What is the name of the animals that protect the garden. Beneficial insects are our helpers

Pests are most active at night.

Control methods

• weed control will reduce the number of slugs;
• superphosphate (up to 40 g / sq. m) in granules, a mixture of tobacco dust and lime, potassium salt is scattered on the soil. Processing is carried out in the evenings. The interval between the first and second phases is about 40 minutes;
• directly on the slugs, you can pour the preparation "Thunderstorm" and "Meta";
• the popular method is to pour hot water on naked slugs. At a temperature of + 40 ° C, the pest dies. Cabbage does not suffer during processing. The procedure is carried out at dusk.

I don’t know how anyone else, but in my dacha leaf-gnawing caterpillars take the first place. It's time to kill them with your bare hands, tk. at a certain period in the garden, you can observe a huge number of these pests. I've heard a lot of good things about Iskra. I will definitely use it next season. There are slugs too, but their presence is not so strongly felt, especially if weeds are dealt with in time.

With the advent of the summer season, every gardener is faced with various kinds of insects, which not only do not cause pleasant impressions, but can also harm the future harvest. To date, people have learned a lot, have managed to gain experience over the years of cultivation of land in dealing with the growth of the population of pests. There are different types of threatening crops and plantings, each needs its own approach, because they lead a different way of life, which means that you need to cope with them in different ways.

The appearance of various insects on the site is quite normal, if they are, this does not mean that you need to fight them. Only an excessive number of them speaks of the need to sound the alarm. For example, bugs and many spiders are not dangerous for young shoots and further harvest. Only those who can use for food what the summer resident is trying to grow all summer are harmful. There are not many of these pests, but if their number forces us to resort to searching for a method for extermination, then it’s time to study information about the species, threats and ways to drive them out of our territory.

Many factors contribute to population growth and rapid reproduction. Cluttering of the site, the location of the garden, overgrown territories of neighbors, during the time of not weeding the grass, acidic soil - all this leads to an increase in the number of threatening and ordinary insects.

First you need to put things in order in your garden, free the earth from rotting stumps, logs and boards. It is necessary to remove flat objects from the ground, which do not allow the sun to dry and warm the soil. Watering should only be done in the garden beds, water in shaded areas can maintain constant moisture, which attracts some species.

The trunks of trees must be whitewashed, dry bark is removed, cracks and crevices are sealed with a special mixture. Various pests (aphids, beetles, butterfly larvae and others) are taken into the bark, they find in this dwelling for the winter. Many do not even think to deal with trees, thinking that everyone creeping under their feet is a big delusion.

In the ruins of broken bricks and large stones, a two-tailed beetle, wood lice, various spiders and large beetles are hiding. Anything that could become a pest's home should be cleaned up if possible.

Under the tank for watering water, its own atmosphere reigns, the grass is better there, it is always wet and there is something to profit from. This place is very attractive for crawlers, in order to avoid this, it is necessary to place the tank on a flooded foundation or on a pillow of dense gravel, to create an environment that is not suitable for pests to live.

It is recommended to carry out cleaning in early spring, as soon as the snow melts, when the awakened insects did not have time to give offspring. At the end of the season, a thorough cleaning should also be carried out, because everything that has not been removed will give "fruits" the next year and the work will double.

To know how to deal with harmful creatures and other methods, you need to understand how they are used to spending their day of life. This will provide a useful advantage to the gardener, which will speed up the release of the earth from excessive numbers of insects.

How to get rid of wood lice and two-tails in the garden?

Two-tailed and wood lice live only where it is damp and dark, if it is daytime. They go hunting at night, so only after sunset can you estimate their number. Often they crawl into the house and can no longer get out of there, this does not mean that they are more comfortable in the room. On the contrary, they do not really like being next to a person, because there is no food for them in a clean and tidy house. They creep in by chance, but this is a sign for a person, which means that the adjacent territory is the home of these insects. They hide under the porch, in the trash, in the crevices of the foundation, or anywhere near the front door.

Perhaps the rainwater from the roof is flowing very close to your home, creating the ideal environment for moisture lovers. In this case, it is necessary to build a drainage system that will take the collected drops away from the building.

All kinds of rubbish, garbage containers, broken bricks or stones, deposits of various objects should be removed to a special place or away from the front door and windows. Cracks and crevices are sealed to prevent possible entry for two-tails.

Or the house is less common, their favorite place is stumps, rotting tops, rotten boards, which summer residents use as paths between the beds. By lifting one such board, you can see which types of insects predominantly live on the site. Only there will be only those who are accustomed to increased dampness. They can start either in a shower cabin for the same reasons - high humidity and the presence of places for shelter.

Traditional methods

It is very easy to get rid of earwigs and wood lice using the most common method. You need to find the places of their accumulation and go out on a real hunt, having previously boiled the kettle. Hot water leaves no chance of survival, so the population will decrease significantly if you walk through all such places. After treatment with boiling water, you can sprinkle the found dwellings salt so that no one else will return there.

