August 2025 Update
- 1margaretefisher
- Aug 1
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 3
Spraying for mosquitoes and ticks has become a disaster. Please see the article at the bottom of this update and share as widely as possible.
Outreach of the month: Spanish-speaking landscape professionals
Please print this half-page flyer and hand it to every Spanish-speaking landscape professional you see, inviting them to check out the resources on the Spanish section of our website and to receive notifications of classes for them held in Spanish.
How neighborhood associations can address invasive plants.
The wonderful Blue Ridge PRISM hosted a webinar on this hot topic attended by 700 people. Click here to watch the recording.
Website contest - Whose do you like best?
We invited all local landscape professionals and garden centers to submit their native plant web pages for you-all to vote on which you like the best. This is just for fun (though they do get a prize), so please only vote once! Click here to do so. We will give a prize for the most points to one native-plant-only company and one not-just-natives company.
Here are the websites.
Watermark Woods www.watermarkwoods.com
Trinity Tree Service https://treeservicealexandriava.com/services/landscape-design-installation/
Revolutionary Gardens https://www.revolutionarygardens.com/
Backyard Bounty https://backyardbounty.net/
Asclepias Landscape Design https://asclepiasld.com/
Native Plant Landscape Design https://www.nativeplantld.com/
And here are the considerations. Please pick one in each category.
Web page design
Variety (and accuracy) of species
Discussion of other considerations when gardening for habitat, such as straight species vs cultivars; avoiding neonicotinoid pesticides; leaving the leaves; not spraying the yard for mosquitoes, avoiding gas-powered leaf blowers; and installing dark-sky-friendly light bulbs.
How effective the page is as a whole at convincing people to try native plants.
Free trees for Fairfax communities
Community-based organizations in Fairfax County can apply to receive free trees for planting on private properties, through a program by Fairfax County’s Urban and Community Forestry Division (UCFD) of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services. Details here.
Volunteers needed for tabling events
Please see our Sign-Up Genius if you could staff a table this summer and fall to tell people about native plants.
9/20 Bugfest at Lake Accotink Park
9/28 NatureFest in Herndon
Upcoming event
Native Tree Seed Collection Training Aug 5 and 6. Learn how to collect acorns and other seeds for the Virginia Dept of Forestry to grow out. Seed Collection Training Sign-Up
Arlington Green Community Tour Sept 14. Homes, gardens, and more! Details here.
Partner of the Month:
EcoAction Arlington is a 501(c)3 public charity that works to create a sustainable community by improving the natural environment, encouraging environmentally friendly behaviors, ensuring environmental justice, and addressing the climate crisis. Current programs include their tree planting program which seeks to expand Arlington’s tree canopy and which offers one free native tree to any owner of private property in Arlington, planted in consultation with trained Tree Stewards. Their tree canopy equity program specifically serves historically under-resourced neighborhoods with low tree canopy coverage. They continuously offer environmental presentations, sharing their knowledge and skills to help inspire action towards a greener and more sustainable future. They also conduct the EcoAmbassadors program, a climate and energy-centered volunteer training and community engagement initiative that seeks to reduce energy use and minimize waste.
Report your native tree and shrub plantings
Please help Northern Virginia meet its tree-planting obligations by reporting your tree and shrub plantings here. So far 19,130 have been reported!
Report your tree rescues
Millions of trees in Northern Virginia are at risk from invasive non-native vines. You can help by saving them on your own land or by volunteering on public land. (Plant NOVA Natives/Plant NOVA Trees only does educational outreach, so all this work is done under the auspices of our partnering organizations or other landowners.). So far, 19,145 tree rescues have been reported in Northern Virginia. Please add your report here.
Next Steering Committee meeting – September 4, 10am-noon via videoconferencing. All are welcome. Check our Event Calendar for future meetings.
This month’s newsletter articles to share. For social media, please use this link .
Biodiversity or mosquito fogging: You can’t have both
Ah, the mosquito. It plagues our summers and can ruin our outdoor fun. Is anyone a fan? If so, consider the Asian tiger mosquito, which has no regard for personal space or time. If you happen to have it in your yard, it bites everyone, morning, noon, and night. In winter we long for warm weather, but when it finally arrives, in some neighborhoods we are indoor prisoners. Understandably we want to rid ourselves of this awful pest.
Some of our neighbors turn to commercial-grade mosquito fogging, persuaded by marketing claims that the product is both effective and “safe”. But a closer examination of these claims reveals an ineffective process that is devastating for native bees, butterflies, moths, and a plethora of other beneficial insects we work so hard to attract with native plants.
