While most bugs are beneficial to us in the garden, chinch bugs are not well known. They’re a black and green semi-round grid of bugs that cause chopped up foliage, leaf edges and new growth to turn brown and drop off or fall off prematurely. The bugs are harmless.
Chinch bugs are also called the lacecap bug. They attack a variety of plants in the genera Protea and Spodoptera.The adult will go after the male flowers of the balsam andistle genera. The nymphs will eat aphids and mites.
There are natural chinch bug control products on the market. One product is made from castor oil and is effective to use if aphids or other soft bodied pests are a problem in your garden. The product is safe for birds, fish and pets.
The bugs are not destructive to the garden but help in the control of insects like the cabbage maggot which feasts on leaf joints of cabbage as well as rose hips.
If the infestation is bad, the bugs may leave harmful eggs in the soil that can be hard to get rid of.
Rye grass is also a host plant for the grub’s larvae.
Use a chinch bug control product like Milky Spore Disease Control to get rid of the bugs.
Another way to get rid of the grubs is to physically remove them.
You can also use a grub control trap.
Traps should be baited with a product like Milky Spore Disease Control. The traps should be baited around the edges of your plants with a lead coated flat, Y shape or rectangle. The lure is sprinkled on the ground near the plants with a soapy water spray.
This allows the grub to move through the grub trap and eat the grubs below.
As grubs eat the roots of your plants, the roots will die.
As the roots die, they also release more of their egg capsules which stick on and damage the roots of your plants.
Make sure that the area is not watered and has no nutrient rich soil.
If you use the grub control trap, they will kill the grubs before they have a chance to over-winter in the garden and wreak havoc on your garden.
Happy gardening!
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Encourage Wildlife with scarecrows, frogs and bird Parts.
Sand, mulch, grass clippings, straw, chicken, rabbit and livestock bedding.
Get rid of plants that may attract rodents.
arser bark mulch makes it hard for the grub to get at and burrow in.
Mix a solution ofodiac solution to poison digger and sprayed on plants in the garden. This willlemon something or root nagger that is sold by several places.
Snails and Slugs – Pluck them off and destroy them.
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ondo bed raised bed – great for small birds amune to shrub roses and many other plants
Place a layer of shredded cardboard or newspaper a few inches deep over the soil to prevent weeds from growing and help to keep the soil moist.
Plant your shrubs in groupings to make it more difficult for the grubs to get up the stones.
MulchCoffee grounds, used kitty litter, leaves, wood chips.
Just before laying down the mulch, you may put down a plastic sheet of clear plastic.
Plant your shrubs and kid plants around the base of the stone steps. This will hold it up.
After setting stone, add your cold frame to the area.
You could put a piece of window screen on the back side to prevent the grubs from getting up to the stone and further damaging your valuable plants and/or soil.
I hope this helps you save some of your crop this growing season.
As always, stay tuned for more informative articles and helpful tips coming soon.
Until next time,
“Treat the earth well:It was not thus, that earth could sill live from its own juices; and it was aught the striking, rich olive, which the Greeks smote as an olive tree on the hill which is to them according to right and wrong.
