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Spring has arrived and things are starting to grow and so are pest populations. This is the best time to get aphids, spider mites and slugs under control before they get out of hand. Nuisance ants are getting active and starting to show up in houses. Carpenter ant nests also are active now and worker ants may be found foraging indoors because their food sources (aphid honeydew, other insects) are not yet available outside. A few carpenter ants found indoors is no reason for concern because winged ants often fly in through open doors and windows at this time of the year. However, investigate any group of more than a few ants as these may be coming from a nest in the house somewhere.

Iron phosphate-based slug bait is big news for gardeners concerned about older baits that contain metaldehyde. These new baits are non-toxic to pets and wildlife. Spring is a good time to control slugs and snails before they do damage to your young seedlings. Check the label and look for iron phosphate as the active ingredient. The gardens alive! brand of bait is Escar-go.

Mosquito larvae in small landscape ponds and fountains are best controlled with products that contain the bacterium called Bti (Bacillus thurengiensis israeliensis). This material is non-toxic (unless you are a mosquito or black fly larva!) and very easy to apply. Look for products that can be placed in landscape water features that release this bacterium.The gardens alive! brand of Bti is No-Squito! Mosquito Bioinsecticide.

The CDC has just (late April, 2005) announced a second EPA-registered insect repellent available in the US. This repellent has been available in Europe and Australia for some time. The active ingredient is picaridin (Bayrepel). The main advantage to picaridin-containing repellents is that they are less irritating to skin and eyes than DEET-based repellents. Like DEET it is highly effective against a variety of insects (flies, mosquitoes, midges) and ticks. The only product I'm aware of in the US with picaridin is Cutter Advanced Repellent. Stay tuned, we'll report additional information as it becomes available.

There's almost never a need to apply pesticides indoors. Once you apply a pesticide to your indoor environment you may be living with it for a long time. There are better, safer alternatives to manage indoor pests.

Mosquitoes will be arriving soon and with them the threat of West Nile Fever in most areas of the US. Mosquitoes are both annoying and potentially dangerous because of the diseases they can transmit. Some of you will use repellents containing the active ingredient DEET. I recommend DEET as a safe and effective repellent but there are some cautions.

DEET is absorbed through the skin and there have been neurological disorders associated with extremely high blood concentrations that result when DEET-based repellents are used to excess. Therefore, use according to package instructions and limit to times when it is most needed.

On the other hand, repellents containing DEET are so much more effective than non-DEET repellents (except the new picaridin-based products), and mosquitoes are so potentially annoying and dangerous, that the trade-off is obvious for most people. Use products containing 10% DEET, or less, most of the time for adults and always on children. Higher concentrations (up to 50%) can be used on adults when mosquito or black fly pressure is severe. Don't use concentrations higher than 50%.

Don't forget to check around the yard for standing water. Even small puddles that last more than a few days can serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Drain these sources. Clean out gutters so they drain and dry out.

Gardening Tip. Allow some natural areas to survive near your garden. These unmanaged areas will sprout a diverse native plant community which will support native insect and mite species which in turn will support a healthy natural enemy complex. Some of these natural enemies will find their way to your garden and be a big help with controlling garden pests.

The easiest way to have natural areas is to simply leave them alone. Don't mow more than once or twice a year and don't apply herbicides or insecticides. The area does not need to be very big to serve as a productive natural enemy nursery. Ten feet by ten feet is plenty.

This principal is starting to find its way into commercial agriculture, especially organic farms. Some farms now plant a strip of something like alfalfa that serves as a natural enemy nursery between rows of crops.

Insects have had a tremendous impact on human history because of the diseases they transmit. Malaria and yellow fever, transmitted by mosquitoes, and Plague, transmitted by certain fleas, are perhaps the best understood examples.

There have been at least three episodes of plague in recorded history but the period of 1347 - 1350 was the worst. The Great Mortality by John Kelly is a chronical of this period. It is a complete history without being too dry and academic. It explores the conditions under which the plague asserted itself and how it affected subsequent human history.

A real strength of the book is the detailed portrayal of everyday life in mid-fourteenth century Europe and central Asia and how the arrival of the Plague affected ordinary people.

John Kelly is a scholar of European history and author of numerous of science-based books.

Pea aphid mummy (5.0x). A tiny parasitic wasp stung this pea aphid and laid an egg inside its body cavity. The wasp larva developed inside the aphid finally emerging through the circular hole it cut through the aphid's body as a fully formed adult wasp.

All that remains of the aphid is an empty shell or "mummy". Parasitic wasps probably account for most of the natural control of aphids. Use of non-selective pesticides can reduce the effects of these important parasites and may actually lead to an increase in aphids. Original photo by Ken Gray (5/22/1968).

See our article about Natural Enemies for additional information.