What to do About Bugs this Spring…
Spring has Sprung! Violets are getting ready to bloom (they’re native and beneficial… let’s celebrate them!), Magnolia trees are waking up, birds are singing (and we’re learning to understand them!)… AND… here come the bugs. Yay!
No… that wasn’t sarcasm. Let me explain!
“Look for the Helpers”
I love that Mister Rogers quote about choosing to “look for the helpers” even in tricky or scary situations. Now, I imagine when you read that you think of humans… but, helpers come with 4,6,8… or even more legs too! You wouldn’t want to live in a world without the following bug neighbors:
Bees!
Bees get a bad name because of their stingers… but there is so much more to bees than their pointy posteriors! They’re actually my favorite animal! Here’s some rapid-fire bee facts for you:
Ohio has hundreds of native bee species in every color… and THEY are the ones keeping our wildflowers and trees growing, not the honeybees
Most bees are solitary (they don’t gather/make hives), and several don’t even have stingers at all
Some foods made possible by bees: Watermelon, Squash, Tomatoes, Blueberries, Almonds, Apples etc etc
Most bees ONLY sting if directly squished/hit. Yellow Jackets are really the only aggressive ones.
So, they pollinate our flowers and trees, allowing them to make seeds and reproduce. They pollinate our food plants so that they makes us nuts. fruit, and veggies. And they mostly keep to themselves… they’re just trying to help! I always tell the kids in nature class: Bees will be kind to you if you’re kind to them. Never try to touch a bee, but you can say “Hi” or “Bye” to them, and you’ll be fine! Also, just look at this adorable Blue Mason bee:
Caterpillars
Caterpillars are cute… some even look like real-life Pokemon (See Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar above)… but what are they good for? Well, besides their intrinsic value as a living being, they ALSO are the foundation of nature’s food webs. Plants absorbs minerals from soil and sunlight, Caterpillars eat plants, Birds (and other animals) feed Caterpillars to their babies and so on. If you take out the Caterpillars… no baby birds! Which means no bird song… thank a caterpillar next time you hear the lovely dawn chorus!
Two notes: want more Caterpillars to feed more birds? Plant native plants! Ohio native plants like Oak Trees, Willows, Milkweed etc support hundreds of species of Caterpillars! That means a LOT of happy, healthy birdies! Also, think about this: what happens to the baby birds when all the local plants are chemically-treated to eliminate bugs…?
Spiders
I know spiders can give people the involuntary “heebie-jeebies”, but please keep reading:
Spiders are a homeowners best free pest-control! Spiders are top-predators in the bug world, little lions roaming around, working hard to catch and eat all the mosquitoes, flies, gnats, ants, and other uninvited guests in your house!
If you get your house sprayed, you wipe out ALL bugs (including beneficial spiders), and then the uninvited guests above keep coming back (and you keep paying). Also, just saying: House Centipedes are excellent defenders against cockroaches… moving on!
You don’t have to high-five the spiders, but I’ve found giving them a name and considering them as a home employee helps the whole family tolerate them as they work hard to defend your house. Our kitchen spider at my house is named Nina!
I know they’re not always pretty, but if you can learn to live with some employed spiders, you’ll have a protected house for less money and with less chemicals… yay!
Back to Mosquitoes for a Moment…
No, I’m not going to try to make the argument that mosquitoes are great and you should love them… they bite, spread disease, and make Summer outside-time difficult. I’m not a fan.
BUT I also know that outdoor spraying for mosquitoes is very problematic, eliminating the beneficial predators that eat mosquitoes (like dragonflies), and doing nothing about the next round of mosquito larva wiggling in the water. Those larva mature and fly off after the spraying finishes and go right back to biting you next to your ineffective Tiki torches and supposedly “mosquito-repelling plants”.
So what can you do? Just get bit all day with a smile? Nope!
Here comes the MOSQUITO BUCKET OF DOOM!
Long-story-short: these buckets attract mosquitoes, who lay eggs, which are then destroyed by a mosquito-specific bacterium. Find out the simple way to make them here.
Lastly, Everyone’s Favorite Bug
Everyone loves Butterflies! They’re so graceful, fragile, elegant and magical… basically real-life fairies!But… OH NO! Their populations are declining at an alarming rate! Why? Sprays, habitat destruction, etc. Same story with our other favorite bugs… Fireflies!
But is this a lost cause? Nope! Let’s “Look for the Helpers!” again! Here in Ohio we have Butterfly Ridge! Owner Chris Kline has increased the local butterfly population around his non-profit educational center by 4 times!
I know Chris and he’s a passionate, knowledgeable and generous guy. Here’s his latest blog post about the declines… including what YOU can do about it (hint: don’t spray, plant native plants!)
So… what to do about this Spring’s bugs?
…say thanks! Also, I promise these are not AI or photoshop… enjoy these cute damselflies! Bugs CAN be cute! If you and your kiddos see a cute bug, have a bug question, or want to know ways to help them… send me a message on instagram @jaredthenatureguy or email jaredthenatureguy@gmail.com
