Gardening at Home

Guests in the Garden – Wanted & unwanted

Gardening with urban wildlife – We are lucky to live in an urban environment co-existing with creatures of all kinds. These animals and insects are essential parts of our urban ecosystems

• Our gardens are also part of this ecosystem (or it is best if they are). When you plant a garden, you are sending out an invitation to other species. You are guaranteed to have guests.
  • Some guests we are excited to see.
    • Examples: Monarch Caterpillar on Milkweed, Black Swallowtail Caterpillars on Dill, Ladybug on leaf, Bumblebee, goldfinch, squash bee, eastern tiger, rusty-patched bumble bee, monarch, cardinal, ruby-throated hummingbird, hummingbird month
  • Some guests we are not so thrilled to see.
    • Examples: beetles, squash bugs, rabbits, squirrels, rats, raccoons
• Many creatures are complicated. What might be considered a “pest” in some situations can also be or become an important part of our garden ecosystem.
  • Example: The Tomato or Tobacco Hornworm is the bane of tomato plants. But it is also a caterpillar who morphs into the Sphinx Moth – a very beneficial pollinator
• • We need the unpopular guests to attract the beneficial guests.
    • Example: Chickadee eating a cabbage looper
• How do we strike a balance – allowing some wiggle room for some unpopular, less beneficial guests to attract the more beneficial guests.
• Like any thriving ecosystems, our gardens are all about diversity and balance
  • So how do we co-create a healthy balance in our gardens?
  • How can we grow gardens that are inviting to our wildlife friends and even to some degree our frenemies?
  • As organic gardeners, how can we avoid poisons and pesticides and implement natural solutions to garden with nature, instead of against nature?

Physical and preventative controls work best. When you see that the damage is done to your plants, then it’s probably already too late.

Walk through your garden as much as possible to not only ground yourself, but to also check for any issues. Look at plant stems and foliage, and under leaves where insects like to lay their eggs. Prune off and dispose of dead/diseased plant parts. Hand pick off insects.

Wrap duct tape, sticky side out, around your fingers and tap the insects or larvae. They’ll come off on the tape.

#1) Just say no to monocultures, plant a diversity of plants

• A monoculture (aka too much of any one thing) is ripe for disease and destruction and more vulnerable to loss. Not to mention it robs the soil of nutrients and harms beneficial bacteria and microorganisms.
• Biodiversity is key! The more diverse your garden is, the more resilient it will be.
• A diverse garden:
  • attracts a greater variety of insects and wildlife – which in turn creates a healthier garden ecosystem.
  • creates habitat – which supports beneficial wildlife.
  • minimizes weeds and improves soil – which makes diseases less likely.
  • is a vibrant jungle of vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers – is more fun and has more flavor.

#2) Try Crop Rotation

• This can be difficult in our small urban spaces, but it’s possible.
• Different plants need different nutrients and a vegetable plant grown repeatedly in the same spot will deplete the soil of those nutrients over and over again.  
• And sometimes an insect or disease will force your hand.
  • For example, Squash Vine Borers overwinter in the soil and once established, they will gut your squash vines year in and year out.

