Exposing garden insects

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Radio interview source: Dennis Patton, Extension horticulture agent, Kansas State University

My husband, Bob, is pretty good about tilling up the garden in the fall. It means less work to do in the spring, and it turns a lot of insects into bugsicles over the winter. If bugs can hunker down and stay warm in your garden, they'll live through the season. So if you bring insects up to the surface, their chance of surviving until spring is slim to none.

Kansas State University horticulturist Dennis Patton says insects overwinter in several different stages of development.

"There are some that overwinter in what we call the adult stage, some in the egg stage, and some of them overwinter in a pupal, or larval stage, which is a more immature stage," Patton says. "And a lot of them seek warm, cozy places. So by tilling, what you're doing is kind of breaking some of those natural locations up where an insect might find that cozy, little protected spot to spend the winter."

Beetles and grubs brought to the soil surface will be among the first to freeze because they aren't able to dig down for insulation. In addition to tilling up the dirt, it's important to get rid of the garden debris, too. Grasshoppers place eggs among fallen leaves and dead tomato vines.