* 154 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
June, 1917 
The Control of Garden Pests. 
By James G. Moore, College of 
Agriculture, University of 
W isconsin. 
Practically all garden crops are 
attacked during their develop- 
ment by one or more pests. 
These pests are ordinarily classi- 
fied as disease or insects. The 
greater struggle on the part of the 
gardener usually has to be waged 
against insects. 
Frequently the seriousness of 
the attack is due to neglect on the 
part of the gardener to follow 
some of the simple practices 
which tend to reduce the danger 
to the minimum. Some of the 
practices recommended for the 
truck gardener or the farmer are 
not available to the city gardener. 
Sanitation Must be Guarded. 
One of the first things for the 
gardener to observe is ‘ 1 garden 
sanitation.” Frequently garden 
pests, both insect and disease are 
carried over on the waste materi- 
al of the previous season’s crop. 
\\ hile working refuse material 
into the soil is commonly recom- 
mended, one should be sure that 
in so doing he is not inviting 
trouble for next season by provid- 
ing a pest to be controlled. Burn 
lea\es and stems or other refuse 
if there is the least suspicion of 
its being a source of infestation. 
Rotation of crops is one of the 
best methods of avoiding pests in 
ordinary farm operations. While 
it is not possible to realize as much 
benefit from crop rotation in the 
city garden, especially as regards 
insect pests, it is of some value 
in certain instances and fre- 
quently of great value as regards 
certain kinds of diseases. 
In the case of those insects 
which pass the winter in the up- 
per layer of soil fall tillage which 
exposes the pest to the unfavor- 
able temperature changes and to 
the attacks of birds helps mate- 
rially. 
Another sanitation measure is 
the removal from the garden or 
immediate vicinity of weeds or 
other plants upon which garden 
insects may feed. Very frequently 
there would be no serious trouble 
fi-om a particular insect if its pres- 
ence had not been encouraged by 
such plants. 
Plants to Trap Insects. 
Trap plants, plants started in 
advance of the regular crop upon 
which the insects may collect and 
then be destroyed is often found 
to be a satisfactory method. Fre- 
quently if the first insects to ap- 
pear are destroyed there is little 
probability of depredations later 
on. This is true in the case of 
many aphids, the squash bug, and 
several others. 
Trapping is a useful method in 
some cases. Short pieces of old 
boards, clods, or stones are put 
close to the plants in order that 
the insect may find shelter at cer- 
tain times. It is then an easy 
matter to destroy the insects when 
they have collected underneath 
the protector. This is a favorite 
method of many in controlling the 
squash bug. 
Hand Picking Best at Times. 
Hand picking is used in the 
case of insects which are usually 
not very numerous, or when the 
number of plants is small. This 
is usually the most satisfactory 
method with the tomato worm. 
It is also very helpful in the case 
of potato and cucumber beetles. 
Stalk borers, root maggots, and 
bacterial wilts usually necessitate 
the destruction of the plant or the 
portion attacked. Such pests are 
often detected by the wilting of 
the plant even though it is evident 
that there is sufficient soil moist- 
ure. The immediate destruction 
reduces the possibility of a spread 
of the trouble to other plants or 
of infestation from this source the 
following year. 
Know Before Spraying. 
The majority of insect pests 
and plant diseases are controlled 
by the application of spray mate- 
rials. In order to spray intelli- 
gently we must determine what 
the pest is; if an insect, how it 
takes its food, and how it is most 
easily destroyed. This knowl- 
edge is usually not all gained by 
the beginner in his first or even 
his second year. 
An examination of the plant 
usually reveals the manner in 
which the insect takes its food. 
Not infrequently, however, the 
pests are so numerous that wait- 
ing for the action of an insecti- 
cide would result fatally and the 
gardener must decide whether 
even more direct methods may not 
be necessary to save the crop. 
This is especially true in the case 
of striped cucumber beetles, flea 
beetles, and blister beetles. 
Eating and Sucking Insects. 
In ordinary cases if an insect 
eats the foliage or exterior parts 
of the plant it may be controlled 
by poisons, as Paris Green, arsen- 
ate of lead, or hellebore. If the 
insect merely sucks the juice from 
the plant, poisons are valueless 
and a material which kills by 
coming in contact with the pest, 
as nicotine sulfate, or kerosene 
