Sally--
may be a good water source for them...succulents have a lot of moisture in them.
KInd of a desperate move--but survival is more desperate.....
Do you have a bird bath or two filled for the birds?
bugs and diseases treating your plants?
Spider mites must spread very fast. I didn't notice them last weekend and yesterday I had to spray them. The brugs had LOADS of them on the back of just about every leaf :-(. Thanks for Gita's closeup photos. Otherwise I wouldn't have know what was going on with the plants.
Saw a stink bug yesterday, the only one I have seen this year.
There have been about 5 - 6 JBs on the roses so far.
donner--
my brugs are also totally spider-mite covered. Need to spray--What did you use to spray?
I can go look at my collection of chemicals...
I spread Systemic Granules on top of all mu Brug pots---seems they did not help a lot.
The plant's leaves look sad--may be too late...
With this heat--I hate to go outside....besides, every time i go near any plants--I get chewed up
by some invisible, small critters. My arms, my shoulders and my ankles.
Especially if I go to look for ripe cucumbers--MAN! They must jump on me in a split second!
Then I itch for a week. Whatever is biting me--leaves teeny-tiny welts the size of a pinhead.
Gotta go water today--we never got any rain. Gonna wear knee-high socks and long sleeves....
G.
Gita -- that's interesting -- are you suggesting the birds are eating the Sedum in search of moisture? I put out a bird bath in the winter (a plug-in one), but birds rarely used it. We don't have it out now.
Well--I NEEMED all the Brugs and Roses again....
Took a couple pictures of my Brug leaves chewed up by Spider Mites...
last 2 pictures of my beautiful Epi--blooming away at this time....
Hard to take photos when there is bright sun. There are too many shadows ans the sun light really
bleaches out the color.
Been trying to get a good one of my KK Hibiscus--but the blooms look all pale from sun on them.
And--in the evening--they are all gone. I need an overcast morning....
happy--
I have NO basis for suggesting the birds may be seeking moisture.
It just came to my mind that it COULD be a possible reason.
Not a biologist here......What do you others thing on this?
G.
I haven't seen the birds eating them, but that is my best guess. The leaves that are being eaten are at the top of the plants, which probaly rules out chipmunks or our dogs or raccoons. It could be deer, but with the deer netting I really don't see how they are getting into our yard unnoticed.
Happy, I put out a bird bath two years ago and only saw one robin using it. Then I thought it was probably birds couldn't land on it easily. I put some rocks in the bird bath last year and small birds started to come.
Gita, I didn't have neem oil and just used olive oil mixed in with water and some very old Ortho pesticide that a friend of mine gave me when she moved away years ago. I am not even sure if it still works. Anyway, the oil will do the job. Just googled ispider mites - they go from egg to adult in 5 days. The plants need to be treated repeatedly.
This message was edited Jul 16, 2012 10:51 AM
One of these days I would like to get an education of the usage of Neem Oil. I have heard it mentioned for years, but it has not been something we have tried and I am wondering if we shouldn't have some here. Any comments?
Ruby
Neem is all natural way of treating plants for a variety of insects, usually works better with the soft bodied ones.
Some info on it
"Formulations made of neem oil also find wide usage as a biopesticide for organic farming, as it repels a wide variety of pests including the mealy bug, beet armyworm, aphids, the cabbage worm, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leafminers, caterpillars, locust, nematodes and the Japanese beetle. Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, earthworms or some beneficial insects such as butterflies, honeybees and ladybugs if it is not concentrated directly into their area of habitat or on their food source. It can be used as a household pesticide for ant, bedbug, cockroach, housefly, sand fly, snail, termite and mosquitoes both as repellent and larvicide (Puri 1999). Neem oil also controls black spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and rust (fungus)."
Thank you so very much Jen. Hey, I am convinced now that we need some of it here. I have an infestation of ants each years in my kitchen and bathrooms. Something nasty, bug wise has destroyed several plants here this year. The damage looks much like what Japanese Beetle would do but we have only seen evidence of one beetle the whole season. Too late for treating at the moment I suppose, but I will for sure purchase Neem Oil my next trip out.
