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My New Sure-fire Pest Control Friend

August 4, 2026

Hi Reader!

After six years of gardening I felt I had learned all that I needed to know to grow food in my little backyard. I mean, I don't know everything about gardening but I've learned a lot.

Then, while casually scrolling a garden page on social media I saw something I never saw before.

In this edition:

• Worst Pests
• My Usual Ways to Tackle Pests
• Meet Wanda!

My Worst Garden Pest

Since I started gardening I have learned more about bugs than I ever imagined I'd need to learn. There are all kinds of bugs in a garden... good (beneficial) ones, bad (destructive) ones, pretty ones, ugly ones, safe ones, dangerous ones, slim ones and squishy ones.

In our world of the Internet it is easy to determine which is which.

I think the one I dislike the most is the Tomato Hornworm pictured above. They are gross. I grew to the point where I'd grab them off my plants with a gloved hand until the day I found one that was nearly 4" long and thicker than my thumb, when I tugged at it, it had gripped the stem so tightly that I could not pull it off. I cut off the entire stem.

My second worst pets is the Squash bug. That bug will destroy a cucurbit (squash, cucumbers, etc.) overnight. It gets in the stem at the base and just a few hours later the plant is dead.

My Old Way of Managing Most Pests

1. Water: Sometimes I get aphids on my plants and they suck your plants dry. Once they arrive, then the ants follow because aphids leave a sweet sap. Blastingthem with a strong stream from my hose helps but not 100% effective.
2. Diatomaceous Earth: A fine powder of fossilized diatom shells that kills insects mechanically, not chemically. The powder gets their exoskeleton and they dry them out.
3. BT (Bacillus thuringiensis): A natural bacteria that kills certain insects when they eat it.
4. DIY Insecticide Soap: This works, it just needs to be reapplied at the right time and when the beneficial insects won't be affected.
5. Various Organic Pest Control: I didn't use anything specific, just whatever was on sale.

All of these work to some extent. Some have to be reapplied after a rain, or applied in the early morning or evening.

My New Way to Beat Bugs

The gardening season of Summer 2026 has been 'just OK'. Not spectacular or horrible. The weather was very dry, then very hot, then very rainy/humid.

The tomatoes struggled all season. They started out great, got very tall, then seemingly overnight they yellowed and looked near death until now. I had a decent harvest of Asian Pears though and they tasted very good.

Last year my cucumbers were on the struggle bus but this year they flourished like they were being paid to grow. I have so many growing I giving them away to anybody walking by my yard. I like doing that actually.

And... I see the same pests, hornworms, aphids, cucumber beetles and squash bugs dominating the landscape. My morning routine was squishing them with a gloved right hand.

My Bug Patrol strategy has been leveled up a few notches though.

I was scrolling on social media and saw this:

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And this ...

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Now, I have to admit, my first reaction was, "Noooooooo", but that lasted about 3 seconds when I remembered how many plants these bugs had destroyed....and they multiply like crazy.

I have tons of bumble bees, ladybugs, dragonflies, and butterflies, and I love them, they are a benefit to the garden. But these other insects that will destroy your hard work in only a few hours if you don't gain control of them.

Introducing .... 'Wanda'. Yes, that's what I named her.

This girl makes my life so much easier when I do my morning walk through the garden.

No more running to find the insecticide spray, or powder, or bug jar with soapy water and hoping the bug is still there when I return. No more squishing bugs between my fingers, and best of all no more mistakenly harming my 'beneficial' insects.

I calmly and casually stroll through the garden, me and Wanda, and when it's time, she takes action. One slight squeeze and down they go. No need to fry them. Just a slight squeeze of the trigger and they fall off. Ashes to ashes, Dust to dust. 😏

Took me six years to learn about this. I found out that organic farmers use this same tactic in the fields with a much larger butane or propane tank. It's an inexpensive and effective tool.

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Anyway, I just wanted y'all to meet my new friend. 😊

Feel free to write me at jangardener@gardenease.org if you have any questions or comments.

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I'll see you in the next edition!

Peace and Love,

Jan

If you have questions, comments, praises, complaints, or ideas about gardening or about the newsletter, you can reach me at: jangardener@gardenease.org