With the rapid increase in environmental concern and awareness among the general population, there are significant changes looming in the garden industry and in the garden. While we wait, I'll offer a few generally environmentally friendly observations about some garden pests.

Insect pests are seldom serious problems in the diverse garden. Mother Nature seems quite willing to balance things if we have sufficient patience and practice a little foresight in plant selection and site selection.

Recently, we are seeing a rather significant run of fall web worms. You can't miss the unsightly white webs hanging on tree branches. They seem to favor cherry, apple, walnut and hickory trees.

Fall webworms do no significant damage to the trees. They are just ugly. Manual removal is an option if you wish to get your hands dirty. Chemical control is easy; if you wish to go that route, just select an insecticide that kills worms.

In the spring you see a similar event when the tent caterpillars emerge. The difference is that tent caterpillars build their web in the crotches of branches. They may do a bit more foliar damage than the fall web worms, but again their chief contribution is cosmetic.

Control, if wanted, is the same.

Spider mites are a bit more of a concern to me. They are barely visible, hide out on the bottom of leaves and suck juices from the leaves until they reduce their function and bronze their color. They can also be identified by traces of webbing. What you will see looks like the work of a very lazy spider.

They thrive in hot, dry conditions. A common mistake is to plant their favorite food as foundation plants against a reflective wall in a sunny location. Azaleas, cotoneasters, daylilies, apples, and dwarf Alberta spruces are their favorites.

The best solution is to not plant problem plants in problem locations and let the natural predators take care of spider mites. Chemical control is difficult. On the subject of chemicals, do not use the insecticide Sevin anywhere near mite susceptible plants because it kills their natural predators, thus acting as mite dessert.

Finally, there are bagworms. They are nasty and will kill targeted trees in several seasons if left unchecked. At this date, you have little you can do but pick them.

If you see even a few, I would suggest spraying with horticultural oil during the second half of June next year when egg hatching occurs.

The final culprits are aphids. They come with many different looks. Think color. They favor sucking on the terminal (new) growth. A heavy rain is a good control;we can imitate that with a garden hose. Chemical control also exists.

I heard a recent report of a person who was quick with the sprayer. He was amazed at the number of praying mantis, ladybugs and other interesting insects on the happy plants in the yard of his non-spraying neighbor.

It appears that modern science is about to unlock and bring mainstream some of the secrets my grandparents, who retired just before the chemical revolution after World War II, took to their grave. Stay tuned. It looks exciting.