Article Written By: Sue Both
GardenShop’s GardenGuru

After the first rains, most of our gardens will be flooded with all those creepy crawlies that make our gardening efforts seem futile. Prevention is usually better than cure and it is a good idea to prevent the problem before it emerges. Treat all your ornamental plants that are prone to disease with a systemic insecticide, this is absorbed by the roots of the plant and will only affect pests that suck and bite on your plants (Aphids, Mealy Bug, Scale and Lily borer).

A systemic insecticide also has the added benefit of not affecting the beneficial insects like bees and praying Mantises.

Do not use systemic insecticides on edible crops – it sometimes has a long waiting period before produce is suitable for human consumption.