TRUE or FALSE Today’s objectives: teach you what IPM is and hopefully explain some practical ways you can use it This can be an intimidating topic but today I will teach you what you already KNOW since IPM makes logical sense you are probably already doing a lot of IPM compatible activities in your yard. Educate you enough to be dangerous. Whether you are useful with your knowledge is up to you. Let’s start with some true false questions IMAge fromhttp://www.brainybetty.com/powerpoint.htm

TRUE or FALSE A typical home garden has more pesticide (acre for acre) in it than a farmer’s field

TRUE or FALSE A typical home garden has more pesticide (acre for acre) in it than a farmer’s field TRUE Homeowners spent 11 billion each year on pesticide (this includes both raid and pesticides for the garden) gardeners spend on pesticide about 1/2 what they spend on plants

If a pesticide is natural it can not harm you. TRUE or FALSE If a pesticide is natural it can not harm you. Background from http://www.maniactive.com/powerpoi.htm

If a pesticide is natural it can not harm you. TRUE or FALSE If a pesticide is natural it can not harm you. FALSE Remember many natural product (castor beans, cocain, ect) are harmful. In fact many of those home remidies that you hear about on TV are not 100% safe. While tobacco is an effective insecticide it can also be harmful to you if absorbed into your skin.

Since most insects are harmful they should be removed from your yard. TRUE or FALSE Since most insects are harmful they should be removed from your yard. Backgrtound fromhttp://www.brainybetty.com/powerpoint.htm

Since most insects are harmful they should be removed from your yard. TRUE or FALSE Since most insects are harmful they should be removed from your yard. FALSE

Of all insect species in the world Less than 1% Considered to be pests Beneficial or not considered to be pests (> 99%) IN fact a majority of insect (99%) are not harmful in any way shape or form. In fact many insects are beneficial in that they eat or parasitize our pests. Cartoon- Mrs. Preying mantis is trying to take her kids as a deduction which she has already eaten. Note- Preying mantises are well known for being cannibalistic. This is why is not a good idea to buy them because by the end of the summer no matter how many you start off with only one will be left in your yard. Imager from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (short version) (13.3 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC .. http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/ cartoon from www.offthemark.com/corrections/ corrections.htm

Background from http://www.brainybetty.com/powerpoint.htm

What is IPM??? IPM (integrated pest management) is a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining biological, chemical, cultural, and physical tools in a way that minimizes economic, health, and environmental risks. From: Anonymous. 1994 Integrated Pest Management Practices in 1991 Fruits and Nuts, RTD Updates: Pest Management, USDA-ERS, 8pp.

What is a Pest? This includes: Diseases, Weeds, A plant or animal that is out of place This includes: Diseases, Weeds, Arthropods, Reptiles, Mammals, etc. The idea of something being a pest changes from person to person. You all know that some people are afraid of ALL bug (entomophobia) and do not discern between the good and bad. However you should take the time to learn who are the good guys and the bad guys. Imager from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (short version) (13.3 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC .. http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/ background from U of Idaho : beta.parma.uidaho.edu/.../arthropod%20pests/ Hop_ahpid.htm

Is this a pest?

Is this a pest? That depends is he in your garden or your house? Remember the simple presence of a pest does not make for a pest problem. An individual insect does not each much, insects have to be numerous enough that they eat so much of our plants to prevent our gardens from yielding the harvest (or flowers) we expect. If anyone here is from up north though you know about the problem with the multi-colored Asian ladybeetles. Although the ladybeetle are good guys (they eat aphids, scales, and other soft bodied insects) in the winter they congregate in warm places, ei. People’s homes. Homes can become infested with 1000s of ladybeetles after on one wall. In fact the record swarm is 100,000. It is usually best to vacuum them up since the ladybeetles can emit a foul odor if you squish them.

Does this person have a pest problem?

