Ugh! I do not like you, my pretty bug!

  They are more of a nuisance than an actual problem but Milkweed Bugs irk me.  Granted, they are sort of pretty and, as bugs go, are rather innocuous.  Still, they bother me.  Having bugs crawl about the garden always makes me think they are up to no good and having their billions of babies crawl about the plants is even worse.  I do believe Milkweed Bugs work overtime in creating the massive amount of baby critters so that makes Milkweed Bugs on my "Bad" list.  I do not like them.  At all.  No way.  Except they are pretty.

  Milkweed Bugs should be only allowed to be out and about in October. Their orange and black coloring gives them a perfect look for Halloween!  (That, in itself, should make me like these critters since I love Halloween!)  These bright colors are there for one reason and that is to act as a warning to predators that "I taste terrible!"  Not only do they taste bad, their bodies contain a toxic compound that is derived from the sap they suck out of the plant.  This compound can cause major problems for anything that eats the bug.  The defense definitely seems to be working for the bug.  The wrens were busy working the broccoli leaves for the cabbage worms while right next to them, the Milkweed was filled with these bugs.  Not one wren opted to dine upon the bugs. They insisted on helping clear the broccoli of worms and simply ignored the other bugs.  (Silly birds!)  

  Like I said, the Milkweed Bugs are pretty innocuous which does make them at least on the bottom of my bad list.  They are not as bad as other critters that devour my tomatoes or peaches!  These critters stay strictly on the Milkweed plant and are happy sucking the juices out of the seed pods.  I suppose there is no harm in that as the seeds still seem to be viable even after an attack.  When you think about it, the bug would be mighty stupid to harm the actual seed since that is the source of the survival.   

  Since I refuse to douse even the flowering plants with harmful chemicals, I had to resort to handpicking the bugs and squishing them.   I do realize that this is a futile effort in ridding the garden of something so adamant about reproducing.  A billion and one (or so it seems) tiny yellow eggs were already dotting the stems and leaves of the plants.  I can never get ahead of these critters!  Ugh!  Why don't those wrens find some antidote to that toxic compound....geez!