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Insects like this clear-winged hummingbird moth enjoy debris, so think twice before removing all old flowers, twigs and “clutter” this fall.
Johnson County Extension
Of the estimated 3 million species of insects in the world, less than 3% are harmful to humans or plants. An overwhelming 97% should be considered fine or beneficial. They are valued as decomposers or pollinators and are a necessary part of the food chain.
Each of us should take care to protect these insects. They are needed to pollinate about one-third of all the food we eat. To do. Times have changed and more people are beginning to understand the value of insects and the role they play in our environment.
Doing our part to reverse this trend starts with our own backyards. Many of our native insects, bees, butterflies, and spiders rely on and utilize plant debris to protect their winter survival.
The previous recommendation was to sweep the garden in the fall and remove plant debris to reduce insect and disease problems for the next season. It was based on reducing. It did not take into account the huge number of valuable and beneficial insects.
An updated recommendation is to leave most of the old stalks, stalks, dead flowers, and wind-blown leaves intact during the winter. It’s home to many beneficial insects that come and are essential to helping your garden thrive.
Insects overwinter as eggs, larvae, caterpillars and adults. They are dormant, waiting for the arrival of warm spring conditions. The hibernating stage is protected from harsh winter conditions by clinging to stems, burrowing into hollow stems, tucking into dead flowers, and nestling in fallen leaves. Removing this material in the fall destroys them and reduces the population for the following year.
Limit your fall garden cleaning to only heavily diseased plants. Leave dead stems and windblown leaves in the garden. As the days get shorter and temperatures cool, beneficial insects naturally prepare for wintering and take advantage of garden litter.
Studies show that spring garden cleaning should be postponed for about a week until air or soil temperatures reach a constant 50 degrees. At that point, most of the beneficial stuff has emerged from the wintering stage. Another indicator of when to remove debris is after you see insects emerging and actively moving around.
Rethink spring cleaning. Instead of chopping, shredding, composting, or bagging your yard waste, we recommend loosely piling up the debris. Or leave a short, dead stem for additional nesting cavities. This allows later insects to survive and reuse their plant material to hatch the next generation.
Waiting for your garden to be cleaned may seem messy, but this is the beauty of nature, protecting these little creatures that have a tremendous impact on our ecosystems and food webs. Tucking plant debris into an inconspicuous area or mixing old stems with new growth can help provide protection and support for declining insect populations.
Dennis Patton is a horticultural agent for Research and Extension at Kansas State University. Have questions for him or other university extension professionals? Email them to garden.help@jocogov.org.