Does this person have a pest problem? Depends on the threshold of damage you will put up with Most of us are too critical on our lawns. Studies show that people over estimate damage on their own plants when compared against looking at other’s yards.One of the most important concepts in IPM is that you are willing to live with some level of damage. While this level may be low, some damage is still tolerable. You do not need to pull out the sprays for every single bug and weed you see. We have high expectations for our plants. We want them to have beautiful flowers and floiage, sometimes we want to eat their fruit, leaves, and roots. Varieties are often selected bc of apperance or size and color of fruit and leaves, not their resistance to insects. By fertilizing you help you plants grow faster and look beautiful on the outside but this steriods for plants can sometimes make them weaker and more suseptible. Need to have a balance between our expectations and reality. And remember grass itself can be a weed when it ends up in your flower garden.

Pest management toolbox Biological control Chemical control Cultural control Physical control IPM uses these 4 tools to combat pests problem. The first one we will talk about is biological control

Biological Control Predators Parasites Pathogens The use of living organisms to control pests Predators Parasites Pathogens Spiders are one of the best predators out there. All spiders are predators! cartoon from http://www.wordscapes.net/_private/fs16.gif

Predators Kill many prey often generalists rather than specialists 200,000 species This I not taxonomy instead of going through slide after slide of good insects instead we will talk about what are some of the characteristics of predators. You already know lots of natural enemies. For example if you did not know this was a preying mantis what are some clues that would tell you he is a predator… What makes you think it wants to eat other things?? Grabbing arms big teeth big forward facing eyes Look at his arms they are called raptorial arms meaning they can grab prey, think of the T-rex. Also he has big teeth (not something needed if he only eats plants). He just generally looks scary and like a predator. image from Bristol Zoo Gardens : www.bristolzoo.org.uk/ images/mantis.jpg

Predators This is a ladybeetle eating an aphid (that’s right not all ladybeetle are the characteristic red and black) So if you saw this scene happening on a leaf what would help to clue you into who is the good guy and who is the pest??? Numbers- There are 3 aphids and only 1 ladybeetle. Pests tend to occur in high numbers while there are only a few predators. It is like the law os the jungle there are only a few lions but 100’s of antelopes. It is very rare that you will see an “outbreak” of predators. The ladybeetle is eating the aphid. Don’t forget the obvious. Take some time to observe what is going on in your yard. You will be surprised at how will nature sometimes corrects itself. image from the garden link rwww.thegardenlink.com/images_1/ articles/ladybug_aphid.jpg

Predators This is a predaceous spider mite feeding on a spider mite that is a pest. AS you notice the predator is bigger than his prey. But it is important to remember that small insects can also be predators, they are just predators of the even smaller guys. Clue #2- don’t forget the obvious he is eating someone. A problem when you spray miticides is that often they kill almost all of the predaceous spider mites and only some of the pest mites. So over time you run the risk of your pest spider mites building up resistance to miticides. But to compound this problem you have also managed to kill off their natural control the predaceous spider mites. image from BioPol Biosystem www.biopol.nl/images/ Spintroofmijtmetspint.jpg

Predators This is a predaceous stinkbug sucking the juices out of a caterpillar. Predators don’t only attack the adult stage they can attack any life stage of an insect. In fact there is often a predator for each stage of life and insect will go through. Stinkbugs can be tricky. Some stink bugs are bad and some are good. While there is no hard and fast rule for telling. Good stink bug tend to have spines on their shoulders. and as always you can always tell when the stinkbug is actually feeding an another insect. image from www.co.broward.fl.us/ ppistink.gif

Predators Social insect are usually predator (ants, wasps).This brings us to another rule of thumb predator tend to be fast hunters. Paper wasp can devour a caterpillar and most everyone has seen a mound of fire ant devouring caterpillars and other insects. However they can become pests if they are not where you want them it all comes back to perspective. Image from home.att.net/~larvalbugbio/ wasppaper.jpg

Predators Three earwigs. These are mean looking insects. Unless insects are eating wood big teeth equals meat eaters. However earwigs are an example of an insect that eats both insects and plants. Sometimes earwigs hurt the roots of young plants, however most of the time they are considered more beneficial than harmful. image from Urban Pest Control Research Center : www.upcrc.com/guides/ houseid/earwig.htm

Predators And last if the infamous spiders which are all predators.

