Summer is coming to an end, and we decided that it’s time to sum up the results of the “harmful” season and ask the summer residents which pests bother the gardener more than others. In total, more than 400 people took part in the survey. As a result, we have received an up-to-date rating and are ready to share its results with you. So, we present to your attention the most malicious enemies of the people of the garden.
Who are we complaining about?
Someone at the dacha gets all sorts of creatures in pairs. Some lucky people never saw the mole and only heard about Gryllotalpidae. Lucked. At the same time, each summer resident complains about his own…
In the survey we offered to leave one of their own. For the title of the worst enemy of the summer resident, the most unexpected candidates were put forward, among which were named the weather, children, crows and neighbors who feed them, water rats and even … homeless people!
But seriously, our rating revealed 7 main “pests”. The rest of the pesky animals won a small number of votes. So, we will tell you more about each of them.
First place-aphids
Aphids took the first place: 21.4% of respondents complained about it. It’s true, well, who didn’t see her. Aphids on currants, apples and pears, onions, tomatoes and roses… Colonies of these “bloodsuckers” can be found on almost any cultivated plant. It is not surprising that TLE received the most votes.
And how many means have the cottagers invented to finally get rid of this small stuff: they powder it with ash, poison it with infusions and decoctions, soap it with soap, and even use strong chemistry… And this tenacious “louse” is born every spring, and in a year gives several generations.
Second place-ants
These hard workers won 17.1% of the vote. However, some summer residents speak out in defense of these garden residents, arguing that ants are still useful insects. We will not deny this, because they successfully destroy some pests. But the benefits are useful, and there are enough sins in their activities…
Ugly piles of loosened earth on the well-groomed lawn, in the cracks between the paving and curbs-this is one time. Eaten seeds, garden strawberries, and even root vegetables are two. The ruined buds (Ah, how sweet their nectar is to the ants!) are three. Spreading aphids in the garden (we have already mentioned this above) is the fourth grave sin. Add to all the migration of some species to the house in the cool season…
Against ants, all means are good, and in the most advanced cases, you have to use different “tools” and methods of fighting.
Third place-moles
In third place, the moles confidently settled. They are generally immodest and persistent guys. If they get to your garden, they will never agree to leave. They just pretend to be so cute and helpless. Don’t be fooled! Even blindness does not limit their physical capabilities: a sensitive sense of smell compensates for everything. So there is nothing to feel sorry for moles. Drive from the site — Yes, not only you, but also the neighbors will have to connect. Otherwise, the mole will come back to you and will not ask for permission.
And it seems that the mole is not to blame: plant food, unlike Gryllotalpidae, it does not eat, but while digging its holes, it is able to mow down a good half of the plants planted. And in a day, this digger can lay tens of meters of tunnels — and will not stop there. His favorite treat is earthworms, which are so necessary for our garden soil to preserve its fertility and air structure!
Fourth place-whitefly
Small midges, and so much trouble deliver! The group of whiteflies that cling to the plant is able to suck out almost all the juices from it and bring it to death. Damaged leaves turn yellow and curl — this is the most common consequence of the tricks of these insects.
Whitefly is very fond of greenhouse conditions — it is most often found there, and on a variety of crops. There are in the family of these insects species that feed only on one plant, and there are truly omnivorous.
Our heroine is not indifferent to the yellow color, for which she is massively caught in special glue traps (however, as well as some other small midges). Such baits are an indispensable attribute of industrial greenhouses, and gardeners are increasingly using them in their smaller farms. This technique alone is not able to eradicate the enemy, because it is better to fight whitefly in a complex way.
Fifth place. Trio: Colorado beetles, Gryllotalpidae and mice
Exactly 7.1% scored three pests at once. And it’s hard to even single out someone. Let’s start in order.
The ubiquitous beetle — Colorado potato beetle
It is difficult to report anything new about the Colorado beetle. His habits gardeners have learned from and to — and all because he attacks our gardens with enviable regularity.
Elusive Gryllotalpidae
As we have already found out, not all gardeners are personally familiar with Medvedka. But those who have managed to meet it, know that this digging and flying insect eats almost everything that comes in its way. It is especially offensive for the newly planted and accepted seedlings.
Voracious mice
Mice in the garden gnaw the trunks and roots, small and large fruits, flower bulbs, in the sheds-grain stocks that are not prepared for them at all. In the fall-most often they move to the house, where they get first of all to the boxes with cereals. There’s nothing to say about cellars… They are very annoying, that’s a fact. Usually the right cat solves problems on a regular basis. At least in the house rodents are transferred.
Well, if your tailed domestic “sloth” is devoid of hunting instincts and prefers to carry only toy mice in its teeth, then special baits, mousetraps and repellents will do the job for it.
Sixth place-your options
5.7% of summer residents who voted gave their answers. We spoke about the most original ones at the very beginning. Also, some summer residents complained not about ordinary mice, but about water voles, which are also called water rats.
Someone’s life is ruined by nimble ferrets. These agile savages can really get used to your bird and easily mow down the young. One reassuring thing is that there are not everywhere.
Seventh place-may bug
This heavyweight bug has 4.3% of the vote. Most of all, it is not the may beetle itself that harms plantings, but its larvae that live and winter in the soil (they survive the cold season at a depth of 1-1.5 m). These are his harmless cubs! They Mature for a long time: three or four years are in the larval stage and all this time they eat something. What’s in the diet? First of all-the roots of plants. Females are very fond of laying eggs in manure (this happens around the beginning of June), so be careful with the introduction of this biofertilizer, bought for the benefit of gardening.
Eighth place-Elateridae
This difficult to exterminate pest was at the extreme step of our rating and received only 1.4% of the votes. Eat Elateridae, living in the root layer, almost all garden roots, but potatoes — the most favorite delicacy.
Some gardeners, tired of fighting this scourge, even throw the garden for a while to deprive these reptiles of food. But this, of course, is an extreme, though forced. Many successfully fight with the beetles themselves, setting traps for them, while others fight back against the larvae.
Hares-out of the rating
But no one complained about the big-eared and furry hares. Apparently, their winter tricks over the summer were forgotten…
Indeed, in the summer, they have enough food on their native expanses, and in the hungry winter, hares get to the dacha plots and willingly gnaw the bark and twigs of garden trees. That’s why you have to protect the stems (especially young trees) with special mats or wrappers from improvised means.
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