The Zombies, a rock group from the sixties, brought these
words alive in their music. Summer has arrived finally. Spending more of your
time outside brings more awareness on certain conditions in the garden that
might need your attention. Here are some newer products and treatments for
those common insect problems in the summer, while using some well-known song
titles to get us moving.
It’s My Party
Your backyard party might get interrupted by the movement of
ants. Among the tiniest of insects, the ant is an annoying pest that is working
hard to bug you. Foundation cracks and crevices provide breeding grounds for
ants to enter the home from the outside. While these ants are visible, it’s
what we don’t see taking place that is the problem; The colony is getting
larger by the day. The summer is a good time to inspect and treat outdoor ant
problems. There are specific treatments from home pest sprays to ant dusts for
indoor and outdoor use. One of the best preventive ways to combat the indoor
ant is by using Liquid Ant Trap bait which attracts and kills ants by providing
treated food that is gathered and returned to the colony for sharing.
The Boys Are Back in
Town
One of the prolific insects of summer is the dreaded
Japanese Beetle. The adult stage of the grub emerges and spends its cycle
eating flowers and leaves on your favorite plants and mating. When the times
comes to return to the soil and lay eggs, you have fewer options to treat. When
visible in the garden, you can treat large areas by attracting and trapping
these beetles in the popular Jap Beetle trap. Spray-to-kill methods need your
accurate targeting along with specific chemistry to ensure effectiveness. Neem
oil has been one of the better products on the store shelf known to help repel
the Jap beetle. If you choose to kill the beetle using a spray that can be used
on ornamentals, roses, flowers, and fruits, my recommendation is to use one of
the very best products available, Monterey Bug Buster II. This product can be
used to treat the “other boys” like fleas, ticks, ants, cicadas, and chewing
pests including the tomato hornworm.
Summertime Blues
The smallest of nuisance flying insects is the mosquito.
Weather conditions nationwide have become wetter and warmer and the spread of
the Asian Tiger mosquito includes even northern climates where it can withstand
cold winters. Today’s spray treatment doesn’t bring back memories of running
through the spray fog of a county worker’s truck through the city streets, but
there are some environmentally friendly products you can use at home. Barrier
repellents offer excellent protection when you need it during outdoor activity.
Everguard Tick & Mosquito repellent is a recently introduced product that
can last up to 4 weeks. Neptune Harvest offers a Biting Insect repellent that
can be applied directly to children’s skin or clothing. It doesn’t contain DEET
and provides relief against flies, ticks, green heads, and chiggers.