Thanks again hon.
Ruby
No problem...I have grasshoppers here now that are eating my plants grrrrr
The JB damage is easy to spot, the leaves are all lace like
I had ants coming in too, I had my bug guy handle that...to keep them out I usually use Borax in the cracks and crevices around the baseboards and it was working, don't know what happened
We have huge ant problems every year and nothing organic seems to work.
Well--
Not sure if this is considered "organic'--but i do know it is safe as soon as it dries.
"Home Defense" is a very good insecticide. You can use it indoors or out.
Spray it around your windows, door sills, cracks, any point of entry--and they
will not cross it for (I think) 3 months. VERY common product sold at HD--and elsewhere.
I love it! G.
TERRO ant baits are very good. Look for an orange box that contains bait in clear plastic trays. I put baits on the counter, AND look carefully outside for the trail on the foundation, and spray that area. Baits alone seemed to eliminate the ones going to the cat food.
TERRO doesn't do it for me. I must have super-ants.
Dang it! I don't blame you for going chemical .
I have huge black ants aroun the base of a maple tree. I'm wondering if there's really a bunch of carpenter ants in the tree itself
{8 ^0
Lost an apple tree where we used to live cause of the ants :(
Ants killed a tree?
yes carpenter ants
This maple def has 'issues'. Mark took off one of the three large 'trunks' (typical narrowly crotched branching) that angled towards the house a bit. But if we lose it-- great excuse to rearrange some gardens, more sun near the house.
We had huge invasion of the tiny ants last night- go for the cat food and I had taken the bait tray away. had to spray.
Wrote a huge post last night but it got lost. Wnat to do some cathch up here to some of your posts.
Gita, I get a red itchy "rash" from the tiny spines on cucumber and squash plants,,,feels like pin pricks and even goes thru clothing..pricks, red, itching, raised bumps. Like bee stings, I have to get the spines out to get rid of the itch. If I don't, the red itch will return anytime it moves in my skin. I vigorously scrub with one of those kitchen scrubby pads to dislodge. Chigger bites don't generally appear right away, but somewhat after the fact...like when I'm trying to go to sleep after a day of fun outdoors, so if you are getting bitten immediately upon approach to cucumber plants, I'd think it wasn't chiggers. Could be thrips though as they do bite humans and 'swarm' or are blown by the wind. They are reminisent of no see um or sand flea bites. You can find all kinds of photos on line to compare your 'bite with for ID. On a good note, I have read that a compress of shredded cucumber will possibly relieve itching!
Happy, Birds eat the seeds of sedums in late fall and winter and I did read one eyewitness account of several house finches eating leaves in summer.
donnerville, I like sedum 'neon' better than autumn joy. I have a cup of soapy water with a lid that I knock bugs into. Thought it would be fill of stink bugs but insted I have knocked many a pair of mating Japanese beetles into it from my Virginia creeper vine covering the top of a 20 foot fence. I took the lid off this am to drown some more and the smell was just terrible!
Ruby, I love your tadpole water feature and wish I had one! Just think how many bugs those little guys will grow up to consume! Grow your own natural pest control. I'm very gratefull for the at least ten preying mantices patroling my yard.
Sallyg, did you know that carpenter ants have a main nest and a number of satalite nests> They gain access to homes many times from above rather than below as they drop onto roofs and find a point of entry there, especially if there is a leak or water problem. They are hard to get rid of unless all nests are inactivated. You seem almost gleefull about your tree with "issues" lol Sure would be a different yard without it there.
WHY do ants like vehicles to live in????
WHY are ants and for that matter many other bugs so attracted to pet food? It's like cat food is more appealing to pests than pets! Must be the proteinn eating ones though, not what we used to call sugar ants. Sorry you had to spray. Be sure to clean up any dead ants well as others will come back to rescue the carcasses of their dead, and spraying doesn't necessarily destroy their scent trail highways.