Insecticides

How to deal with aphids in the garden and vegetable garden?

Aphids are a big threat to the summer resident, they are not always noticeable due to their small size (1-2 mm). Many do not understand why the leaves of some shrub have curled up or completely dried up and crumbled. This pest eats plants, sucking the juice out of them. Aphids are located in large quantities on stems and leaves. is capable of destroying a tree, it will at least stop bearing fruit, and in the worst case scenario, it will die.

The source of the appearance of aphids in the garden or in the garden at their summer cottage are ants if there are anthills on the territory. Aphids prefer to settle on a young tree or shrub; they do not touch old leaves and branches, because they cannot pierce dense foliage with their proboscis.

To combat aphids, a method is needed that will not harm garden plants, birds and humans. The choice should be approached responsibly, taking into account all the nuances.

Aphids will disappear over time if periodically knock her off the branches with water... She cannot climb back, since this requires ants. Most likely, the insects thrown from the bush will get lost and die, because there is no food source on earth for them.

One of the most harmful insects is the bear. It destroys both young and adult plants. If the seedlings die in the open field, despite sufficient watering and the consumption of sunlight, then most likely this earth crayfish has started up in the garden.

It is very difficult to figure out for sure if this pest is in your garden. In its habitats, you can see small burrows or bumps that resemble the tracks of moles on the surface of the earth. This is an amazing insect, it can fly, crawl and even swim. It gets more active in the late afternoon, and during sunset you can hear characteristic sounds like chirping grasshoppers. A mole cricket can appear on a particular site quite by accident, having chosen it for its permanent residence.

Dung heaps and compost pits serve as a place for the bear to lay eggs, there is warmth and enough food. However, under a simple dry bed, she can also feel good, feeding on the roots of vegetable crops. Despite the benefits in medicine, they are a real disaster for the gardener; in order to get rid of them, you need to take a responsible approach to business, otherwise a large amount of the crop will die, and next year there will be much more of them.

Folk methods of removing a bear

Without resorting to chemical methods, you can use popular advice. Kapustyanka, as summer residents call her, loves to huddle in manure, she is attracted by dung heaps, in which they lay their eggs and remain for the winter. Using traps from this fertilizer, you can significantly reduce the number of insects or get rid of them completely.

At the end of the season, several holes about 50 cm deep are dug on the site and manure is poured into them. As soon as the temperature drops significantly, you can dig out the contents and scatter them in those places on the surface where you need to so as not to waste fertilizer. In order not to think and not guess when to do it all, it is better to focus on the snow. With the first snow, you can go to check traps. Although it is not necessary to check, having pulled everything out of the recesses, the bear will simply freeze, because it is in a dream, it will no longer find a new place.

In the spring, you can place traps throughout the territory, scattering piles of manure 2-3 shovels each. It is necessary to make embankments as often as possible, at a distance of 2 to 4 meters from each other. Before checking the traps, it is worth waiting at least three days so that this earth crawfish has time to get to it and understand that this is its new home.

If the supposed hole of the bear was found, you can pour water into it with the addition of a small amount oils... Solution soapy water is also suitable for such a case. She will get to the surface or die without crawling out into the light. The bear is still afraid the smell of needles, kerosene and rotten fish, of all the above, the most pleasant option is definitely the first.

Insecticides against the bear in the garden

There is also a chemical method of exposure, but it is not as simple as the previous ones. A drug Metaphos added to corn or wheat porridge with butter, and then laid out under the same manure traps or under the beds to a shallow depth. The method is effective, but not very convenient, because when planting on a garden bed, you don't really want to think and bother about digging holes for placing poisoned porridge, all the more, this should be done more often than simple manure trompe l'oeil.

It's up to the gardener to decide everything, because besides Metaphos, there are other poisonous drugs, but they all require a careful and deliberate approach. Using such products can harm the crop, you should always remember this and use it with caution.

Carrot fly and its larvae

It is easy to understand from carrot tops that someone is eating these fruits underground. This is a carrot fly larva, which itself is small in size and black in color. If the tops begin to dry out or acquire a reddish tint, then you should think about fighting the pest so as not to lose the entire carrot crop.
During the flowering period of bird cherry, the first flights of flies are made in order to increase the offspring, it is at this time that you should think about baiting. To tighten up with processing means to miss the chance to get rid of flying on completely this season. However, it is also important to remember that if there are more of these insects, then the balance in the garden is disturbed - there are fewer beneficial insects, their number turned out to be unable to cope with the population of harmful ones. This could be due to improper treatment of the summer cottage from insects, during which those that stood to protect your crop died out.

Not only can carrots be harmed by the carrot fly larva, they can also kill parsley and celery. To use the chemical baiting method, you need to know that the population is large enough. Effective drugs against carrot fly and its larvae include: Arrivo, Karate and other similar insecticides available in gardening stores.

Folk methods of removing carrot flies

It is much easier with advice from the people, the best option would be transfer of carrot beds... If this year the fruits were eaten, next year planting should be done away from this place, these flies are not able to fly to the new habitat.

