BUG CONTROL... CHEAP, EFFECTIVE AND NATURAL!
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TOP LEFT: This is what the aphid-infested leaves on our black walnut tree looked like just two weeks after being drenched with Malathion. The little nests had returned immediately after a rainstorm washed away the foul-smelling poison . . . so we TOP RIGHT: placed an order with a California company for a half-pint of live ladybugs. The sturdy, well-ventilated container of predator insects arrived via air mail within two weeks. I removed them from the mailbox and stored them in the refrigerator to keep the ladybugs calm until evening. LEFT ABOVE: Toward sundown, I opened the box and placed it in the crotch of the old walnut tree. As dusk fell, I sprinkled the container and surrounding area with water to encourage the ladybugs to crawl out. RIGHT ABOVE: Aroused by the smell of water, the hungry and thirsty ladybirds clambered from the container during the night and spread throughout the branches of the walnut tree.
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by MARY GAYLE FURLOW
RELATED CONTENT
• PHOTOS BY
BILL FURLOW
Home gardeners in the Rocky Mountains receive plenty of
encouragement to use chemicals. In one recent Denver-area
newspaper alone, I counted no less than ten
recommendations for insecticides, fungicides, pesticides
and sterilant sprays! In addition, the only suggestion our
local money-hungry nursery retailers would hand us when our
giant black walnut tree out front became infested with
aphids was, ". . . spray 'em!" Little wonder my husband and
I fell prey to the old "chemical spray is the only way"
cliche.
In desperation, since we didn't want to lose our valuable
nut tree, we finally called a chemical application company
and asked them to come and rescue the black walnut. Mere
toddlers in ecological thinking that we were at the time,
we requested that a "soft" insecticide be used.
The tree was sprayed with Malathion, which we were assured
was completely "safe" and would break down within 20 days.
I now realize the spray company probably meant that
Malathion was safe . . . if you and all your
animals wore gas masks. The day after the application my
cat was sick and I looked like a combination case of
measles and chicken pox. Both problems were immediately
diagnosed as allergic reactions to the insecticide.
Disgusted, we added the cost of a doctor and a veterinarian
to the $15.00 we had paid for the spraying (for a total
cost of $35.00) . . . and a week later, when a violent
rainstorm washed the Malathion off the tree, the aphids
were back.
Our black walnut really suffered that summer and so did we.
We felt sick every time we looked at the tree. Day by day
its branches became droopier and more bare as the ravenous
aphids sucked their way through its leaves. We didn't know
what to do . . . but we were sure we wouldn't spray again.
Just as we were about to admit defeat, we heard of a
live-ladybugs-by-mail business in California. Well, anyone
who ever watched insects as a child knows the ladybug is a
predator (aphids top their gourmet list) . . . and here was
a place where we could buy all we needed!
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