Winter Weather Could Have Some Benefits

Most of us are glad to see the ice melt away, but when it goes, so do some of its our benefits.<br><br>As long as we have freezing temperatures, we have a break from those pesky pests that bug us in the

Sunday, January 7th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Most of us are glad to see the ice melt away, but when it goes, so do some of its our benefits.

As long as we have freezing temperatures, we have a break from those pesky pests that bug us in the spring and fall.

Shirley Miller knows her plants and the pests that eat them.

Shirley's garden is smothered by snow right now, but come spring, she'll have it blooming again.

She's a member of the Master Gardeners.

â€œWe all love to garden so much and that's our favorite thing to do and we try to make ourselves knowledgeable and then give that knowledge to the community," says Miller.

She may be able to tell you how to keep berries blooming and birds visiting, but she can't tell you that you won't see bugs this spring.

She's heard the rumor, too: that the long spell of cold will mean a smaller population of bugs.

â€œThe cold is good. It won't necessarily reduce the insect population, but it might delay it for a while," says Miller.

Last fall, exterminators were working overtime because of the spring-like conditions.

They were wishing for winter.

But slowing it down isn't all some people are hoping for, they want to be rid of the problem.

There's a possibility that it could get better, but it might take another cold spell.

"It will help us if it stays. What would really be a good thing is for it to stay cold like this and then warm up give those eggs a chance to hatch and then get cold again that breaks the cycle," says Miller.

Like the seasons, it's a cycle that will always come around but hopefully next time it will bring fewer pests with it.