Dr. Isman makes a kind of profound statement at the end about what is good for the environment and human health. There is no panacea for pest control and many of the synthetic pesticides available are much less effective than they once were since the target insects are developing immunities to them.

with a heavy rubber band, a long tinker toy stick and a little practice, you can zap most larger bugs without doing much damage to the leaves. I use monofilament fishing line to force the end of the rubber band into the slot on the end of the stick, then use the same line to wrap around the stick to hold the rubber band secure. You point the end of the stick at the bug, pull back the rubber band and let it go. takes a little practice to know how far away to hold the end of the stick, so just the end of the band hits the bug and not the leaf or stalk it's sitting on. works better for wasps because they usually arent on a plant you care about. You'll probably never get as good as the average frog, however.

Thank you, green garden and kimmsr. I can see one of the problems is that I use the no till method- plant an area, put down newspaper and mulch in between plants and leave it alone- requires little weeding. Also, this being sand, the roots of whatever is planted adds organic matter. But, I am putting down some compost now and will do some raking in areas that are not so thickly planted- maybe that will help some. I would like to have a bad-tasting spray to put on the worst hit plants- start w/ that next spring and protect those plants before the grasshoppers destroy them. (Would you believe that the grasshoppers have done a lot of damage to a large holly shrub that I have? Why can't they eat the wild holly in my yard instead of my precious "Christmas Jewel" holly???) I don't know if it will make a difference but I hope I will be able to plant some rye this fall- at least that will improve the soil. Thanks again, Brandy.

Paula, Of course it is tempting. Quick fixes always are. However, it is better overall to go with whatever hurts the beneficial insects the least...and I know that you know that. : ) Having said that, I would defend to the death anyone's right to use the pesticide of their choice, whether it is organic or synthetic in nature. Different strokes for different folks, and all that. There are times when even the most ardent organic or mostly-organic gardener may find their back against the wall and decide to use a broad-spectrum chemical pesticide in order to save their plants and their crops. That's doubly true during extended drought. It is hard enough to keep a garden productive in a regular year with a regular pest load. Doing so in a very dry year which also is a year with generally high (in some cases, astronomically high), pest levels...well, it can be incredibly hard and sometimes impossibly hard. So, if someone feels the need to use Sevin or Malathion or whatever, I think they should do so after carefully weighing the risks, and I hope that no one here would make them feel like using a chemical solution was wrong or was a mistake or whatever. I'm always going to prefer to garden as organically I as possibly can because that fits in with my desire to garden in a manner that is as sustainable as possible. However, if I felt like the only way I could save my garden from some sort of a major pest was by spraying it with a broad-spectrum pesticide, I just might make the decision to do so. Does that mean my philosophy has changed? No. It just means I find myself dealing with a pest for which organics do not offer a good solution. You have no idea how much I have struggled this year with the idea that I could buy a bottle of bifenthrin or something "just this once" and spray it and wipe out the pests. What keeps me from doing it? The feeling I would be endangering pollinators and beneficials, for one. Still, if I felt I had to do it or risk losing the garden's harvest, I would do it. I also would not feel guilty afterwards. Even though I prefer to raise our veggies, fruits, herbs and flowers without the use of synthetic chemicals, I certainly don't buy only organic food at the grocery store. So, is it logical to hold my home-grown food to a higher standard 100% of the time? No. Sometimes I think I expect too much from myself in that respect. If I buy conventionally-grown strawberries at the grocery store, it is possible that maybe they were sprayed with various fungicides and pesticides multiple times during the life of the plant. So, even if mine were sprayed once with a chemical pesticide or fungicide, wouldn't mine still be much healthier than those raised conventionally? I don't think anyone here should have to feel bad about doing what they have to do to save their garden or a specific crop, or as far as that goes, to save their sanity. If last summer's weather/climate, followed by this summer's weather/climate, is not enough to drive all of us stark raving mad from the frustration of trying to keep our landscapes and gardens pretty and productive, then what would it take? Dawn