Insect Pest Treatment Strategies

Ants

Keep indoor surfaces clean.

Seal entrances into your home. Pour boiling or soapy water down holes or on ants. Apply diatomaceous earth in active areas.     

Aphids

Do not over-fertilize plants.

Apply soap wash to aphid- infested areas. Pull heavily infested plants.

Apply ladybugs around infested plant.

Boxelder Bugs

Control nymphs with a soap wash. Clean up leaf debris to control over-wintering adults.

Cabbage Loopers 

Plant dill with cabbage. 

Spray with Bacillus Thurigensis (BT). 

Cockroaches

Eliminate clutter. Keep areas clean. 

Seal up cracks. Apply diatomaceous earth in active areas.

Elm Leaf Beetles

Larvae can be controlled with a new strain of beetle BT. 

Flies

Compost food waste outside. Seal up garbage and dispose of regularly. 

Install, fix or replace screens to keep out flies. Use a fly swatter.

Mites 

Do not over-fertilize plants. 

Wash plants with soap and water. Apply 1:4 dilution of rubbing alcohol and water.

Apply predatory mites. 

Mosquitoes

Stay inside during times when mosquitoes are especially active. 

Eliminate standing water. Use screens on doors and windows.

Attract birds (such as swallows) and bats to you yard that feed on mosquitoes or put BT cakes in ponds and bird baths.

Potato Beetles 

Plant beans near potatoes.

Scale

Scale Gently scrub scales off plant with a stiff brush or scrub pad. Apply a 1:4 dilution of rubbing alcohol and water to plant and soil. Spray with dormant oil to suffocate larvae. 

Slugs 

Apply diatomaceous earth in active areas.