As much as possible plant less often seeds, so that the roots are located farther from each other. Regular thinning will not work in this case. Better in advance process seeds anti-rot drugs: trichodermine, nitrogenophilus or phytocide.

By the way, varieties with a high sugar content are more resistant to this pest. For example, Flakke or Calgary will not be spoiled by worms hatching from carrot fly larvae.

A very effective method will be mixed fit, parsley or carrots can be sown along with onions or garlic, their smell will scare away pesky ground flies. You can also sprinkle ground pepper on the beds, its sharp aroma will also be an effective remedy against the pest.

How to kill a wireworm?

Beets and carrots, but bypasses legumes. He himself looks like a dense beige worm, which is inactive on the surface. No wonder he was given just such a name, he really looks like a piece of wire. To prevent its occurrence in much larger quantities, vegetables should be planted further apart... Can be applied every three years dolomite flour that will reduce the acidity of the earth that this worm loves so much.

Weeding should occur more often if the summer resident once noticed this insect. There should not be any weeds even in potato plantings. By the way, if you plant vegetables and legumes in a disordered manner, then the harmful destroyer will die. He gets used to one type of food, even his favorite potatoes and beets will not replace each other, such alternation is an effective disposal. It is not difficult to hedge your crop by planting something across a row of peas or beans. The gardener will not lose anything, it will only improve the quality and quantity of the fruit, and the wireworm will die as soon as possible.

When planting potatoes, add a little to the holes ash or add potassium permanganate solution... The acidity of the soil will decrease, which means that there will be no temptation. Periodic loosening the soil also contributes to population decline. Wireworms living in soil will float to the surface, so the grower can pick them up and destroy them with ease.

Can be easily constructed traps placed at the end of the season. Do not rush to remove heaps of foliage before wintering, it is better to leave them on the site. The wireworm will climb the burning hill for the winter, and the gardener needs to collect these traps and burn them as soon as the cold comes.

The above are not all pests that can spoil crops and destroy seedlings. There are a huge number of them, so you should pay attention to your garden and orchard in order to notice the appearance of harmful insects at the time. When resorting to the complex treatment of a summer cottage with poisonous drugs, you need to know that beneficial insects that protect garden plants can also die.

There are many practical tips that did not appear in vain; people have used one method or another for many years to achieve results and find an effective recipe. It is not necessary to sound the alarm, today these tips are available to everyone, so you can easily grow a good and large harvest.

In natural nature, there is always a struggle for space and food. There are no winners in this fight. A biological balance is simply established when beneficial representatives of the fauna restrain the rate of reproduction of pests. And such pests, usually polyphagous representatives of the fauna, are capable of destroying huge areas with vegetable, grain and fruit crops in a day. On cultivated lands, the true owners of gardens and vegetable gardens begin to fight with such pests in their own ways. In this article, we present to you six of the most dangerous pests of horticultural crops and measures to combat them.

1. Ticks are cosmopolitan omnivorous pests

Among the ticks, the most famous and widespread are spider mites ( Tetranychidae). Of the 50,000 species, more than 1,250 are found everywhere, including Antarctica. Spider mites are very small arachnids. Males 0.3-0.6 mm, females up to 1.0 mm. The body of a spider mite is rounded, covered with small bristles, sometimes with microscopic warts. There are 2 pairs of eyes on the head, the sucking mouth apparatus. The legs are five-membered. The body coloration of a spider mite is variable and depends on the color of the main host. Most often, ticks are red, green, brown, yellowish-green, dirty green in color.

By piercing the tissue, the spider mite sucks out the cellular contents.

Spider mite hazard level

Spider mites, accumulating a plant, are capable of completely destroying it in 3 days. The gluttony of ticks, coupled with the speed of reproduction (7 days pass from clutch to adult), under optimal environmental conditions, literally cause epiphytotic damage to the leaf mass of green plants, which will never recover and must be destroyed.

To protect them from the environment, ticks braid their place of residence with a thin web (not all species). They live in colonies under leaves, lumps of earth. Eggs remain viable up to 5 years.

What crops do ticks infect?

All types of mites belong to the group of dangerous pests of garden and berry and park crops. Pests inhabit all plants, including flowering and indoor. They are especially attracted by all fruits, strawberries, beans, onions, jasmine, roses. From flowering - begonia, gladioli, tulips, hyacinths, orchids and others.

External signs of plant damage by ticks

On the leaves of an infected plant (in bright light), yellow spots, small holes, silvery traces (cobwebs), a change in the color of the plant, and deformation of the leaf blade are visible. The defeat of plants by spider mites is usually epiphytotic.

Tick ​​control methods

Preventive and prophylactic, chemical, biological.

In order to have time to save the affected plants, especially indoor and growing in open ground, a systematic inspection of plants is necessary. If there is a suspicion of tick infestation (especially of flowering crops), treat the plants with pyrethrum or biological products Iskra-bio, Akarin, Fitoverm.

