HelpfulGardener.com

I have been looking on the "garden's alive" website because I want to order something to kill pests on my plants. I have no idea what products to look for and how I know which pests are good ones or which ones are bad. How do I know what is a disease and what is an insect? I have many different plants and I am learning about all of them since I moved into my house last August. I still don't know what some of the plants are. I have strawberries and it looks like something has been eating a little of them. I have a bush that has some black things stuck to the back of the leaves and I saw ants crawling on it as well. I also have a lilac bush that has some damage to the leaves, small holes with some brown around the edges, a couple of holly bushes with some spots on their leaves and some leaves turning colors, and I have two alberta spruces that are turning brown. I don't want to use harsh chemicals on my lawn that are bad for the environement. Where do you start when you have multiple types of plants and issues and you are just learning about everything?

Thanks for any help,
NG

What I did way back when was to purchase a good all-round gardening book keyed to my region. In my case, the Sunset Western Garden Book. It discusses gardening in the western states and provinces.

Sunset also published the National Garden Book, but that was in 1997. I have a copy, and it's terrific, but you'll most likely want something more specific for the Illinois/Indiana/Ohio region.

Call a local independent garden-supply store and ask them which beginning gardening book they recommend.

A "good" gardening book will include photos of both insect and disease damage as well as common weeds. Discussion of basic gardening techniques and planting times/spacing/growing dates.

You can also go to your local library and see whether they have a basic book that you like, then order it for yourself.

Best wishes!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

Here's a good site for organic products too;

https://www.extremelygreen.com/pestcontrolguide2.cfm

Sounds like a lot of issues, start with the holly. Not for any good reason really, just because it sounds like the weirdest problem and I want to know what it is. Might be a nutrient deficiency, I have no idea. Take a picture and a sample to a trusted nursery. Let me know. As for the rest, well, ... here's two cents: First, don't expect to vanquish the bad bugs and attract the good bugs, strive for a balance between them. After all, most good bugs are good because they kill bad bugs. No bad bugs, no good bugs. Second, bad bugs/insects often spread disease, so it is often meaningless to ask whether a problem is a disease or an insect. That said, here are two more cents.

-which pests are good ones or which ones are bad- As a rule of thumb, critters that congregate on one kind of plant are pests, and those found on various plants are predators. Kinda makes sense.

-I have strawberries and it looks like something has been eating a little of them- Everything likes strawberries- birds, rabbits, slugs, moles, neighbors. Take a flashlight out at night and take a look. Definitely mulch them really well.

-I have a bush that has some black things stuck to the back of the leaves and I saw ants crawling on it as well- Sounds like aphids or scales. Ants tend not to share plants with other insects, so if something else is there, the ants have probably enslaved them. Ladybugs around here don't seem to mind the ants and they chow aphids by the dozens, but they are the exception, so this is probably a bad thing if the ants are sucking your plant juices. If your plant appears stunted you have to take some action, but if the plant appears healthy otherwise, I say let it go. At least the aphids(?) are confined to this plant. (I grow sunflowers for this purpose, the ants/aphids love them, the sunflowers don't seem to mind, and the aphids stay off my other plants.) But if they are a problem, you can mix rubbing alcohol, water and a drop of soap to spray on them- dries the aphids/scales and breaks down quickly.

Or maybe not. Good luck. Hafta run.

Ants will "farm" aphids. They consume the sugary secretion that aphids produce. They even have been seen moving them from place to place.
If the plants seem healthy, otherwise, leave them be. Insecticidal soap may eradicate them, if the need should arise.

While on the garden's alive website, request a free catalog. Their catalogs occasionally include a pretty comprehensive set of photos of insect pests and plant diseases. Then you can take that outside in the garden with you and compare. Not in every issue though, the last one I got with good set of ID photos was back in April. But once they get-a-hold of your mailing address, I'm sure they'll keep sending you new catalogs.

are those catalogs always for free?

Yes, they're free and they send about 4 or 5 a yr. I'm also interested in what to do about ants. They are on all my fruit trees and strawberries- What to use?

There's a ton of things ants don't like that theoretically at least will keep them away from an area. One category is powdery things that clog up their spiracles (breathing pores), if they try to walk over them. This includes chalk line, baby powder, cleanser powder (like comet). Make a ring of powder around what you want to keep them away from and they won't cross it.

Another category is strong smelling things, including vinegar, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, peppermint oil or other mints, cloves, garlic. Sprinkle your strong smelling stuff on and around what you want to protect from the ants.

Then there are ways to kill them if you are feeling more aggressive (they defintely don't like that): pouring boiling water down into the ant hill, diatomaceous earth around what you are protecting, boric acid powder, and theoretically, put a dish of raw cream of wheat out. Supposedly they eat it and it swells up inside them and they explode. For all I know this this one is an old wives tale, but it might be interesting to try... exploding ants!

Then people have suggested windex + ivory soap, Shakely's Basic H, and simple green. I'm not sure which category these fall in...

If none of these work, it's time to move!