I have been involved with about a half dozen Web seminars sponsored by Scotts. In each one, the insecticide, herbicide, fungicide and fertilizer company claims to have adopted ‘green,’ or environmentally friendly practices in how it markets its products.
It is just not true. Scotts sells its products by telling us all bugs are bad and that we need to do something. Smart gardeners know that there are good and bad bugs and the environmentally friendly thing is to take the least toxic step in trying to control unwanted pests.
But Scotts doesn’t embrace that message. In today’s Indianapolis Star is an ad for GrubEx that states:
“Bad news: you have beetles. Worse news: you also have grubs.”
The ad pushes a dollars-off coupon for GrubEx without any explanation on how to determine you might actually need to apply this insecticide…in fact, the text in the ad is full of scare tactics like: “Japanese beetles invade…leave thousands of eggs beneath your lawn that become grubs…kill before they have a chance to destroy your lawn…”
Purdue University recommends treatment of specific areas of the lawn that may have a half dozen or more grubs per square foot. Lift sections of the lawn and count the grubs. Purdue says that at least 70 percent of grub control applications are needless. Key to controlling grubs is understanding their life cycle. Also, all grubs are not Japanese beetles.
If you need to treat, there are natural pesticides that can be used on grubs. A popular one is call Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis. Indiana-based Gardens Alive! carries it.
Common sense tells us that we should know what kind of a problem we have in the landscape before applying anything. Why apply a bug spray if the problem is drought or disease? Always read and follow the label directions of the products you use.
Can you tell I’m bugged?
