each of our actions has a direct impact on the health of our gardens and the larger natural world (us animals included), and ridding our spaces of insects has its consequences.
Nearly all the insects you encounter around your home have an inherent place in your garden, even the “pests.” A leaf of delicate green lace, bitten through and through, if you ask me, is usually a great sign of a thriving ecosystem and almost never something to lose sleep over. Within a robust garden of varying species, insects are a bio-indicator of thriving systems.
Aside from their pollination services that place food upon our plates, insects are irreplaceable in the circle of life. Let's take the major underdog, the mosquito, as a great example of this symbiotic system between insects and the natural world. Mosquitoes, vital to our terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, feed many of our wild neighbors, including frogs, bats, birds and most especially dragonflies and damselflies—which are important food sources for many of our cherished birds. When you dismiss characters within the food chain, you weaken the natural rhythms of biodiversity, which are crucial to a sustainable garden.
How Insecticides Work
There are an infinite number of different kinds of insecticides, but there are two main types, with dozens of iterations of each. First, there are “contact” insecticides, which kill the insect when it physically encounters the chemical. Then there are “systemic” insecticides, which cause most parts of a plant to become toxic, killing the insect as it feeds on the plant, ingesting plant material.
"Aside from their pollination services that place food upon our plates, insects are irreplaceable in the circle of life."
Both types, despite claims on the packaging, kill not only the “pests” they target, but also beneficial insects, all the while yielding great harm to humans and other animals. Both kinds of insecticides are incredibly powerful, adding more harmful chemical waste to our gardens, wildlife, and water supply. The more water soluble an insecticide is, the more harm it can bring.
What’s more, modern gardening culture has so touted these chemicals as normal and necessary that gardeners are often using them as a preventative measure, before a problem even emerges.
What to do?
My advice? Fall into the movements of the natural world and the ways our local systems are succeeding without the hand of man. Trust biodiversity. The more species of fauna you invite into your space, the more varied your insect population will naturally be. We want almost everyone to join in, encouraging a robust chain of resources to support the entire gang. Even our “beneficial insects” rely on pesky guys (such as scale, whiteflies, or aphids) to offer them food sources. If you create a world entirely without “pests,” you will lose some of your greatest allies; everyone needs food, after all.
With this philosophy in mind, here are some techniques that both encourage diversity in the garden and prevent major damage caused by the troublemaking insects—without the use of insecticides.
Plant diversely: A complex palette of plant species ensures landscape stability. If one species is harmed by a pest or disease, you won’t be left with a giant hole in your landscape. The more diverse your garden, the more resilient.
Leave your leaves, always: Aside from the tremendous blessing of a most nutrient dense, free mulch, your leaf confetti provides crucial habitat, year round, for your garden comrades—as well as great building material.
Increase soil health: Build a robust and aerated soil, full of nutrients, as well as bacterial and fungal activity. Healthy roots yield healthy plants, and healthy plants are less susceptible to disease and insect problems.
Photo by Hannah Armstrong.
Prevent stress for your plants: Grow your own plants by seed, or conduct small transplants when you can, to avoid container, regional, and travel stresses. When you grow your own plants, or source close to home, you can better know the integrity of what you put into your garden. Seek out chemical free, native plants when possible.
Hand Remove Bugs: Yes, you read that correctly. I have tried my hand at neem and other celebrated all-natural insecticides, but haven’t had much success. Or, to be effective, I find I must apply several treatments, requiring too much time. I have had great success, though, with simply wiping away my unwanted bugs—especially when it comes to scale and aphids. I have friends that whisk bugs to their demise into a bucket of soapy water. As savage as it sounds, I just crush them with my gloved hand.
"It’s best that we try to control less within the garden. Let relationships unfold, while we observe."
Another tactic I have had much fun and success with is hand transporting insects (usually caterpillars) from a plant I do not want them to feed on to a close relative I don’t care if they feed on. One summer, when hornworms nearly seized my entire heirloom tomato crop, I hand pulled them all and moved them across my property to other members of the nightshade family, as an experiment. To my delight, they feasted on my angel's trumpet and flowering tobacco. I have done this every year since. I get the tomatoes I love and get to keep around the future hawkmoths these guys become, which add significant wonder to my evenings on the porch come summer.
Ignore and cut back: If you do not know by now, I have a propensity for garden laziness, especially once summer sets in with her humid insect vigor. When I find certain plants to be struggling under the power of a particular insect, I often ignore the situation completely and just see what happens, especially after winter when all the new life arrives. Often plants snap back, finding a solution of their own. Or, if it's herbaceous, I cut the plant back/prune pretty hard. I have found great success in cutting back insect ridden perennials and just tossing the debris in my compost or woods. Often by the time the plant resurrects herself, balance seems to be restored. The bugs have moved on.
It’s best that we try to control less within the garden. Let relationships unfold, while we observe.
Read more of Jess Cole's column, "Our Sustainable Garden," here.