Predators General Rule Bigger Badder Fewer Faster Left picture- long legged fly eating an aphid right picture - Syrphid fly (or hover, or flower fly) larvae eating aphids (that is an adult syrphid fly in the corner. The syrphid fly brings up an important point. With insects often the immature and the adult do not look alike, in fact they don’t even look related. fly image from image from Bebeficial Incests/Organisms Images . http://is.tc.cc.tx.us/~mstorey/bugs.htm syphid fly larvae image from U of Vermont www.ento.vt.edu/~kok/Biological_Control/ PP_thumbz.htm adult fly from beelab.cas.psu.edu/P-gals/ Gal3/Diptera/dipt15.html

Complete Metamorphosis EGG Complete Metamorphosis LARVA Many insects under go complete metamorphosis. That is they have 4 life stages an egg, a larva, a pupa, and an adult. With this type of metamorphosis often times the larva and the adult look nothing alike. Sometimes it is more important for you to know how to identify the larva since it may cause more damage (think of caterpillars which are the larva or moths and butterflies). Some time the adult stage is more important. This type of metamorphosis is seen in beetles, flies, wasps, and butterflies. Picture about is of a C-shaped white grub which many people have problems with in turf. This grows up to be a June beetle. Slides from Dr. Eileen Buss ADULT PUPA

Lady Bird Beetle While most of you know that this is a ladybeetle (and by the way those yellow things are ladybeetle eggs). Can anyone identify this next insect CLICK MOUSE This is a ladybeetle larva and in fact this is the stage of the insect that does most of the feeding. Next time you notice aphids on your plants turn them over to see if any of these small orange and black insects are dining on aphids. In fact if anyone has ever purchased aphids from a garden store they have probably been less than pleased with the results. The problem is that in the winters adult ladybeetle congregate on mountains out west. People then go out to the mountains to collect the ladybeetle, store them in the fridge for the rest of the winter and then distribute them to garden store for sale that spring. The problem is that when these ladybeetles wake up they want to migrate back out West and don’t particularly care about sticking around your yard to eat pests. If you are going to purchase ladybeetle it is better to buy them in the larva stage, not only are they hungrier, but they can’t fly and will stick around your garden for at least a few weeks until they pupate CLICK MOUSE- by the way this is a lady beetle pupa. Images from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC from http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/

Predators Have you ever seen these stalked eggs on the undersides of a leaf. They are lacewings eggs, which is an important beneficial insects. As a larva it consumes vast amounts of soft bodied insects. Images from U of Idaho http://www.uidaho.edu/so-id/entomology/Benefical_Insects.htm

Simple Metamorphosis Another type of metamorphosis is simple metamorphosis. In this type the young insect likes very similar to the adult except that it does not have wings. Think of cockroaches or grasshoppers. Slide from Dr. Eileen Buss

Biological Control Parasites Predators Pathogens The use of living organisms to control pests Predators Parasites Pathogens cartoon from http://www.wordscapes.net/_private/fs16.gif

Would anyone like to guess what is going on here Would anyone like to guess what is going on here. A hint it is NOT interspecies mating… In fact this is a wasp who is paying her eggs inside of a caterpillar. AS these eggs grow and mature they will eventually hatch and feed off of the caterpillar of coarse killing it. Not exactly a pleasant way to go. http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/k7659-1i.jpg

Parasites Here is a step by step look at parasitism. This a parasitic fly who is parasitising a house fly pupa. First she locate her host (A house fly pupa). Parasitism is a totally female thing. After all only the female insects can lay the eggs. CLICK MOUSE She then inserts her ovipositor into the pupa. While it may look like a stinger it is only for laying eggs. It does not have venom or muscles to sting. Then her eggs develop and hatch devouring the pupa CLICK MOUSE And here we see them emerging from the pupa case. Images from Beneficial Insectary http://www.insectary.com

Parasites There is a parasite out there for every stage of an insects life. For example this saddle back caterpillar probably has a parasite that parasitises it’s eggs and also it as a caterpillar, and probably another parasite that affects it as a pupa. If you ever see caterpillar or other insects in your yard that look like they have small eggs attached to their backs or on top of their heads leave them alone. These are the parasites doing their work. Below is a disgusting picture of a caterpillar being devoured by hatching parasites. They eat the internal organs first and save heart for last. Appetizing isn’t it. image from Woody Pest CD woodypest.ifas.ufl.edu/ images/slide41.jpg

