As the growing season creeps closer to us, it’s time to look into the crystal ball to figure out what pests we might expect this season. With El Nino affecting much of the United States and Canada, many of us experienced warmer and drier winters than what is considered normal, if there is such a thing. Now we need to determine our best guess for this year’s pest report.

Looking at the Big Picture

Based upon an article from University of Minnesota Extension, the author, Dr. Anthony Hanson, Regional Extension Educator, pointed out that even though they had a handful of -25F nights in the mix, it was cold enough for long enough to make a tremendous impact. I think that’s a fair assessment for the bulk of the country.

The warm temperatures are problematic not only because pests failed to succumb to the winter cold, but because an earlier season could very well result in an explosion of pests in the spring that carry through the summer. Phenology reports in places like Missouri, indicate leaf out might be over 20 days sooner than normal and the insects most likely will follow the same pattern.

Grasshoppers Invade the West

According to a report from the USDA in 2023, we’re in for a doozy of a year with grasshoppers. Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, and Eastern Washington all show up on the map as having potential for a devastating season. This is exacerbated by the drought this year.

My recommendation to home gardeners is to apply Nolo Bait or Semaspore, which are both Nosema locustae products, as soon as you see the little hoppers. And buy floating row covers now to be able to create a barrier around your favorite plants.

Wasp Patrol

We’ve had a number of warm days over the past month, and it’s evident the wasps and Yellowjackets are beginning to emerge. If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to set out the pheromone traps to capture and kill the queens. While this won’t eliminate the population, it’ll reduce the numbers, at least in the beginning of the season. It’s hard to tell what the summer will look like if the warm, dry trend continues.

La Nina on the Way to Throw a Wrench in the Pest Report?

What’s going to be the wild card in this whole situation is if La Nina makes an appearance, as forecasted this June. The opposite of El Nino, La Nina heralds cooler and wetter conditions for the northern part of the United States and into Canada that can last for years. This might take care of some of the insect pressure in our garden, but it doesn’t mean growing things will be any easier.

Double Whammy on the Cicadas

This year, Brood 13 and Brood 17 emerge in unison in the Southeast and Midwest causing quite a stir. While event is not related to the mild winter many of us experienced, it’s still a dramatic occurrence.

Thankfully, cicadas are not garden pests or we’d be in big trouble, but they’re still a bit bothersome, particularly when they’re sticking to house and surrounding trees. My best advice is just to muddle through it the best that you can, and do you best to enjoy this unique phenomenon. And one little tip. If you do need to get rid of them, shop vacuums work very well, but try to keep the cats away from them. There’s nothing more gross than hearing your cat crunch down a cicada when you’re trying to keep them from invading every nook of your home.

This is going to prove to be an interesting year, and I’m sure we’ll have a lot to report before it’s all said and done.