Connie Peloza/Master Gardener
| Special to The Times
How to keep wasps away from your backyard
Don’t let wasps ruin your outdoor time. Try these easy tricks to keep them away all summer.
Problem Solved
Last fall, while doing some garden cleanup, I heard birds overhead and was surprised to see three bald eagles hovering right above me.
I watched them soar together up toward a field beside my house. Later, upon doing a web search of bald eagles, I discovered that it was rare to see three flying together. I also did not know that bald eagles have such a soft-sounding call, which is what brought my attention to them.
Earlier this year, as I was thinking about the upcoming garden season, I thought of those eagles and other amazing things I have seen while outdoors enjoying my gardens.
Two summers ago, a very large wasp with orange wings landed beside me. I was edging around a stone border and had just covered up a hole in the ground near one of the stones. That wasp was carrying a cicada. It walked up to the area I just covered, reestablished the opening, and backed right into that hole. I had never heard of a cicada killer wasp, but that is what I saw that day.
That same summer, I had a pet praying mantis in my garden. I saw it practically every day, hanging out in the same area. One day, I caught it having a meal. In the autumn, I found that praying mantis head down at the base of a potentilla shrub. It was laying its egg sac, which was bright white, newly created, not even dry yet.
Last year, I was fascinated with dragonflies. They seemed to be attracted to the stepping stones I laid in a new garden. They are amazing insects – extremely fast, great hunters and very agile. I have seen an owl at two in the afternoon swoop down to the ground to kill and eat a small snake. In October 2023, I saw a pair of bobcat kits at the edge of my property. This was another rare sighting. I have a suspicion that a bobcat family decimated the squirrel population in our area that year.
All these wonderful things occurring in nature are a reminder of the diversity of our natural ecosystem, plants and animals depending on one another for survival. As gardeners, we naturally tend to care about the balance of nature. Ecosystems can be as small as your own backyard, and that is where a lot of us can have some positive impact on our environment. We want beneficial insects and pollinators in our gardens, which is why we need to protect and provide areas for wildlife habitat.
The main pollinators in our region are bees, butterflies, beetles, moths, flies and hummingbirds, pollinating fruits, vegetables and flowers. Plants need pollinators to reproduce, and since we need plants, we also need pollinators.
The majority of insects are considered beneficial or harmless. Of course, those are the ones we want to have hanging around. Insects can disperse seeds. They are food for birds and fish. Some insects aerate and improve soil quality. Some are predators and will consume other insects considered to be pests.
Insects play important roles in nature that are not always obvious to us. For this reason, we do not want to rely solely on the use of chemicals to control pests. Pesticides, especially “broad-spectrum” products, can harm more than their intended target, especially when applied improperly, negatively impacting the beneficial insects we are trying to preserve.
Choosing native plants for our gardens will support beneficial garden insects and attract native birds. Native plants are natural to our region, existing here before European colonization. They have evolved with the animals of our region and developed essential relationships. Certain caterpillars restrict themselves to a single species of host plant for their food. For example, Monarch caterpillar larvae will only eat native milkweed. Some native bees only collect pollen from one type of flower. Without these native host plants, the butterflies and bees could not survive.
Native flowering perennials are the best source of nectar for pollinators, as hybrids and cultivars have less nectar and pollen production. Native shrubs and trees provide berries for birds and protective cover. Many native plants are beautiful landscape specimens.
When adding native plants to your landscape, please note that you should expect a certain amount of damage to your native plants if you have met the goal of attracting more beneficial insects to your property. Additionally, make sure you are searching for straight native species. It is best to search by the scientific binomial name so that you do not end up with a cultivar.
Do not remove plants from the wild! There are now multiple nurseries and vendors where you can purchase native plants; the Wild Ones organization of Western Pennsylvania has put together a list of local Western Pennsylvania nurseries that sell native plants at westernpa.wildones.org/western-pa-native-plants/.
Habitat loss, deer over-browsing, pollution and invasive species are threats to native plants. Invasive plants originate from outside our region. They were brought here either accidentally or intentionally and unfortunately cause damage to the environment. These plants are quick-growing and crowd out native plants. Invasives do not have natural enemies here that would typically help to control them in their native habitats. They take over the habitats of native plants, resulting in the decline or endangerment of our native plant populations.
The decline in the number of native birds and insects is directly correlated to the decline of native plants. We can help by avoiding the use of invasive plants in our landscapes. For help identifying invasive plants, you can find a DCNR invasive plant fact sheet under ‘additional resources’ at https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/conservation/wild-plants/invasive-plants.html.
Ideally, if you find that you have an invasive plant in your landscape, you will replace that plant with a comparable native plant that will fit in just as nicely. Nurseries are prohibited from selling certain invasive plants, but keep in mind that plants sold at nurseries outside of our state may sell plants identified as invasive in Pennsylvania because that plant may not yet be considered invasive in that state.
For example, recently, I thought I wanted a Doublefile viburnum in my landscape, but discovered it was newly identified as invasive in Pennsylvania, so always check the PA list prior to buying new plants.
You can keep a healthy native ecosystem on your property by limiting or eliminating the use of pesticides, making plant choices based on supporting our native insects and birds, and identifying and eradicating invasive plants. To learn more about how to take practical steps towards a sustainable native landscape, join the Master Gardeners of Beaver County on Saturday, Aug. 2, for the final Environmental Field Studies class. Visit bit.ly/EFS-BeaverCounty to learn more and register.
Connie Peloza is a Penn State Master Gardener in Beaver County.