In cases of severe damage to garden crops by spider mites (30-35 days before harvesting), you can spray the plants with karbofos, keltan, difokol, telly and other preparations of contact-intestinal action. Colloidal sulfur is used in greenhouses.

2. Aphids - a carrier of viral plant diseases

Aphids (Aphidoidea) are one of the most common pests of green plants. The life form of aphids is winged and wingless; they perform different functions in the life of insects. The body length of aphids is from 0.3-0.8, and of some representatives of 2-5 mm. The body shape of the aphid is oblong, ovoid, ellipsoidal, hemispherical. The color scheme of the integument of the body of aphids varies from pale green to green, yellow-green, black.

The body of the aphid is covered with hairs, tubercles, fluff, outgrowths. The small trapezoidal head is adorned with 2 red, brown or black beads of multi-faceted eyes. On the forehead of the aphid there are long antennae - the organs of touch and hearing. The oral apparatus is represented by a unique proboscis, capable, with its diminutiveness, piercing the surface of leaves or young shoots and sucking out plant juices. The long thin legs of the aphid provide movement by walking and jumping.

Aphid danger level

Despite their miniature size, aphids are malicious pests. Each female gives 17 generations over the summer, giving birth to 100-300 new individuals every 2 weeks. The autumn generation of aphids takes on wings and populates new areas. In the taxonomy, there are about 4000 species and almost all of them are carriers of viral plant diseases, the fight against which is practically absent in the plant world.

What crops are affected by aphids?

Aphids inhabit all vegetable, fruit and berry crops and flower beds. Most often, weakened or overfed plants are affected, the loose tissues of which are easy to pierce to obtain nutritious juices.

External signs of plant damage by aphids

The first sign of aphids is the presence of ants on the plant. Ants settle aphids and feed on the sweetish liquid secreted by them. In damaged plants, young leaves curl at the ends of stems and shoots. Over time, well-developed old leaves become covered with a sticky bloom, which serves as a breeding ground for fungal and viral diseases. Some plants undergo leaf deformation in the form of gall blisters of various colors, in which pests settle.

Aphid control methods

Methods for controlling aphids, as well as other pests, are subdivided into agrotechnical, chemical, biological, and folk methods.

The use of chemical methods of protecting plants from pests in small areas of private property is impractical and hazardous to health.

Of the biological products that do not harm human and animal health, the following are recommended: Fitoverm, Aktofit and other biological products. Aphids are completely destroyed in 1-3 days.

3. Medvedka

The common bear (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa) is a large insect in an adult state, up to 5-8 cm long, reddish-brown in color. The forelimbs are shovel-shaped, adapted for digging the ground. On the head of the bear there are a pair of large eyes, a gnawing type of mouth apparatus. On the back there are wings in the form of twisted plaits. They are used by insects only in warm weather. The abdomen of the bear is brown-olive in color, lighter than the back. An adult can dig underground passages, crawl, fly, swim.

What crops are damaged by the bear?

Medvedka is one of the most dangerous pests and is equated with locusts and the Colorado potato beetle in causing damage to agricultural crops. An adult insect can destroy up to 10-20 plants per day.

The adults and larvae of the bear gnaw at the stems at the soil level and the roots in its upper layer of cereals and vegetables, including eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, cabbage, carrots, ornamental flowers and shrubs. An adult bear hunts for small insects, worms, and larvae of beetles living in the soil. At the same time, the Bears are well-known “gourmets”. They practically do not use weeds for food, only edible crops.

Signs of plant damage by a bear

Young plants at the base of the stem are soaked or the shoot is bitten. Plants wither within a few hours, begin to dry out and die. Seedlings damaged by the bear's imago or its larvae cannot be restored; replanting of new plants is necessary.

On solid crops, bald spots are formed, in the center of which you can find a nest with bear eggs. After the rain, around the plants, in the aisles, there are characteristic horizontal paths laid by adult insects. The paths usually lead to minks, the width of the entrance opening of which ranges from 1.5 to 2.0 cm.

Methods of dealing with adults and larvae of the bear

Agrotechnical

Any methods leading to the destruction of bear nests: deep plowing, systematic destruction of weeds, constant loosening of the soil up to 15 cm deep, trapping pits from manure in autumn and spring, etc.

Chemical

A week before planting seedlings or sowing crops, add bait for a bear from semi-cooked wheat, barley, treated with BI-58 or any other toxic chemical with a strong odor.

Simultaneously with sowing or planting crops against the bear, you can use: Aktara-25, Thunder, Prestige-290, granular insecticide Medvetoks, Fenaxin Plus.

Biological

On private plots, biological products harmless to humans are effective, developed on the basis of the natural enemies of the bear: Agravertin, Bitoxibacillin, Boverin. Developed by Russian scientists Nemabakt and Antonem-F, when introduced into the soil, destroy up to 80% of the larvae.

