Insects In The Garden

The scientific study of insects is called Entomology.
There are over 100,000 known species in the United States.

Homeowners waste millions of dollars a year trying to get rid of them.
I'm not against using chemicals.
There are times when chemicals may be needed, but you have to know what to apply and when in order for them to work.
Taking time to learn about their life stages and habits will save you time and money.

What is An Insect?

They have bodies that are divided into three noticable regions.
They have a head, thorax, and abdomen in that order. The thorax is the middle region.
Three pairs of jointed feet grow from the thorax region.
The thorax also hold the wings of the adults.

Life Stages

They all start as eggs. They hatch and go through one or more childhood stages and become adults.
They will go through one of two types of metamorphosis.

Complete Metamorphosis which contains the stages: Egg, Larvae, Pupa and finally Adult.
In complete metamorphosis the immature stages does not resemble the adult. A common example is the caterpillar that becomes a butterfly.

Incomplete Metamorphosis which contains the stages: Egg, Nymphs and finally Adult.
In incomplete metamorphosis the nymphs resemble the adult although a few features may not be present during childhood. An example would be a dragonfly.

Control methods for the various life stages of Insects.

Beneficial or Pest

Of the 100,000 known species there are typically around 1,000 (species not individuals) that reside in an average yard. An estimated 600 species of the 100,000 are considered pests. The number of pests that are living in your yard is tiny. The species that are living in your yard may be an inconvienence but they aren't all pests. You probably don't even realize most of them are there.

Beneficials pollinate flowers, provide honey, eat other bugs and break down dead plant material.
Pests destroy things and carry diseases.

Integrated Pest Management

Using the best methods of control for a particular situation is what they consider Integrated Pest Management.
What it means is that you don't automatically grab the most toxic stuff available and spray your whole yard with it to kill a little ant you saw crawling on the sidewalk.
You look realistically at the situation, decide if it's a problem that needs managing and then plan your best course of action. The course of action you take may or may not include chemicals.
More information about integrated pest management is coming soon.