Parasite Very specialized Develop from eggs laid in or on host (think “Aliens”) very stealthy and often small leave a trail of bodies This is a picture of parasitised aphids. Healthy milkweed aphids are yellow. However here there are a number of off colored parasitised aphids (the red color). These aphids will not live long. Parasites tend to be very specialized as mentioned earlier there is often a parasite for each life stage of an insects. Also unlike predator which eat their prey and don’t leave evidence behind parasites leave behind a trail of bodies. Image/slide from Good and Bad Bugs in Your Garden (12.3 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC (revised July 2000) http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/ Parasitized aphids Healthy aphids

Aphid Mummies For example these the aphid mummies. They are left behind after a wasp emerges. You can see the adult female wasp laying her eggs inside an aphid. When her young hatch they leave an escape hole which you can often see if you look carefully. If you see these mummies that is a sign you have some natural biological control going on in your yard. Image/slide from Good and Bad Bugs in Your Garden (12.3 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC (revised July 2000) http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/

Parasite MOST parasites are either flies (Right picture) or small wasps (left). If there is nothing dead or decomposing around, and the fly isn’t a house fly, then it is probably a parasite. In a study to be published in the April 5th issue of Nature, the researchers report that Ormia ochracea, a parasitic fly measuring less than one centimetre in length, can determine the direction of a sound within a range of two degrees - a feat previously ascribed to only keen-eared owls, cats and humans. "Their sense of hearing is remarkable because their ears are so close together that directional hearing would be impossible in any other animal.Most flies have no sense of hearing at all, explains Mason. But Ormia is a specialist at locating singing crickets, on which they deposit tiny larvae that grow into large maggots by eating the crickets from the inside out. Ormia can detect singing crickets using a unique set of eardrums that are located behind the head as reported in Science by Hoy and his post doctoral fellow, Daniel Robert in 1992 Image 1 from U of Toronto www.newsandevents.utoronto.ca/ bin2/010404a.asp Image 2 from www.agr.okstate.edu/alfalfa/images/ insects/para-wasp.jpg

Who knows about the Phorid fly?? This is a fly being released by the University of Florida to control fire ants. When the flies are out foraging the fly lays her egg inside the ant of the ant. This paralyses the ant and eventually the developing fly larva causes the head of the ant to fall off (and of coarse the ant dies) and the fly emerges. SO why isn’t it working? Well it is. The fly is changing the habit of fire ants by making them less brazen foraging for food and this causes stress upon the colony since they don’t forage as much. However this parasite was never introduced as the silver bullet to end fire ants. It may be causing a 1-2% reduction in fire ants. But when only 2,000 of the 100,000 fire ants in your front yard die, most people aren’t very impressed. The phorid fly is a small part of the strategy, but each little but helps. Since the fire ant is an invasive (it’s from South America), it’s natural parasites had to be brought here. But don’t worry the phorid fly is very specific, it doesn’t even bother the native fire ants.. Slide/Image from Good and Bad Bugs in Your Garden (12.3 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC (revised July 2000) http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/

Biological Control Pathogens Predators Parasites The use of living organisms to control pests Predators Parasites Pathogens cartoon from http://www.wordscapes.net/_private/fs16.gif

Pathogens Usually very specific leave a trail of bodies may take a few days to provide control (lag time) kill, reduce reproduction, reduce insect health Don’t worry insect disease can not become human disease. While insects are vector for human diseases the disease we are talking about can not harm you. This caterpillar is infected with the Beauveria fungus which is a naturally occurring fungus that freezes it in place sometimes leaves it in a standing up position. You can make a tea out of these disease. In South America a Brazilian farmer collected infected caterpillars and crushed them up and made a tea out of them. He then sprayed this on their plants. This “tea” infected all the caterpillars on his plants, so he passed the tea onto his friends and the disease spread through his community Image from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC . http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/

