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They didn't look so bad. Bright red or orange, they were small and glossy and harmless looking. Pretty, even.
Until our lilies began to look like Swiss cheese.
It didn't take long for us to figure out that these little insects were far from harmless. In fact, if we let them, they would decimate our entire lily population.
Uh oh. Now, I am not a bug squisher. I avoid spiders because I can't stand to be near them, let alone touch them - but things like ants, and harmless beetles and the like...I'll avoid stepping on them if I can. After all, they're just going on about their own business.
These red lily beetles, though, they need to be dealt with. At first, we went with the heavy-duty bug spray. But toxins and chemicals don't sit well with us, for a myriad of reasons. So my husband took matters into his own hands. He's become the official 'red-beetle squasher.' Whenever he's in the front, he'll take a moment to look for the little monsters. If he sees them, they get ground between his fingers.
It's worked quite well.
The other day, I was at the neighbor's. She pulled up a large weed in her front garden. Underneath was a whole colony of these invaders. They must have wintered under the roots.
Great.
2 Comments:
Those dastardly beetles are good for just two things - making more beetles and eating everything else. Fortunately with their flaming red colour they're easy to spot. When I'm not in the mood to squish - I carry a bucket with a little water and soap and tap on the lily stems - they fall off and drown. Too bad. So sad. Fortunately we don't have them in the same numbers as the Japanese Beetles - they too are lovely colour and ever so very destructive.
Thanks for the tip, Barbara! I will pass it on to my husband in case he gets tired of having orange-tipped fingers *lol*
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