4. Winter scoop - northern locust

Winter scoop (Agrotis segetum) is a particularly dangerous pest. The unremarkable appearance and modest size of the scoop are deceiving. The length of the body does not exceed 3-5 cm. The color of the wings of the scoop is monotonous gray or yellowish brown, on which separate spots and transverse dark and light stripes stand out. Dimorphism of females and males of the moth: in females, the hind wings are gray-dirty, in males - white. Moths are active at dusk, feeding mainly at night.

Winter scoop hazard level

Under optimal environmental conditions, one female moth lays from 600 to 2240 eggs, of which the yield of caterpillars is up to 95-98%. In 20-25 minutes after emerging from the pupa, young moths are ready for flight and feeding.

Types of affected crops

Winter moth caterpillars damage more than 140 plant species of 36 families. They are divided into leaf-gnawing, intra-stem and gnawing, which destroy the root system of plants. One scoop destroys 10-20 sugar beet roots per day.

The scoop on the root plagues corn, tobacco, millet, cotton, by summer it switches to vegetable and industrial crops, including pumpkin, zucchini, peas, potatoes, and in the fall it populates winter and winter crops. From weeds, scoops prefer to settle and feed on the roots of plantain, sow thistle, bindweed.

Signs of damage to vegetation by a winter moth

The moth caterpillars damage the stems at the soil level and practically eat away the base of the stems of young plants, potato tubers and root crops, leaving characteristic voids, in which they sometimes settle. The scoops eat up the soft part of the foliage, leaving only streaks. You should pay attention to the general wilting of a large number of plants in large areas literally within a day.

Winter moth control methods

Agrotechnical

• Deep plowing, spring harrowing.
• Compliance with the timing of the return of crops in the crop rotation.
• Complete weed control, systematic inter-row cultivation of row crops.

Chemical

Of the chemical measures to combat scoops, the use of the drugs Decis, Fas, Zeta, Arrivo, Sherpa is effective. At home, they should be used very carefully, strictly observing the terms and doses indicated in the instructions.

Biological

At home, it is better to use biological products against scoops: Fitoverm, Agrovertin, Bitoxibacillin, etc.

5. Khrushch or May beetle - a double pest

The May beetle (Melolontha) is a large polyphagous pest. The body length of an adult insect reaches 3.5-4.0 cm. The body of the May beetle is light brown or brownish brown. The flight and reproduction of the May beetle begins approximately in the second decade of May. Large white larvae with a black head, equipped with a mouth-gnawing apparatus, hatch from the eggs in 1.0-1.5 months. Their white, segmented body is folded in the shape of a fetus.

The larva of the May beetle lives and feeds in the soil for 3-4 years. By the end of the summer of the 4th year, an adult beetle emerges from the pupa, which remains in the soil until spring. In the spring, appearing on the surface of the earth, the imago begins to feed intensively. During this period, the beetle is the most dangerous pest, since the larvae in the soil damage the root system, beetles on the surface damage the flowers and vegetative mass.

May beetle danger level

Under favorable conditions, the number of May beetles increases significantly and rapidly. The threshold of harmfulness of the May beetle is 1 larva per 1 sq. m area. Currently, in some regions, the presence of 2-3 is recorded, and near forest belts up to 20 or more larvae per square meter. m. Thus, the threshold of harmfulness has been exceeded many times over, i.e. we can talk about epiphytotic reproduction of the May beetle.

What crops are affected by the beetle and its larva?

May beetle is a polyphagous and especially dangerous pest. They harm plants by adults and larvae. Adult May beetles feed on leaves, flowers and ovaries of all fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs during the summer and breeding season (about 1-2 months a year, mainly in spring).

May beetle larvae gnaw at the roots of strawberries / strawberries, black and other types of currants, cherries, pears, apple trees (they especially love), aspen, birch, cedar, spruce and other plants. Moreover, the appetite of the larvae of this pest increases with age. At the present time, there is a 10-year activity in the intensified reproduction of the beetle and its flights to new places. Right now it is necessary to take all measures to protect plants and destroy the pest.

Signs of damage to plants by the May beetle

In plants damaged by an adult May beetle, leaf blades, buds, partially ovaries and young needles on conifers are eaten. When the roots are damaged by the larvae, the plant lags behind in development, withers, and easily breaks out of the soil.

May beetle control methods

Agrotechnical

• May beetles and their larvae do not tolerate the smell and release of lupine, the presence of nitrogen compounds in the soil. By sowing white clover, peas and other nitrogen-fixing crops or sowing mustard and cruciferous green manures under near-stem circles, it is possible to significantly reduce the number of May beetle larvae per unit area of ​​the plot.
• During a mass flight (end of April - May) in the morning at temperatures no higher than +12 .. + 15 ° С), shake the branches and collect May beetles.
• Mulching the soil with fine mulch in the form of shavings, crushed bark, chopped straw, chopped elderberry branches, chopped mass of lupine, various crucifers, up to cabbage leaves.

