The Best Time To Spray For Bugs: Pesticide & Pest Control?

Before applying a pesticide spray to control those pests, STOP! Few gardeners realize the close connection between temperatures and the appearance of pests such as:

Aphids
Spider mites
Mealybugs
Snails and slugs

It would seem that Mother Nature likes to play the game of the Tortoise and the Hare is the story of when to spray for bugs.

She gives the bad insects a lead, gives the gardener a chance with his insecticide spray gun and pesticide spray solution, then turns the predators loose with the hope that they can overtake the bad insects.

Predators are beneficial insects that feed on other insects (natural pest control).

Garden Pest Hatching At 50° Degrees Fahrenheit
The Aphid pests are a concrete example of how bad bugs operate. Start with sprays of Neem Oil.

Insect activity and pest numbers increase as temperatures rise. Aphids begin hatching when the average temperature reaches 50° degrees Fahrenheit.

The ladybugs, aphid lions, and other aphid enemies don’t hatch until the average temperature reaches 60° degrees Fahrenheit, which is ten days or two weeks later.

This ten-day interval is of prime importance to the gardener. (psst… It’s time for a pesticide application for aphid control)

Watch, Then Apply A Pesticide
The wise gardener watches for the pest activity of the first aphids and then dons their knapsack sprayer and protective tools to apply a pesticide immediately over their plants and crops even if there are only a few bad bugs.

If the big increase is thus headed off, the aphids are held in check until the beneficial insects can marshal their forces and do the clean-up job.

Aphids hatch and multiply rapidly.

If left alone, by the time the beneficial insect predators start the action, the bad insects are so far ahead they cannot catch up.

That is when the average gardener makes a mistake in pest management and starts using a sprayer to kill both good and bad insects.

Take Advantage and Save The Damage
The informed gardener doesn’t wait until the garden is full of bad insects before they decide to use a spraying device. You can take advantage of the ten-day interval between the coming of the pests and the predators and beginning a pest control program.

By so doing, you can save a lot of damage to your plant and save money on liquid insecticide and time spraying later on.

If the aphids are held in check until the predators get going, they can maintain an even balance.

There will be no further need for spraying, and the beneficial insects won’t be wiped out along with the bad insects.

Get out the old notebook and record the first appearances of your enemies.

It will be something like ten days before these predators appear (if you haven’t killed them out entirely).

By recording dates, you can know the approximate time to spray any insecticides|pesticides. There will be some variance in seasons.

Watch the temperature averages and be on the alert to find the first insects to appear.

Have your hand-held sprayer ready and help the predators keep your plant free of insects.

One Last Note

As a final note on ways to handle and manage pests, follow these Best Practices of Pest Control.

Always practice pesticide safety
Use organic pesticides when possible
Always follow the pesticide label
Use quality equipment
Always wear the correct protective equipment
Work with the beneficial insects
Contact your local plant service center to treat severe ants problems or a sign of other more extreme issues.