Mild winter can result in more bugs this spring

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • February 7, 2012
  • 336
                        
Summary: Mild temperatures have become the norm for the region this winter. With warmer temperatures comes a probability of more bugs this spring. Gardeners can plan ahead to control insects naturally with the use of homemade sprays or powders that are safe for humans and pets, planting plant species that attract natural predators and the sometimes inevitable hand-picking. Sure it’s February and we are still waiting for winter to begin. Weather is a weird thing. It can change quickly and with no rhyme or reason from the layman’s point of view. Folklore predictors like wooly bear caterpillars are unreliable albeit still fun. The mild and rather wet winter has its advantages. Municipalities save money on road salt and paying someone to plow. I wish I could say we are seeing a fewer number of potholes, but in my neck of the woods, such is not the case. The milder temperatures are good for people who cannot tolerate the cold or might be afraid to drive in snowy conditions. Heating bills are lower in a mild winter so it’s nice to have a little extra pocket change to put towards new garden tools or a pair of enviable Hunter boots from Scotland, unless of course, you supplement your income plowing snow in the winter. The mild winter is not so great for gardeners, however if it results in more bugs. Less cold means more bugs as they are more apt to survive the winter. One thing this season has going for it is the variability in temperature. We’ve had 55 degree days but we have also had 14 degree nights. If some of the bugs were caught off guard as they frolicked in unseasonably warm temperatures they may not be around this spring to tell us about it. I’m not betting on it and I anticipate we will see a higher than average number of bugs this spring and we will see them sooner than we might had winter been extremely cold. Controlling large-than-usual bug populations this spring might require nothing more than a prayer for natural predators to become active around the same time. If that fails, however, don’t lose faith just use a little common sense. Slugs are one of the creatures that thrive after a mild winter. They tend to overwinter in their egg stage and will become active in early spring just as your lettuce and early flowers are beginning to mature. Slugs are big. Beat them to the punch and hand-pick, I know, gross, but it’s better than adding yet more toxins to the environment through the use of insecticidal sprays that kill both slugs and desirable insects in the garden. Aphids overwinter in their egg stage and enjoy flash-mobbing the tender young spring plants in droves. While there are a lot of natural predators that dine on aphids, we can’t always guarantee they will show up in time to strike before damage is done. Planting mint, fennel, dill, yarrow, clover and dandelions will, however, attract predatory insects to your garden; a natural insecticidal soap is effective in preventing and controlling aphids. A simple mixture of one part mineral oil to two parts water with a couple of teaspoons of environmentally friendly dish soap or Murphy’s sprayed on the leaves, especially the underside, can keep aphids from setting up camp. There are several other bugs that will benefit from a mild winter that could pose a threat to the garden. Japanese beetle, even in small numbers, can do a great deal of damage in very little time. The best time to manage their populations was last fall with an application of naturally occurring microscopic bacteria sold under the names Milky Spore and Grub-X. If you failed to do that you can still hand-pick, here we go again, to remove the mature beetles from your plants. Here’s hoping for a hard freeze between now and the official start of spring.


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