Chemical

• Pochin and Zemlin, Aktara, Bazudin, Vallar - contact-intestinal insecticides.
• Antichrushch is a modern environmentally friendly drug that has a long-term active effect on the pest.
• From harmless chemicals, you can use a solution of ammonia water to destroy the larvae of the May beetle.

Biological

• Nematode developed on the basis of a soil nematode. The biological product maintains a positive balance of pests in the soil for more than 2 years. Kills the pest within 3 days.
• The biopreparations Aktofit, Boverin, Fitoverm effectively destroy the larvae of the May beetle.Before use, be sure to read the recommendations.

6. Locusts - a messenger of hunger

Asian or migratory locust (Locusta migratoria). Every inhabitant associated with the green world of plants and animals living on them has seen locusts. Remember the story "The Green Filly"? This is one of the 2 life forms of locust - solitary. A harmless green filly. Is it so?

The locust is a large insect 3-6 cm long, resembling grasshoppers. A distinctive feature is the presence of a curved sharp keel on the pronotum, powerful jaws. The front wings of the locust are dense with brownish specks, the rear ones are delicate transparent with a yellowish, sometimes greenish tinge. Depending on the amount of food and the state of the external environment, the adult locust can lead a solitary lifestyle (green filly) or gregarious (brownish individuals). In the solitary phase, locusts practically do not harm plants.

Why are locusts dangerous?

Locusts are omnivorous pests with the highest feeding activity in the early morning and evening hours, when there is no heat peak. During the gregarious period of their life, the locust forms huge swarms (bands) of adults from united aggregations of larvae. One gregarious individual eats 200-500 g of plants with different densities of vegetative and generative organs (leaves, flowers, young branches, stems, fruits).

The locusts devour everything on their way. A swarm of locusts is capable of simultaneously occupying from 2.0 to 20.0 and more thousand hectares of land and flying, feeding on the way, up to 300, and with a favorable wind and up to 1000 km per day, leaving bare ground with separately protruding remnants of woody shoots and stems plants.

The gregarious way of life of the locust can last for several years, gradually dying out and passing again to a solitary form of existence. The interval between epiphytoties is on average 10-12 years.

Locust control methods

Agrotechnical

• In areas prone to locust attacks, a late digging of the summer cottage or adjoining area is necessary.
• With early autumn digging, spring deep harrowing is recommended, which contributes to damage to nests (egg-pods) with pest eggs.
• Unused areas should be tinned to prevent egg-laying and egg-laying by female locusts.

Chemical

• With a large accumulation of locust larvae in certain areas, it is treated with the chemicals Decis-extra, Karate, Konfidor, Image, the duration of which lasts up to 30 days.
• The systemic insecticide Clotiamet-VDG provides plant protection against locust for up to 3 weeks.
• Insecticide Gladiator-EC is good at killing larvae and adult locusts. Doses of the drug vary with the age of the locust.
• Damilin is a long-acting insecticide.

In general, all chemicals can be used against locusts as against the Colorado potato beetle.

One of the biological methods of natural plant protection in the garden involves the use of beneficial insects as natural enemies of harmful organisms, their study and assistance in settling in the garden and life in it. Which insects are beneficial? Let's take a closer look at them.

ladybug

The ladybug is a well-known beneficial insect in the garden. It belongs to round beetles and, depending on the species, is 4-9 mm long. The most common seven-spotted ladybird. The beetle got its name for 7 black dots on red elytra. But there are also beetles with yellow elytra and black dots, or dark beetles with light spots or without them at all. Also, the number of spots or the pattern of the wings can be varied. In total, we have about 70 species of large ladybirds, among which about 50 species feed on deciduous aphids, and the rest feed on armored aphids and spider mites. Ladybugs, along with other deciduous aphid exterminators, are essential helpers in the garden.

Adult ladybugs hibernate outdoors, such as under foliage or dry grass. In spring, ladybugs lay 10-20 eggs vertically in a group on branches or on the inside of a leaf near aphid colonies. Egg larvae go through 4 stages. They are usually painted dark gray with yellow or red patterns. At the end of the larval stage, ladybugs begin to pupate and, as a rule, acquire a yellow color. After emerging from the pupa, the beetle needs another 2-3 days before it acquires its final color. It is especially important that both the larvae and the beetles themselves belong to the species of predatory insects and feed on aphids.

The seven-spotted ladybug known to us destroys up to 150 aphids per day, smaller species - up to 60. While still larvae, insects devour a total of up to 800 aphids. So, a female beetle destroys about 4 thousand adult aphids in her life.

Settling in the garden:

• When using the ladybug as plant protection, consider her life cycle!
• For wintering, provide the insect with a refuge (foliage, stones, bark, etc.).

Gallica

Various species of the family of gall midges are better known to amateur gardeners as harmful insects (the larvae of a number of species develop in plant tissues, causing the formation of galls) than helping in the fight against the pest. The body length of gall midges varies from 1 to 5 mm. The well-known pests in the garden include, for example, pear gall midge.

