For a few lousy boxwood…

During the COVID-19 shutdown this spring, I was sitting on my porch on what was to be a beautiful day. It was early, and therefore quiet, and I heard a sound coming from my boxwood. I leaned in and distinctly heard what sounded like Rice Krispies in milk. Perplexed, I asked Google what was going on, and Google said, "leaf miners are eating the centers of your boxwood’s leaves". They were making quite a racket. They are either noisy eaters, or there were thousands of them. There was probably no time to lose, so I ignored it. 

A few weeks later I saw the damage to the leaves. They were wrinkling up and turning color. I split one leaf open, and inside were tiny orange maggots, from two to six in every leaf I checked. Now that I could see the little orange bastards, it pushed me into action. I asked google how to deal with them without resorting to pesticides. Google said, "you must resort to pesticides". Particularly, a systemic insecticide that would be taken up by the plant's roots and distributed to the leaves. I applied the systemic, but I was afraid I ignored it too long. They were probably stuffed and pupating and turning into adults. 

Two weeks later, my fears were confirmed. What looked like fat orange mosquitoes were flying in swarms around my boxwood, fornicating and laying eggs in the new leaves. The boxwood wouldn’t survive another generation of these Trump-colored vermin. But I was still loathe to use more insecticide. Hoover to the rescue. I took my vacuum cleaner out on the porch, and began vacuuming the mango scum, much to the dismay of my girlfriend who was awakened by the noise, and immediately questioned my sanity (not for the first or last time). To no avail, I explained my rationale about avoiding the use of insecticides that may harm beneficial insects. Verdict... I was a crazy person. I kept vacuuming. They just kept coming. After a while I went inside to take a nap. 

I woke to the sound of a vacuum cleaner. Yes, outside was my girlfriend vacuuming boxwood. We were both obsessed. This went on for nearly two weeks. The neighbors were too polite or too scared to mention our obsession, but I doubt the boxwood would have survived another season without the intervention, and they look well on their way to recovery. I have to admit though, it was a lot of effort for a few lousy boxwood.