Gardentalk – Keeping garden pests at bay

Ladybugs
Nine thousand ladybugs serve as a natural alternative to chemical pesticides for a tree infested by aphids at the Father Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Library, Archives and Museum building. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)

A mild winter and recent warm weather have prompted garden pests like European currant worms, spruce aphids and slugs to reemerge in the Juneau area, according to Master Gardener Ed Buyarski.

European currant worms will multiply fast and gobble up the leaves of gooseberries and red currants. Buyarski recommends squishing the worms or using a soap spray that dries out the green and black caterpillars.

“Take a spray bottle. All you need is about a teaspoon of liquid soap and a quart of water, and spray it on the insects. It is not a preventive (measure),” Buyarski said. “If you want to add a little bit of Tabasco sauce for extra flavor, that’s fine, too. That is somewhat repellent.”

Spruce aphids will show up as tiny black specks on last year’s needles. The tree will eventually look bare as the old needles turn brown or drop. Since the use of a soap spray or pesticides on an 80-foot tree may not be feasible, homeowners will have to hope that birds will go after the thousands, even the millions of spruce aphids that may infect a single tree.

As for slugs, Buyarski reminds us to continue with the tried and true methods of eradication. Squish them, salt them, trap them with beer or slug bait, or spray them with ammonia and water. Also, don’t forget to clean up debris in your yard that can become preferred slug habitat.

Listen to the June 2 segment of Gardentalk about European currant worms, spruce aphids and slugs:

Check out the archive of Gardentalk segments here.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications