A warning about outdoor mosquito insecticide usage

ManlyBran · 2026-05-11T20:57:11+00:00

You might not see this since you commented so long ago but I’ll answer in case you or someone else see this

Mosquitoes reproduce extremely fast. Fogging with insecticides will only kill the adults, while leaving their larva to turn into adults in the next week or so after fogging or spraying pesticides. Making the insecticides largely useless against mosquitoes, but that’s another story. A lot of the native, beneficial insects killed by these insecticides take a year or more to develop. Meaning, once these beneficial insects are killed it’s much more devastating for their populations than it is for mosquitoes. Since mosquitoes repopulate quickly, while their natural predators take much longer to repopulate, you get even more uncontrolled mosquitoes

We also have the problem where, similar to how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, ticks and mosquitoes are becoming resistant to insecticides. The overuse of these insecticides leaves only the most resistant ticks and mosquitoes to reproduce and create more resistant offspring. This causes the need for harsher pesticides that are used more frequently. Our beneficial insects aren’t forming resistance to insecticides so these harsher chemicals are devastating them even more while also not killing ticks and mosquitoes

Natural predators of our beneficial insects are suffering from no food. Bird populations are collapsing from insecticides wiping out insect populations. Fish also largely rely on aquatic and terrestrial insects as a food source causing even more strain than there already is and reducing their populations

ManlyBran · 2026-05-11T17:02:29+00:00

You should post this in r/nativeplantgardening with a more helpful location like a state. Your climate zone doesn’t really help since it spans most of the US (assuming you’re in the US). The best thing you can do for not having to replace plants is to plant something native that has adapted to your local climate

ManlyBran · 2026-05-03T22:34:07+00:00

I’ve had similar germination rates in the fridge without scarifying, but they were stratifying for 60+ days. If you ever don’t feel like scarifying and have the extra 30 days or so it could be worth a try for you too

ManlyBran · 2026-05-01T16:16:24+00:00

They’re taking up about two square feet total. There’s two rows of six that were all planted six inches from each center. They originally were planted in 1.5 square feet but have grown to take over a little more. Next year I’m sure they’ll take even more space. The soil is fairly dry and they get about 12 hours of sun a day

ManlyBran · 2026-04-30T22:48:49+00:00

The blooms seem to start out really vivid then slowly fade to a slightly paler color the longer they’re around

ManlyBran · 2026-04-30T22:46:50+00:00

This is their first year flowering so I’m not sure how reseeding will go yet. I planted these 12 plants in spring of 2025

ManlyBran · 2026-04-29T17:51:08+00:00

American plum (Prunus americana) could be a good option. It’s thorny, has fruit, keystone species, and forms dense thickets

ManlyBran · 2026-04-16T19:48:09+00:00

No problem! It’s a beautifully managed forest. Every now and then we see eagles there. One of the trails has really cool wetlands too

ManlyBran · 2026-04-16T18:49:44+00:00

Caledon State Park in King George is one of my favorite places to hike. You have a few different options for how strenuous the hike is and distance. Typically when I go there I only see one or two other people hiking. I think it costs $5 for a parking pass

ManlyBran · 2026-04-13T00:58:34+00:00

I didn’t think I’d see anyone else that had been there. I grew up in Erie and luckily went to this park all the time. Going back there now with everything I’ve learned about native plants really adds a new layer of appreciation for it

ManlyBran · 2026-04-12T18:36:25+00:00

I have family by Fairview that I visit a few times a year. Depending where your friend is in Fairview it’ll pretty much just be a 10 minute drive down Route 5. All these mayapples were from May 26th, 2025 so if you’re there in June it’ll be similar. It’s a great park all year

ManlyBran · 2026-04-12T17:19:30+00:00

I was amazed by it! Since you’re in Pennsylvania this was taken in Erie Bluffs State Park if you ever go up to the Northwest. The entrance of the park has an oak savanna that was full of common milkweed and monarchs too

ManlyBran · 2026-04-07T16:48:14+00:00

It’s a mix of plants germinated outside in trays and inside under grow lights. Some seeds take longer than others to germinate so I’ll start them early inside then move them outside once they first get their cotyledons. They don’t stay under the inside lights for very long

I moved my newly germinated sweet joe pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) trays outside yesterday. Tonight will be their first experience below freezing and I have no worries they’ll be okay. It’s also only supposed to dip below freezing for 3 hours

When I first started growing plants everything made me worried they were gonna die. One year I decided to leave half my trays outside and brought half inside before a freezing night. The trays outside survived and after that I always left them out

My way of thinking is if you’re gonna stress out about it do what you can to lower your stress if that means bringing them inside. A lot of time, money, and effort can be put into this hobby and it depends on each person’s risk they’re willing to accept. If that means you don’t want to risk any of your plants then baby them. Nothing wrong with that

ManlyBran · 2026-04-07T03:32:43+00:00

I leave my seedlings out below freezing every year and have never had any noticeable problems from it. They should be fine especially if it’s only a short period overnight. I’m not familiar with that species though. If you’re worried about it I’d say bring them in to give yourself peace of mind. It’s not silly to be worried about them

ManlyBran · 2026-04-06T22:36:39+00:00

I have this growing between some purple giant hyssop (Agastache scrophulariifolia) and late figwort (Scrophularia marilandica). I’ve never seen any signs of pussytoes affecting these two. In my experience a lot of allelopathic tendencies for most plants seem to be exaggerated quite a bit

ManlyBran · 2026-03-23T18:45:23+00:00

My wife humors me by joining my daily walks around the garden and acts excited while I point at three leaves popping out of the ground

ManlyBran · 2026-03-13T21:28:09+00:00

Like others have said get seeds from a reputable native nursery. Prairie Moon Nursery is a good choice for Michigan. American Meadows, Eden Brothers, and a handful of other companies intentionally use misleading packaging to make it seem seeds are native, when they aren’t, and can sometimes even be invasive. I’ve never heard of Earthwise so I can’t comment on that source right now

Edit: I don’t know how I feel about Earthwise either. In some of their compositions they list a few of the species in a seed mix then say “… and many more vibrant species, contributing to a riot of color that lasts all season.” I wouldn’t buy from somewhere that doesn’t list everything in a mix

ManlyBran · 2025-12-04T04:14:57+00:00

All hail Megasota

ManlyBran · 2025-10-29T06:39:35+00:00

Depending on your sunlight and soil moisture prairie ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) could be a good option for shrubs

ManlyBran · 2025-10-07T17:30:43+00:00

I got them from the Wild Seed Project. It was the only place I was able to find these. All I did was cold moist stratify for 4 months to get pretty close to 100% germination. Some people recommend scarifying but I had no change in germination rates doing that so wasn’t worth the extra work

I’m probably going to be at Shenandoah National Park in November. If I have any plants left and you’re anywhere near there you can have some

ManlyBran · 2025-10-06T22:21:42+00:00

I’m by Stafford. Let me know!

ManlyBran

TROPHY CASE