In the U.S., "ladybird beetle" is finally catching up to "ladybug." While not a true bug in the hemiptera sense, many people really don't care that certain qualifications must be met for an arthropod to be called a "bug."

We see them all spring and summer, and they sort of make you smile, these busy little beetles, all pretty and friendly. Except, how friendly are they? Back in the early 1980s, a local municipality always had us treat the aphids in the trees that overhang the city pool. One year, they opted instead to purchase ladybird beetles and release hundreds into the trees to control the aphid using a natural method.

In theory, it was a great idea. Those hungry little meat-eaters ate aphids by the thousands, and within a few weeks had the situation well in hand. In fact, they completely eliminated their food supply, and not willing to go hungry, they began biting the children in the pool! We were then reluctantly contacted to "see what we could do" about the problem of angry ladybird beetles attacking the kids.

Voracious predators, most species are fantastic at search-and-destroy methods versus aphids and mites, both of which can cause your plants extreme stress and death. Provoked, they can deliver a nasty pinch to a human as well, but it's not very common.

Usually appearing as soon as it gets a little warm in early spring, ladybird beetles continue to procreate until it's too darn cold to do so. That means it's not impossible to see larvae on the leaves of a tree late into the fall in our part of the world. And since the larvae look so strikingly different from what you normally see on a typical walk through the backyard, we frequently have alarmed customers asking us to come treat the caterpillars devouring their leaves!

​Once we see the larvae chomping away on the aphids, leafrollers, and other damaging insects, we explain that they're doing a good job, organic solutions, yadda yadda yadda. Sometimes, however, their presence is too little, too late. If the tree is truly stressed from a late-summer aphid attack, the hearty beetle may be unable to catch up to the aphid population, and a well-timed systemic injection can then kill the aphid just as the larvae pupate, meaning the aphid will die before the majority of ladybird beetles emerge as adults.

So if you see this battle-hardened larvae on a leaf on your tree or your garden, let it continue fighting the good fight in the perpetual eating contest that defines this predator.

But we find them frequently around the gutter areas around the eaves as well, where they're waiting for unsuspecting prey to fall into their clutches. Often, when performing a pinstream application under an eave, one will drop down on a strand, having been disturbed from an afternoon nap. They come down with such speed and size that even though we see hundreds per week in our line of work, it still makes us jump a little!

Poisonous vs. Venomous vs. Dangerous
Someone asked us recently how poisonous they are, which means a little 'splainin is in order. Poisonous refers to a toxin that is absorbed, ingested, or inhaled, while venomous refers to toxins injected into you by an animal.  For example, poison ivy isn't venomous, and eating a rattlesnake isn't poisonous.

There is still much research to be done on whether individuals can react to spider venom the way individuals react to bee or wasp stings. While not everyone reacts the same way when stung by a honeybee, it may be that some humans are more allergic to toxins within spider venom that others don't react to at all.

In this part of the world (Eastern WA, Northern ID, Northeastern OR), the only verifiably spider dangerous to humans is the black widow. It was once thought the hobo spider was dangerous, but it was shown long ago that there's nothing in the venom of Tegenaria agrestis to make it any more dangerous than any other spider in its genus, which fits the typical pattern. 

Special thanks to Gary Larson for teaching the world about the emotional depths of arthropods.

If you've ever ridden your bicycle in the Inland Northwest, you're acquainted with puncturevine. This bane of the backyard is on everybody's black list, and we get calls from late spring to late fall as it takes over more and more of the parking lot, alley, vacant yard, etc.

Tribulus terrestris is a formidable foe, all alliteration aside. It doesn't begin to germinate until it's hot--usually in the high 80s. As soon as it does, it pays to kill it fast, as its entire life cycle can be completed as quickly as one or two weeks. That means it can go from a nasty goat head seed in your driveway to a green plant producing more nasty seeds in 10 days or fewer.

And dang those seeds! Tough enough to deflate your tire faster than you can say, "oh crap," its seeds are even more evil on the paws of your dog and on your own bare feet.

In 2016, we had a few days in the 90s in the month of April--that set up the plant for a l-o-n-g growing season that led to even more plants than usual. Typically, people start to watch for it in late June or July, but remember:

​Plants and insects don't care about our calendar. Or tires. Or dog paws. They only care about the weather.

And the seeds can lay dormant for possibly greater than 20 years. So since this enemy can seem to grow without moisture and in the worst soil conditions, what's a responsible homeowner to do about it?

Puncturevine is easy to kill once you see green leaves. A little bit of 2, 4-D lawn weed killer will wipe it out fast--the problem is making sure you remember to do it weekly, and getting it done before it grows 15 feet across and has babies of its own.

Prevention is another matter altogether. We have found some success with certain chemistries, but by the time puncturevine germinates (hot), the season for preemergence chemicals is long since past. Not only that, the odds are pretty slim that the tap root is going to suck up enough preemergence chemical to shut it down before it can die due to its metabolic rate.

​​And why does that stupid neighbor never seem to kill the puncturevine on his side? Probably because he's a lazy nogoodnik, and he's never going to get it.  But here are some ideas that YOU can handle!