As another winter turns to spring, bears aren't the only things coming out of hibernation. Azalea lace bugs are waking up, too, and will soon damage prized azaleas if homeowners don't take action.

Azalea lace bugs are the main pests of landscape azaleas, say University of Georgia entomologists. The insect with the beautiful, lacy wings can cause ugly damage to azalea foliage.

Lace bugs feed on the underside of leaves and extract the contents of the upper layer of cells. This causes the azalea leaves to appear bleached or mottled.

"If you don't kill them before May, they will have laid eggs, and you'll have to spray several times," she said.

If not controlled, azalea lace bugs can produce four generations from spring to fall. "If you kill this first generation," she said, "you may not have to spray again."

UGA entomologists urge homeowners to use less toxic insecticides to save the good bugs in the landscape.

"Using less toxic insecticides allows you to conserve beneficial insects like the parasitic wasps and spiders that feed on lace bugs," Braman said.

"Horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps have been around a long time," she said. "People are using them more now. But you need to remember that these are strictly contact insecticides."

Contact insecticides must be sprayed on the insects. They work best on soft-bodied bugs like aphids and lace bugs.

"They have no residual activity on the leaves," Braman said, "So beneficial insects can walk on that leaf surface, after the fact, and not be killed. Good contact with lace bugs on the underside of the leaves is important for good control."

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If homeowners don't spray for azalea lace bugs, Braman said, young plants will suffer the most damage. "In our research," she said, "we have observed that older plants, those that have been in the landscape for several years, can withstand more lace bug damage. They can tolerate some damage because they have well-established root systems and are not already under stress like a newly transplanted azalea." Braman said this is one reason homeowners keep replacing young plants year after year.