The tail end of the season may seem to be an unlikely time for trapping insect pests, but it’s actually an opportune time to reduce future problems with several common garden enemies like slugs, squash bugs and earwigs. Thoughtful trapping also can help manage insects that invade indoor spaces in the autumn such as fruit flies and fungus gnats. Here are five easy trapping techniques to try in the fall.
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Reduce slug populations with traps baited with flour, water and yeast
1. Bread Dough Slug Traps
My last lettuce planting is riddled with slugs, but having them in one place provides an easy shot at productive trapping. As explained in more detail here, the most effective slug traps in this situation are deep pit traps made from plastic food containers, which are baited with a simple mixture of flour, water, and baking yeast. Often called bread dough slug traps, they attract slugs with fermentation gases, and then they fall in and can’t get out. Bread dough slug traps work best when placed among infested plants or inside the corners of raised beds for a few days. Slugs that are trapped in autumn won’t be waiting to feast on your tender seedlings first thing in spring.
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Squash bugs congregate on forgotten fruits on warm autumn afternoons
2. Natural Squash Bug Traps
A common pest in North American gardens, squash bugs overwinter in weedy spots and plant debris, but before dispersing they gather on any fruits left in the garden in places that get afternoon sun. On warm fall afternoons they often gather on old overgrown summer squash or pumpkins, which turns them into natural squash bug traps. You can scoop a crowd of bugs into a pail of soapy water and go back a few days later for more. Just after the first light frost is prime time for trapping squash bugs. With consistent effort, you can radically reduce the number of squash bugs overwintering near your garden.
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Earwigs climb up the insides of passive traps made from row cover scraps
3. Row Cover Earwig Traps
Raised beds are great for plants and gardeners, but in rainy years the inner edges of framed beds and planters become havens for irritating earwigs, which feed on plants at night. When the weather gets too wet, they climb upward to escape soggy conditions. After seeing them congregate in the folds of row cover I was using over beds and in pieces piled on the ground, I started making earwig traps from row cover scraps draped over stakes and loosely secured with rubber bands. When it rains, the earwigs crawl up inside the ghost-like tents. Successful traps can be quickly gathered up and shaken out in a distant part of the yard.
In container gardens or greenhouses, you will still want to use shallow containers baited with cooking oil laced with soy sauce to trap earwigs. Or, set out habitat traps made from cloth, which is a good way to trap them on decks and patios. Earwigs naturally gather in family groups, and they feel quite safe under folds of damp cloth. Lightly dampen a stained old tea towel, roll it into a loose roll, and place it in a spot where earwigs are known to gather. Shake out captives into a pail of very soapy water.
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Fruit flies drown after being attracted to fermenting fruit
4. Easy Fruit Fly Traps
Let’s say an apple core gets dropped into a seldom-emptied waste can, and the next thing you know your kitchen is abuzz with fruit flies. An abundance of fruit bits in the compost pail can make problems worse, but stepping up sanitation and using traps baited with fermenting fruit or vinegar can put a prompt end to fruit fly problems. A few drops of dishwashing liquid make fruit fly traps more effective. Partially covering the tops or using narrow-necked bottles prevents escapees.
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Gel stickers often become passive traps for fungus gnats
5. Sticky Traps for Fungus Gnats
I often use gel stickers to keep winter birds from crashing into our windows, changing them out with the holidays. By accident, I discovered that after a few weeks’ time, the stickers often became death traps for fungus gnats, which often come indoors along with plants that spent the summer on the deck.
Fungus gnats are not particularly fond of the stickers, but they are so tiny that they become ensnared by the gel from casual encounters. Fungus gnats are attracted to plants grown under lights, where they are easy to snare in yellow sticky traps. You don’t need heavy-duty adhesives. A piece of yellow paper or plastic glued to a craft stick and striped with two-sided tape works just fine.