Pathogens usually advertised as naturally occurring insect diseases caused by bacteria protozoa viruses and fungi BT- (Also known by the name Dipel) only kills caterpillars. It is active for short periods. The caterpillar must ingest the BT so it does not harm beneficial insects since they do not consume the leaves. There are other varieties of BT that kill grubs and beetles. You typically want to use BT within a year of purchase since heat/ time break down pesticides Nosema is used for grasshopper control. However with both Nosema and BT it is important to remember that size matters. They both work well on smaller insects. They only thing that is only to kill a three inch lubber is your truck tire. remember you can also buy beneficial nematodes to control mole crickets, grubs and other problems. These nematodes are completely different than root know nematodes and will not harm your plants. Image1 from fertile garden www.fertilegarden.com/ photos/Image25-L.jpg Image2 from from www.gardensalive.com Nosema BT

Chemical control Should be used as a last resort and with the lowest impact on natural enemies and YOU! www.claybennett.com/images/archivetoons/ pesticides.jpg

Pest Management Prior to the 2nd World War Several Approaches 1. Manual and physical control methods 2. Cultural control 3. Biological control 4. Chemical control (metal & plant derivatives) Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/

Pest Management After World War 2 Development of nerve gases…discovered to be insecticidal Discovery of synthetic, organic insecticides Organochlorines (DDT - wide spectrum OP’s (parathion) Carbamates Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/

Widespread Use of Pesticides (1945 - 1980) By 1980, more than 900 registered insecticides Insecticides were a popular choice for pest management because they were: a. Cheap b. Effective in small quantities c. Persistent d. Broad spectrum Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/ e. Easy to use f. Fit in calendar spray schedules

Result of widespread insecticide use a. Suppression of target pests (at one time, up to 98% reduction) from single application. And as Martha would say….. “That’s a good thing!” Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/

     Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/  

     Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/  

     Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/  

     Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/  

     Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu/  

Not all Pesticides were created equal Those not compatible with biological control Organochlorides Organophosphates Carbonates Pyrethroids Others are compatible with biological control Insect growth regulators microbials botanicals oils/soap attractants/ repellants Organichlorides- DDT Organophosphates (orthene, diazanone) Carbonates (sevin, Dilox) Pyrethriods (Sifluthron, permethrin) Informaion from ACORN publication(purdue)

What makes a pesticide compatible? Selectivity residual activity time,rate, and place where sprayed Remember NE have slower generation time than pests bc of their size and such image from www.communityipm.com

Repellant IGRs Botanicals Oils/Soap Dimilin\chitininhibitor, you have to eat it for it to bother you, stay around for a while. Image 1 from Agrsol www.agrospol.cz/img/pripravky/ dimilin.gif Image 2 from Bioconnet www.biconet.com/botanicals/ NeemPlus.html mage 3 from Med Pest and Supply www.medpest.com/insect.htm Image 4 from BioCon www.biconet.com/botanicals/ ashdso.html Image 5 from BioCOn www.biconet.com/ flyers/gb.html Image6 from Florida Chemical www.floridachemical.com/ Default.htm Oils/Soap

Compatibility Chart Chart from Michigan Sate Extension Publication Natural Enenmies I Your Gardfen: A Homeowner’s Guide to Biological Control. Image from mc2.cchem.berkeley.edu/ modules/pesticide/

NOT all azaleas were created equal CULTURAL CONTROL NOT all azaleas were created equal Talk about suseptible plant, shade and azaleas You may have heard of heimloom varieties for example in tomato. Debate on weather you should use hybrids or heimloom varieties. Should we conserve heirloom varieites. Sometimes these have resistance already sometimes they don’t, but disease resistance is very important in Florida Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu .

CULTURAL CONTROL Use pest free plants Use resistant varieties destroy refuse Image/Slide from Integrated Pest Management - An Introduction (long version) (18.7 MB) - Thomas Weissling, Ft. Lauderdale REC http://presentations.ifas.ufl.edu

Stressed plants are generally more susceptible to Grow healthy plants: Stressed plants are generally more susceptible to pest attack Cultural Methods: fertilization watering, pruning, sanitation, etc. Increase soil organic matter, make sure your plants are healthy below and above grounds. Don’t create a plant on steroids.