Useful gall midges feed on the stage of aphid larvae. The most important species is Aphidoletes aphidimyza. The female (about 2-3 mm in size) lays 50-60 eggs near the aphid colony in one life span of 1 week. On the 4-7th day, orange-red larvae hatch. The latter bite the aphids on the legs and inject paralyzing liquid. The bitten aphid dies and is used by the larva for food. After 2 weeks, the fully formed larva falls to the ground and turns into a cocoon on the ground. After 3 weeks, a second brood hatches, whose larvae hibernate in a cocoon on the ground and hatch in the spring, being already adults.

Settling in the garden:

• No special conditions are required, except for the complete exclusion of the use of chemicals in the garden.

Ground beetle larvae

Ground beetle larvae feed on eggs of vegetable flies, small insects and their larvae, worms, slugs. These beetles are rarely seen in the garden during the day, they hide in shelters. The ground beetle is up to 4 cm long, it is very mobile. Many species cannot fly and are therefore active at night. The color of the ground beetle is very different: large black and completely yellow shimmering species are known. Adult insects hibernate in the garden in secluded, protected areas, such as under a house or a woodpile.

Large ground beetles lay 40-60 eggs separately in shallow holes in the ground. After a few days, larvae hatch from the eggs and hatch, depending on the species, after 2-3 years to the pupa. After a pupal period of approximately 2-3 weeks, adult (developed) ground beetles hatch. Along with ground beetles, which live mainly on the ground, there are also arboreal and flying species. They feed on small insects and worms and therefore live in rotting organic matter such as compost.

Settling in the garden.

• Ground beetles should be provided with a refuge (foliage, sawdust and shavings, small piles of stones), they live in open ground, sometimes hiding in earthen cracks.
• Pesticides are the worst enemy of ground beetles!

Hoverflies

Hoverflies are of great importance in horticulture as their larvae feed on aphids. Larvae develop in different conditions - in soil, slurry or on plants. Visually, the hoverfly is similar to a wasp, the length of an adult is 8-15 mm. The peculiarity of hoverflies, reflected in their name, is that in flight they can, as it were, hover in place, while making a sound that vaguely resembles the murmur of water.

Oviposition takes place in aphid colonies. Eggs 1 mm in size, oblong, white. The larvae hatched from eggs do not have legs and move like snails. They are colored white or yellow and look like fly larvae.

To hunt for aphids, hoverflies use their hook-shaped jaws, with which they firmly hold the prey, sucking it out. Development of the larva to the pupal stage lasts 2 weeks. During this time, the larva eats up to 700 aphids. Hoverfly larvae are active mainly at night and go hunting not earlier than dusk. The hoverfly undergoes the pupal stage in the form of a droplet, located near the aphid colony on leaves or on the ground. Some species breed several generations, most up to 5 per year. In some species, females hibernate in the same way as larvae or pupae. The hoverflies themselves feed on flower and honeydew, as well as on the secretions of aphids.

Pauline smith

Settling in the garden:

• Areas with flowering plants are most suitable for hoverflies, but not well-groomed lawns. Plants blooming with yellow flowers are especially fond of hoverflies.
• For overwintering hoverflies, you can leave small wooden boxes filled with dry grass or shavings.

The lacewing and its larvae - Aphid lions

The lacewing, along with ladybirds, is the enemy of aphids. In our gardens, the most common species is green with yellow eyes. The beetle got its name precisely for these eyes. An adult has a wingspan of up to 3 cm. Green oblong insects wear house-shaped transparent wings with veins, folding them on the lower part of a long body.

The female lays about 20 greenish eggs individually or in groups on bark or leaves. The hatched larvae develop depending on weather conditions within 2-3 weeks. Their length is only 7 mm, the jaws are long, sickle-curved and pointed. The larvae feed on small insects, especially aphids. Some individuals are able to destroy up to 500 aphids during development.

After 18 days, the larvae hide in a sheltered place, wrap around and turn into a white round cocoon. After the lacewing leaves the cocoon, the next generation begins. In total, 2 generations may appear in a year. Adults, as a rule, feed on honeydew and pollen, on occasion they do not disdain small insects. An adult lacewing hibernates in secluded corners, so sometimes it can be found in living quarters. During the wintering period, the insect may acquire a yellow or brown color, but in the spring it turns green again.

Aphid lion

Along with the common lacewing, we also have about 42 species of secret lions, which, like the lacewing, belong to real retina-winged ones. One of the most famous species has a wingspan (brown with a specific shape) of about 3 cm. Adults and larvae feed on aphids and contribute to the biological balance in the fight against this pest.

Settling in the garden:

• Prefer areas rich in flowering plants.
• Green-eyed women need shelter for the winter in the form of small wooden houses filled with straw.

The use of lacewing for targeted biological plant protection in greenhouses and greenhouses has been tried and tested with good results. To do this, it is necessary to place 20 lacewing eggs for each square meter of the surface, which can be purchased in special biological laboratories.

