Garden pests

Is the squash growing? I imagine so.

Are other people finding more pests than usual this year? There's been a lot of drastic landscaping in my neighborhood in the past year or so, and more to come on our other side, (everything getting more so-called "upscale") so when most everything gets plowed under and replaced by sod, I wonder where everything that lived there before can go?

I sure hope I can encourage bug eating hummers next year, because the Asian mosquitos that bite during the day are no fun.

Asian mosquitos!? Is that why I've been getting bit during the day!?

There's some kind of a new strain, I hear. It's been mentioned on NPR. They sopposedly breed with the local strains, too.

Great....that's just what we need....another mosquito!

the groundhog has now started eating tomatoes - went to pick a few and it beat me to two of the them - this is getting serious!

I hate that!! I have a chipmunk who has been taste testing the cukes, and cantaloupe. :(

5 more hornworms this morning even after I did the sevins. Its like a jungle in there so to dust the whole thing impossible to happen.

The newspaper's article did not enlighten me any more about the RLB....said no predator in sight.....also said to spray with neem oil, but I thought that just encouraged them to eat more......

There is a wasp that is being tried with RLB. They have done ours in. they will also lay eggs on fritillaria so we don't plant those. Perhaps they might not starve to death, but no kids.

I heard about the wasp....can't wait til it gets to my yard!

eek - I'm not liking the sound of that wasp! The chippies are also sampling our cukes, but nothing so far on the tomatoes that are taking their own good time to ripen. So far, we've had beans, cukes, broccoli and a few tomatoes. Our Grandson found a large watermelon that magically appeared on the vine that is still teeny. He sent us the seeds and asked if we'd plant them so we could have watermelon when he came. We had it for supper last night. :)

What a nice surprise!

Lots of surprises for everyone when two little ones are around! lol You know what I mean, Marilyn! You've got the same delightful little creatures in your world.

Yesterday I discovered my 4 year old grandson in the garden on his hands and knees, eating chives like a farm animal. 8-)

Cute, but better watch him closely. He might eat some dangerous stuff!

He's not adventurous - he knows and loves the chives. He helped plant the peas and corn, but has no interest in eating them at all. Just chives, and that's all he has permission to pick on his own.

I'm glad you mentioned it though - the morning glories are just starting and might look like nasturtiums to him. He's eaten (and likes) those, but has never picked them on his own. I'm going to be sure to reinforce that only _that_ garden grows plants we can eat, and keep a sharp eye on him. Thanks for pointing that out = good call!

I try to tell my daughters that every time I show them something edible. I remind them how many poisonous plants there are in the yard and remind them they should never eat anything else without asking mommy first. I tried to not plant any poisonous ones at first but really the garden would be boring without any poisonous plants most of the real pretty ones are poisonous! When my children were younger I watched them like a hawk while outside, and my younger daughter still managed to make me call poison control a couple times. Once because I suspected she managed to eat some acorns which my older daughter enjoyed and still enjoys collecting. Then one time I had a box of lily bulbs set on the table and ran to the bathroom real quick and came back to find the lilies and all the sawdust dumped all over the floor. I suspected she might have tasted one but didn't know for sure. I was real worried about that because I know they are deadly for cats, but I guess they aren't so bad for us or that's what poison control had me believe anyhow. Thanks goodness she was totally fine both times. My first daughter wasn't anywhere near as mischievous as my 2nd so I probably had y guard down a little too much for my second!

Our doc's wife told a story about their 4 kids playing in the yard....they were all just a year apart, so I guess they were 7-4....the second child came in the house & told her they were eating the mushrooms in the back yard! A trip to ER revealed none of them had....he was 'making believe'!

Oh no! What a stressful thing to happen!

Stressful just having 4 kids that close!

I can say 'you're telling me' having had three close together. I had to limit my number of plants so I could be very specific about what was toxic, and I simply couldn't grow digitalis and other favorites. No other way my nerves could handle it, because they could conspire together. Cookie jar crimes were cute and not deadly.

True!

Thank God I never had those problems

Kids are certainly life-changers. Isn't it funny that we're talking about kids on the pest forum?

LOL

hee hee

Funny! :)

I got squash bugs. Spent a couple of hours handpicking this weekend. I think I made some headway.

Someone ate an ear of corn on the stalk but the joke's on them because I let them go too long and their all starch. I'll leave them there to distract.

My melon is dead. Can't find any bugs but I am blaming them anyway.

Nothing has touched anything else. I've never seen healthier peppers and eggplants.

Does feeding the rhodents help? Something has now eaten my baby elm tree and perlite grape down to sticks. So I left the compost bin open a bit in case that made choicer pickin's. Coincindence or not, they've both got new sprouting leaves. But the 'accolade' cherry is not growing back yet ,even though it's in a wire cage now. 20 years ago our neighbors took their shotguns and firecrackers out to defend their gardens. You'd never see that in this neighborhood now.

Keeping my fingers crossed....no critter damage on anything yet.....

Couldn't find any squash bugs tonight. Hope the female pumpkin blooms open. Getting lots of girls but they're vanishing after a couple of days without opening. We just need 3 pumpkins. If all else fails we're going to have to buy some imposters and stick them out there for the grandkids to "pick."

LOL...sounds like what I do for my little gkids!

Not a garden BUT -I feed the humming birds. I have black carpenter ants and bees that want to drive them out. Truthfully Pi$$ me right off.

I have sprayed, put on powder and even DUCT tape that has caught hundreds. Ant baits and even vasoline to see if they will cross it. They do.

Dead end unless I put a torch to the deck.

Next year, just plant some red or pink salvia, lantana, glads, fuchsia in pots, & the hummers will be there....and no ants!

Sherry, ants do not like cucumber peels. If you scatter those they won't cross.

A boric acid/sugar mix will attract them, and kill them

And tansy. They say they don't like tansy. Can't vouch for this.

Sunflowers will keep them busy with the aphid farm.

If you find bees/wasps/whatever they are living in the ground, cover the hole with a clear bowl. They're too stupid to look for another way out, they'll all just die there trying to figure out why they can't leave. Or a raccoon will eat them. Just be sure to mark the spot carefully so the unwitting don't come along and lift it up. They built a big nest under my tomatoes one year and I got some wicked swarmed...so I'm serious about my clear glass bowls. It was the only thing that cleared them out.

That explains why I never see any ants at the salon getting a cucumber facial. ^_^

was wondering if the cats on my red twig dogwoods were sawfly ones again.. but I don't think so.. will take a pic tomorrow.. think it was yellow and black stripped .. looks like they are motoring though the foliage

They survived the hurricane of course!

glad you posted a reply.. forgot to go take a photo.. thanks!

to BT or not to BT that is the question