How effective is mosquito spraying? How effective can it be when the chemicals in the product only target adult mosquitos and only those adults within direct range of the fog? By some estimates, no more than 20-30% of adult mosquitos are killed in one treatment. Meanwhile all mosquito larvae, which are laid and hatched in standing water, are unaffected. They continue to grow and emerge as if nothing harmful has happened in their environment. As a result, the adult population of mosquitos is quickly replenished while nearly every other insect the fog touches is indiscriminately killed.
Mosquito spray producers point to EPA statements that the chemicals are safe for bees when used according to label instructions. But there are severe limitations to the EPA’s testing method. The agency only tests on honeybees and only measures the chemical toxicity resulting from surface exposure, not oral ingestion.
This is highly problematic. Honeybees are only one species of bees and are non-native to boot. That leaves 400 species of native bees in Virginia, along with all butterflies, moths, dragonflies, ladybugs, fireflies, and numerous other beneficial insects that are not tested. Those insects have entirely different life cycles, foraging methods, and ways of protecting and feeding their larvae which render them tragically vulnerable. It is a complete folly to extrapolate EPA’s honeybee-focused test results to any other insect species.
Consider this: One spray of mosquito fog leaves a persistent residue on the surface of everything it touches. Repeating the applications every 10-30 days, as many commercial services recommend, just compounds the problem. The EPA says it considers how long the chemical residue persists in the environment and its effect on honeybee colonies. However, honeybees can forage up to 5 miles away from their hives if necessary, far away from the fogged area and the residue. Our native mason bees, on the other hand, forage no further than 300 feet from their nests. They are wholly dependent on the health of their immediate surroundings to eat and reproduce. Adults have no way to avoid exposure.
Neither do their larvae. Leaf cutter bees and mason bees, for example, produce dough balls that are left in hollow stems for their developing larvae to eat. The balls are composed of pollen and nectar from the flowers in their immediate foraging range. As the larvae hatch and eat the dough balls, they ingest concentrated levels of the pesticides and die. For our native bees, there is no honeybee equivalent of the hive to ensure their survival. They live their lives alone. As their larvae die, all subsequent lines of offspring from affected individuals are gone for good.
Fortunately, as research has advanced on fogging, so too has the thinking on several alternative, inexpensive methods of control. Here are some very safe and effective suggestions, especially when used together as a suite of tools.
Source Removal. The most effective method of mosquito control by far is “source removal,” or emptying/eliminating all sources of standing water on your property. This practice kills mosquito larvae before they become biting adults. Regularly inspect your property for containers or areas that hold water, then remove or empty them. Remember to inspect flowerpots, buckets, or any other feature or item that can hold water. Change the water frequently in places where you want it – like birdbaths – so the larvae have no time to grow and emerge. Maintain your gutters and downspouts so the water flows. Keep your swimming pools and hot tubs clean and properly chlorinated.
Mosquito Buckets: This is a favored method of control by Doug Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware and national proponent of supporting biodiversity in our own backyards. He recommends filling a five-gallon bucket of water, placing it in the sun, then adding a handful of hay, grass, straw, or leaf litter to decay and attract egg-filled female mosquitos. Add a quarter or a mosquito dunk tablet you can purchase at any hardware store, garden center, or home improvement retailer. It contains a bacteria that kills several species of fly larvae, including mosquitoes. A more detailed explanation of the process - and photos of lovely painted buckets - can be found on Dr. Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park website.
Ovitraps: Ovitraps, which are available from the same stores as mosquito dunks as well as on Etsy, use scent to attract adult egg-laying females, trap them, and kill both the adults and the larvae they produce.
Water Wrigglers: Water Wrigglers are devices you can purchase to keep water moving in birdbaths. They were designed to attract birds to the sight and sound of running water but are also highly effective in stopping female mosquitos from laying eggs.
Deck Fans: Mosquitos are weak fliers. Turn on a fan while you enjoy your deck and make it harder for mosquitos to reach you.
Personal Protection: When spending time outdoors, consider wearing long pants, sleeves, and a hat, and spraying your clothing and skin with insect repellant. Personal precautions such as these can prevent mosquito bites entirely.
Community Efforts: Mosquito control is very successful when several neighbors in a larger community participate. Talk to your neighbors about source removal, ovitraps, fans, and water wigglers. Show them your homemade mosquito bucket and encourage them to do the same - or bring them one as a present!. Some studies tout this approach above all others, suggesting that mosquito populations can be reduced by 85% when the whole street or block works together. One way to approach your neighbors is by inviting them to join a Pollinator Pathway and giving them a nifty little sign to display which will encourage other neighbors to rethink their mosquito-spraying contracts.
We all enjoy our yards and our pollinator gardens, and we understand how including native plants promotes biodiversity. But along with joy comes responsibility. If we don’t protect the very life we’ve helped emerge, no one will. We can have improved biodiversity, or we can have pesticides. They do not co-exist.
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