Insect Control

If your method of insect control is spraying an insecticide the minute you spot an undesirable insect you may be wasting your money.

Spraying or applying chemicals when you first spot an insect may be a waste of time and money.

You may also be harming the beneficial insects.

Learning when the best time to attack them and the best way to attack them is called Integrated Pest Management. Integrated Pest Management works wonders and is easy to learn.

Insect Life Stages

All insects will go through one of two series of stages.
Complete metamorphosis: Egg, Larvae, Pupa and finally Adult.
Incomplete Metamorphosis: Egg, Nymphs and finally Adult.

During a complete metamorphosis the baby doesn't look anything like the adult.
Most people realize a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.
The one that surprises most beginning gardeners is that lawn grubs turn into beetles.
In my area lawn grubs are typically Japanese beetles!

Control Methods By Stages

Spraying and apply chemicals during a time when they won't work is a waste of time and money. Here is some data on the stages insects go through and what methods of controls will work during them.

Egg Stage:
Insect eggs are can be hard to find. Eggs may be laid in clusters or singly. The eggs have a protective coating on them. Most chemicals will not penetrate the shells so spraying won't work effectively. You can squish the eggs if you are able to see them.

Larvae Stage:
The egg hatches into a wormlike form called a larvae. During the larvae stage an insect is an eating machine. It eats until its skin doesn't fit anymore and sheds it for a new sized one. It may go through many skins during this larvae stage. The form stays the same it just gets larger.
The larvae stage is the best time for insect control.
Larvae are eating so they can ingest chemicals that you have sprayed on leaves. The body of the insect is typically soft so contact chemicals can penetrate into them and do their job.

Pupa Stage:
The larvae eventually go into a pupa stage. It is a non feeding stage. They prepare a protective cocoon around themselves in which to rest after all their hard work eating your garden. It is during this stage that they are transforming into the adult. It may take weeks, it may takes months. Some will overwinter in their cocoon. During this stage it is hard to control them with chemicals. Your best method of insect control at this stage is picking the cocoons off your plants and crushing them.

Adult Stage:
This is the stage when most people can easily identify an insect. The adult stage is the most difficult time for insect control. Adult insects may or may not be eating. Their main goal is to reproduce so they can continue the life cycle. Control methods during this time involves squishing or drowning the insects.

Return to the Insects page from this Insect Control page.