#3) Companion Planting

• Plants need friends, too. Grow plants together that benefit and support one another. Companion plants can help increase soil nutrients, encourage beneficial insects, deter unwanted wildlife, and support pollinators.
• Some examples for beneficial insects:
  • Lettuce & Sweet Alyssum (aphid control)
  • Broccoli & Cosmos (aphid control)
  • Cucumber & Dill (cucumber beetle control)
  • Squash & Nasturtiums (squash bug control)
  • Cabbage & Chamomile (cabbage worm control)
  • Tomatoes & Basil (thrip & hornworm control)
  • Peppers & Radishes (radish serves as a trap crop)
• Some examples for native pollinator support:
  • Strawberries & Golden Ragwort/Common Cinquefoil/New Jersey Tea/Golden Alexanders (Mason Bees, Miner Bees, Hoverflies)
  • Blackberries/Raspberries & Jacob’s Ladder/Smooth Penstemon/various Indigos (Bumblebees, Sweat Bees, Carpenter Bees)
  • Tomatoes/Peppers/Eggplant & Tall Coreopsis/Obedient Plant/Purple Prairie Clover/Leadplant/Blue Wild Indigo/Wild Bergamot/Purple Coneflower (Bumblebees, Carpenter Bees, Hawk Moths, various Butterflies)
• Some examples for native pollinator support:
  • Green Beans & Common Milkweed/Butterfly Milkweed/Prairie Blazing Star/Wild Bergamot (Bumblebees, Leafcutter Bees)
  • Squash/Zucchini/Melons & Common Sunflower/Tall Coreopsis/Purple Prairie Clover/Tall Thistle/Wild Bergamot/Leadplant (Bumblebees, Squash Bees, Eastern Carpenter Bees)
• General Native Plants for Your Vegetable Garden: Partridge Peas, Purple Prairie Clover, Wild Bergamot, Pale Purple Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, Leadplant, Blue Wild Indigo
• The Native American Three Sisters Garden is the perfect example of companion planting. Grow corn, beans, and squash together.
  • Corn = serves as trellis for beans
  • Beans = fix nitrogen back into the soil 
  • Squash = provides a living mulch to prevent weeds and also deters unwanted insects and animals

#4) Try Trap Crops

• Every garden needs some sacrificial offerings. Trap cropping uses plants as decoys to distract and draw away insects and other wildlife from your desirable crops.
• You can use the same species as your main crop to serve as sacrifice plants. Or you can use different species as decoys.
• What are some good trap crops?
  • Radishes (flea beetles, Harlequin bugs)
  • Amaranth (cucumber beetles)
  • Nasturtiums (aphids)
  • Sunflowers (stinkbugs)
  • Zinnias (Japanese beetles)
  • Marigolds (nematodes)

#5) Plant for Pollinators, Predators, and Parasitizers

• One of the best methods for deterring unwanted creatures is to provide food and habitat for the species you do want. When you plant for beneficial bugs, you create a healthier ecosystem as a whole and your garden will thank you. 
• Pollinators = bees, butterflies, flies, moths, wasps, hummingbirds
  • Honeybees are pollinators, but they are not as efficient or specialized as our native bees. They rely on native plants for food and habitat, so planting native pollinator plants will attract them. They will ensure better pollination of your food plants and some will eat the detrimental insects as well.
  • For example, Hover flies are excellent pollinators and their larvae are aphid-eating machines. Plant Coreopsis, Coneflower, Black-eyed Susans, and Sunflowers to attract them
• Predators = Ladybugs, lacewings, praying mantid, spiders, assassin bugs, soldier beetles.
  • They eat other bugs and you want them in your garden. Did you know ladybug larva can eat up to 40 aphids an hour?
  • Attract them with flowering herbs and pollinator plants like Dill, Cilantro, Butterfly Milkweed, Alyssum, Marigolds, Cosmos, Bee Balm, Yarrow, Goldenrod, etc…
• Parasitizers = Parasitic Wasps
  • Like something out of a sci-fi movie, they lay their eggs on or in other bugs and their larvae feed on the host insects.
  • Brachonid Wasps like to lay their eggs on the Tomato Hornworm. Once the eggs hatch, the baby wasps chow down on the host.

• Mosquitoes – The best way to control mosquitoes is to control their larval stage. Use mosquito dunks to do this. Mosquito dunks use a non-toxic bacteria (BTI) that targets mosquito larvae.

1. 1. In spring, get a bucket, fill it with water, add a handful of straw or hay, set it out in the sun, and add a mosquito dunk
   2. The female mosquitoes will lay their eggs in that bucket brew and the dunks will do their work
   3. Each dunk lasts a month

All of the general tips are great strategies for incorporating biological controls and creating a healthy ecological balance in your gardens—especially when it comes to insects. But what about those other garden visitors—rabbits, rats, squirrels, raccoons, etc.? How can we discourage them from chomping on our plants?

Here we can look to nature as well. The right plants are often natural deterrents for many of these furry garden munchers.

