A Homesteader’s Guide to Summer Insects

The inevitable insects that come with warm summer weather can cause a lot of problems, both inside and outside. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on professional extermination if you understand the products available to you as a homeowner.

Let’s start with something that should soon appear: the Japanese beetle. It will start with your roses, then move on to your grapevine. Before long, they become less picky and start chewing on just about anything fresh and green. I use Japanese beetles as an example because the solutions for them are very similar to those used for many other insects.

Traps are the easiest route. They are pesticide-free and can catch thousands of beetles. The trick is to place them away from the plants you’re trying to protect. Otherwise, they can attract more beetles to the area before they make their way into the trap.

You can also spray with permethrin-based residual insecticides, but this approach puts bees at risk as well. A combination of traps and the sparing use of insecticide is the recommended tactic. That said, some people simply take a cordless vacuum into the garden and remove the beetles that way. Vacuuming and traps are both bee-friendly options.

The same permethrin-based sprays can be used against flies, hornets, yellowjackets, spiders and ants. You can avoid harming pollinators by being careful where you spray. Apply it to ant trails, wasp nests and outdoor window frames where insects tend to gather.

Tomato hornworms and other caterpillar larvae are easily managed with BTK, a natural bacterial insecticide. It only affects insects in the larval stage and is a good choice for controlling chewing pests while minimizing impact on beneficial insects and pollinators.

One of the easiest things you can do for your indoor and outdoor comfort is to put up a fly trap. They are affordable and, once they get working, you’ll rarely have a fly in your house unless someone is leaving the doors open. You’ll have to deal with that problem on your own.

One warning: if the traps are working well, they smell terrible. Hang them in an area where you rarely spend time. The flies will find them. Later in the summer, you can hang a similar trap designed to eliminate yellowjackets. These traps work well and don’t have the odour problem associated with fly traps.

When shopping for insecticides, remember that permethrin is a residual insecticide and pyrethrin is a contact insecticide. Both products will kill pollinators, so please use them carefully.