Physical control Usually most labor intensive remember to remove insect and weeds. Why weeds bc they are competition Remember though all weeds are not weed? Some attract beneficial iunsects some provide N to soil or serve as cover crop (clover in your yard) Floating row covers- insect fences suppose to be light enough not to increase temp (?) good for flying insects not so good for soil born insects or plants that must be pollinated by insects or wind Image 2 from www.iicd-volunteer.org/Programs/ Images/Nicaragua/Hoeing.jpg Image 2 from www.gardensalive.com Usually most labor intensive

Physical control remember to remove insect and weeds. Why weeds bc they are competition Remember though all weeds are not weed? Some attract beneficial iunsects some provide N to soil or serve as cover crop (clover in your yard) Floating row covers- insect fences suppose to be light enough not to increase temp (?) good for flying insects not so good for soil born insects or plants that must be pollinated by insects or wind Image 2 from www.iicd-volunteer.org/Programs/ Images/Nicaragua/Hoeing.jpg Image 2 from www.gardensalive.com And don’t forget about the environmentally friendly SQUASHING method of insect control

Where do I get natural enemies and other aspects of biological control? Buy it Preserve what you have Focus on what you have before you go out and buy things

Purchasing natural enemies? Tips ID your problem insect Order from a reputable supplier life cycle when to release how many to release Story of ladybugs, some campanies buy adult ladies bug collected in mountains. When bugs are from nature they want to go home and can be full of parasites. Remember there is a pararistie for everyone including the good guys. You don’t want to introduce a parasite into your system that eats your good guys. You need to figure out which aphid, scale you have because sometimes the control is diiferent. Especially if you are dealing with parasites (remember they are very specific. A good reputable supplier should be able to help you with his. Does this natural enemies take care of ALL aphids or jusr certain ones. This can be tough because it may require scientific names and such Remember the more that is known about a NE the more it is probably used and probably works. Slide from Pudue Acorn project REMEMBER the market is NOT regulated by the government … a buyer beware market

Companies that sell natural enemies In Florida Florikan EcoSolutions Outside FLorida IPM Laboratories Beneficial Insectary Koppert Rincon-Vitova Insectaries Garden’s Alive Story of ladybugs, some campanies buy adult ladies bug collected in mountains. When bugs are from nature they want to go home and can be full of parasites. Remember there is a pararistie for everyone including the good guys. You don’t want to introduce a parasite into your system that eats your good guys. You need to figure out which aphid, scale you have because sometimes the control is diiferent. Especially if you are dealing with parasites (remember they are very specific. A good reputable supplier should be able to help you with his. Does this natural enemies take care of ALL aphids or jusr certain ones. This can be tough because it may require scientific names and such Remember the more that is known about a NE the more it is probably used and probably works. Slide from Pudue Acorn project

How to help the good bugs. Reduce your pesticide use, and only use softer pesticides Learn to ID the good from the bad Use flowers in your garden that attract natural enemies provide pollen/nectar provide shelter/shade 1. Reduce the rate/ frequesncy of pesticide applications, try spot treating or simply removing infested plants. Stop treating minor pests Use selctive pesticides such as microbials Use an economic threshold and remember to consider your NE mortality into your ET 2. Learn to ID signs and symptoms of diseased and parasitized insects, try keeping a garden dairy 3.Planting about 10 yards within your plants is good, but something is better than nothing And remember polycultures and better than monocultures Experiment with your garden to find out what works best!! cartonn from www.cookiescreations.com/.../ cartoon/Ladybug72.jpg Slide from Purdue Acorn project

Flowers that attract the good guys Dill Fennel Queen Anne’s lace Echinacea (coneflower) Sunflower Tansy Vetch Mustards Lupine Cilantro (coriander) Gaillardia (blanketflower) Milkweeds Goldenrod Fava Bean Alfalfa Clover Parsley Think about when problems arise in your garen, try to plant flowers that will flower during or right before that problem. This offer the beneficials to establish themselves in the garden and have an extra supply of food if they eat all the problem pests. Information from Michigan State University Expension Natural Enemies in Your Garden: mA Homeowner’s Guide to Biological Control

And Scouting ohioline.osu.edu/.../web_benes/ ParasitizedCatcropthm.jpg

SCOUTING LOOK FOR . favorable conditions signs of the pests damage frass the actual pest signs of natural enemies LOOK FOR

THE END