Riders

Riders can hibernate as a larva, pupa, or adult. At a time, the female lays about 30 eggs in a cabbage caterpillar. In total, she can lay up to 200 eggs. After the larvae hatch in the caterpillar, the shell of its body cracks, releasing the larvae, which later turn into pupae.

Settling in the garden:

• It is necessary to arrange wintering "apartments" in tall grass or in the roots under bushes, etc.
• The rider loves to settle in umbrella plants (dill, coriander, lovage, caraway seeds, kupyr, etc.)

Common earwig

The common earwig, belonging to the order of leather-winged animals, is well known to gardeners and gardeners. The body length is 3.5-5 mm, the front wings are firm, the rear ones are webbed. There are also wingless forms. Its claws located in the back of the body are impressive. The earwig hunts mainly at dusk and at night, and during the day it hides in dark narrow crevices.

By exterminating harmful insects, such as dahlia woodlice, the earwig can damage the delicate young dahlia plants.

In spring and autumn, the female lays up to 100 eggs in a burrow, which she pulls out herself, protects them and takes care of her offspring - first about the eggs, and later about the larvae. Earwigs overwinter in shelters - in the bark of trees, cracks in buildings, in soil, flower pots filled with small shavings or some other material, such as moss.

Settling in the garden:

• Flower pots filled with wood shavings, moss, or hay can be used as shelters. These pots are placed between vegetable crops or hung on trees.
• The pots should be cleaned for the winter and refilled in the spring.
• Digging in the tree-trunk circles contributes to the normal vital activity of the insect. Often, earwigs also seek refuge for themselves for the winter under the trees, in its fallen leaves.

Bedbugs

The carnivorous bug belongs to the class of weevils. Its various species have specific food sources. For some, this is the juice of a plant, for others - insects. For the gardener, first of all, the latter are interesting, which, among other things, destroy aphids. These include soft-bodied and false bugs, among which some species feed mainly on spider mites.

Flower bugs are small predatory insects 3-4 mm long. At a time, the female lays up to 8 eggs, mainly at the edges of the leaves. During the year, the bugs hatch 2 generations, and in areas with a warm climate even 3. Predatory bugs overwinter as adults. Larger species of the flower bug also feed on gall midge larvae.

Settling in the garden:

• No special requirements and recommendations, except for the exclusion of the use of chemical plant protection products.

How to attract insects to your garden?

If we take a lot of beneficial insects somewhere and release them into the garden, then the effect will only be short-lived. It is much more important that beneficial insects take root in the garden. To do this, you need to create suitable conditions for them. First of all, it is a food base and places for shelter and reproduction of beneficial insects.

To reproduce and increase the species composition of beneficial insects, including predatory (entomophages), it is important to take into account their features:

• carnivorous insects are attracted by flowering plants, but not by pests (phytophages);
• predatory insects are used for reproduction and destroy that kind of "host" i.e. a pest on which they themselves have developed.

So, beneficial insects are attracted to the garden by flowering plants (flowering weeds), not pests.

The presence in the garden and lawns, in the fields of natural nectar flowers, even in small quantities, allows predatory insects to provide additional nutrition in the breeding stages. Moreover, some predatory insects are able to reproduce effectively only by combining feeding on nectar or honeydew and insect prey. Therefore, the presence of flowering weeds, even in the fields where agricultural crops are grown, at a level below the economic threshold of harmfulness, increases the efficiency of predatory insects and is considered advisable.

There should always be a number of different pests in the garden for beneficial insects to survive.

Specialized predatory insects are looking for their "owner", i.e. pest at any number. Therefore, once again, there should always be a certain number of different pests in the garden, no matter how paradoxical it sounds! Usually, plants are planted in the hedge around the garden, on which pests develop and predatory insects survive. Only then can they prevent outbreaks of pest breeding. Polyphagous predatory insects show interest in a particular type of pest only when its abundance is high, so they usually lag behind.

Consequently, a variety of predatory insect species is required for sustainable pest control. And to expand the species composition and reproduction of predatory insects, their fodder nectar-bearing plants should be sown. These are, as a rule, Compositae umbrella and paniculate plants, the many small flowers of which represent many sources of nectar and together form a place where beneficial insects, including bees and butterflies, can sit.

Plants that attract beneficial insects

Among the plants that attract insects - the protectors of the garden, the following should be noted:

Many types of legumes have the ability to attract beneficial insects, for example, crimson clover, creeping clover, vetch. They provide beneficial insects with constant food and moisture, and enrich the soil with nitrogen.

To ensure the presence of flowering plants that are attractive to beneficial insects for the entire season, you need to start with those that bloom earlier, for example, buckwheat, which will be replaced by odorous dill. Immediately you need to plant marigolds, calendula, so that they bloom in the middle of summer. It is necessary to grow tansy, sweet clover and navel, which bloom for a long time from year to year.

The task of using beneficial insects is not to completely eliminate pests, but to control their number.

By creating conditions that would combine a favorable environment for beneficial insects and decorativeness, it is possible to achieve a natural balance between the number of harmful and beneficial insects.

We are looking forward to your advice and comments!