• Interplant the following with your food plants or as a border around your garden:
• For example:
  • plants with a strong scent can sometimes discourage wildlife
  • for rabbits try onions, garlic, lavender, sage, hyssop, sweet alyssum, catnip 
  • for squirrels try nasturtiums, mustard
  • for rats try onions, mint, echinacea, thyme
• There are also old-time remedies passed down from elders (not known to be scientifically proven).
  • hair can keep bunnies out of her garden so she hits up her hairdresser for bags of hair.*
  • predator urine (fox or coyote pee)*
  • cayenne pepper*
  • talcum powder*
  • dried blood meal*
  • hot sauce and dish soap
  • Irish Spring soap shavings*

*all of these need to be reapplied again and again as the rain washes away the scent or they loose their effectiveness

• Some people recommend clear glass jars of water, mirrors, or aluminum foil because rabbits and squirrels are scared of the reflection.
  • Speaking of foil, if you have squash vine borer problems, try wrapping your young squash stems in aluminum foil. This helps to prevent the larvae from burrowing into the stems.
• Physical barriers are your best course of action against hungry guests in your garden. Fencing, screening, netting, row covers, wire cloches, etc.
  • Chicken wire fencing or 1/4 hardware cloth: Install this around your beds about four feet off the ground. Critters can still dig under so bury it six inches deep as well. – You can also wrap this around individual plants like a cylinder for protection.
  • For raised beds, install hardware cloth or wire mesh at the bottom of the bed to deter burrowing creatures like rats and gophers. 
  • Try wire cloches or even dollar-store waste baskets to cover young tender seedlings and other vulnerable plants like lettuce.
  • Netting is a good protection against many animals, including birds. But it won’t deter insects and remember, you want those birds to eat some of the insects on your plants.

Rats eat what we eat and they love messy areas and dense plantings where they feel protected. They also burrow to make their nests.

• Seal compost bins and garbage cans 
• Remove access to food and water sources, including pet food and fecal matter
• Remove clutter and cut down grass and weeds
• Rats navigate w/ their whiskers and they prefer to use walls, curbs, and foundations to get around. Cut back vegetation 2 feet from the sides of buildings. They won’t have as much cover and they’ll be less likely to travel through these exposed areas. 
• Last Resort – Traps. Check with the city before installing.

The 17-year periodical Cicada will be emerging in Northern Illinois in 2024. In central Illinois it will be synced with the 13-year Cicada emergence. For about 4–6 weeks (from around mid May to late June), millions of big, red-eyed insects will take over the great outdoors. It will be loud and it will be crunchy.

But guess what? They will be mostly harmless…mostly.

• One thing to consider is that they can potentially harm young trees and shrubs, especially fruit trees. After the deafening mating calls, the females often make small slits in slender twigs to lay their eggs. Think 3/16” to 7/16” branches—the size of a pencil. The nymphs will hatch, fall to the ground, and lay low for another 17 years. But the egg-laying can pose problems as those small slits can weaken and damage young, vulnerable trees and shrubs. 

Some strategies to minimize damage:

1. If you have smaller or newly planted trees or shrubs, consider wrapping them in fine-mesh netting before the May emergence. Make sure to tie the netting to the trunk at the bottom. Remove the netting after the emergence is over in June.
2. Delay planting any smaller new trees or shrubs until after the emergence ends in June. Even better wait until fall (which is a great time to plant trees and shrubs anyway).

Organic pesticide alternatives:

• Soapy water: mix 2 tsp of dish soap w/ 1 pint of water; spray on soft-bodied insects like aphids, mites, whiteflies, and thrips; for Japanese beetles, hand pick them off and drop them in the soapy water
• Essential oils: mix 10 drops of oil with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle —try rosemary oil, lavender oil, lemongrass oil for some insect larvae like cabbage loopers
• Try peppermint oil, orange oil for squash bugs, aphids, whiteflies
• Last Resort – Neem oil?
  • Neem oil is from the seeds of the Neem tree. It has two active ingredients: Azadirachtin and clarified hydrophobic neem oil. It is used on both insects and fungal diseases. For insects the oil coats their bodies and suffocates them. It can be effective against aphids, beetle larvae, lace bugs, leafhoppers, leaf miners, thrips, and whiteflies. However, like all broad spectrum pesticides, it can also harm pollinators and beneficial insects.