It’s getting to be “beetle ” time in the garden. I am not really seeing too many beetles on the plants–I never really do–but occasionally I see the beetles on the screens at night, or hear them thwack into a window while I am reading at night.
Do you remember the Japanese beetle traps? They were popular in the 90s. They were plastic bags with a scent lure designed to attract the beetles. They did attract beetles because of the scent lure–but then the issue became whether they attracted more beetles than they caught?
In any event, after a few years, everyone stopped using them. I don’t think I have seen the traps in years and I can count on two hands each year the number of beetles I see.
So what is the magic in my yard? Boids–as the the Spoiler calls them, otherwise known as birds.
I have written about this topic before. This isn’t news. Birds feed insects to their young. And what are grubs but insects!
Grubs–the larva of beetles–are some pretty protein packed food for young birds. And if the birds get them, you don’t have skunks or moles or voles digging up the lawn either.
It’s all pretty simple. It’s the ecosystem working as it should. But it can only work if you do not use pesticides. Just a thought.
Gardendaze 