First rule of home pest control is Deny Access
Wonder how much heat waves effect bugs? I imagine that at some point bees can't fan their wings fast enough to cool the queen and eggs...
Judy
This message was edited Jul 17, 2012 11:22 AM
I finally remembered (DUH!) that I have a jug of AMDRO ant granules. I will treat the areas adjacent to the house, where I see the tiny ones coming up. I am happy to foster plenty of ants on the REST of the half acre, goldangit.
I hear that ants kill / prey upon termites.
Before I start this long-Post-to-be---please know that you are all my ONLY "family" and I want to share
all that is going on in my garden. Glad to do this on the "appropriate" Thread....
I will tell the tale--post the pictures--and hope you understand my frustration with Spider Mites this summer.
****************************************************************
This morning--after breakfast--around 10:30AM--I decided to go out and just walk my garden and see what's what....
Maybe pull a few weeds--check on the watering status, etc.....NO other big plans.
The East side of my Patio has a, sort of, "Privacy planting" of two OLD, large Burning Bushes which I started in the
70's sometime. (See Picture #1). I LIKE them! Keeps anyone East of my house seeing what is going on.
Nothing nowadays--But--plenty in years past....Party Central!
Now all the B.B.'s sold are a dwarf size. Got mine in the early 70's from a local Nursery. These grow tall.
Every other year--I have to cut them back to maybe 5'. They re-grow annually--and provide me shade and privacy
from the East side of my property.
There are also at least two birds that fight/claim yearly nesting rights in these two old shrubs. Catbirds--I believe...
Their screeching and yelling and protective behavior gives them away.
Anyway---This morning I walked outside and, to my dismay, The S.M.'s had seriously hit my old shrubs.
This happens, to a lesser degree, every year--but this was totally destructive. Disastrous!!!
On the patio side of these shrubs--the leaves were dropping like flies....The ground was littered below them--
as was the patio floor. See Picture #2.
Here is a picture of the affected leaves--Pic. #3 Sad looking!!
Here is a picture of healthy leaves from the same shrub. Pic. #4.
Now--FYI--I have always had a "table" made of 8'x2' plywood, sitting on cinder blocks, that I use as a table to
keep many plants on. Tried to find a picture--but could not....On this "table" I keep my Clivias and many other
no-attention-needed-plants. My Pregnant Onions--this and that rooting--as they would get total shade until they do.
Looking at he Horrors i saw--I started out on a "master plan" in my head. AHEM....
Disassembled the WHOLE plywood "table" set-up. Lots of work--but it will give me a clearer idea.
In so doing--I saw the termite damage between the 2 layers of plywood that made up the "table"
...All the tunnels---GEEZ!!! HOW dare they!!!! Now--I have to get out the "Home Defense Spray--- GONE!!!
OK! Done! Did NOT plan on all this.....
NOW!!!! I MUST rake up all the fallen leaves from under the shrubs. Clean is good! Right?
BUT--cannot get to all the dropped leaves stuck at the bases of the shrubs.
AHA!!!! Get out my Shredder/Blower and blow them out from all the bottoms of the shrubs.
So far--SO good----Now all the leaves are. again, all over my patio floor....
Broom in hand--sweep--sweep---rake--rake---gather with my dust pan and put it in the two trash bags
to be picked up tonight as trash. WILL NOT save this crap for recycling!!!
All is cleaned up and sprayed now....Also mulched. See Pic. #5
Now--to decide on re-assembling the tables--or re-ddoing the way I use my two tables
in the space I have....Think....Think...have a cold beer---Think some more....
Think...Think....Seems like too huge an effort. "Fiddle-De-Dee-- I will worry about it tomorrow!!!"
Borrowed from "Gone With the Wind". I will worry about it tomorrow! I only work ONE day a week nowadays.
Lots of time for gardening chores...and all kinds of other "things to do"....
Assemble back the way all the tables were. Could not, realistically, think of a different way to do this.
Put all mu plants back on the "table" as they were.
Clean up-and I am done for the day. It is now 3:45PM. I am exhausted. Drenched....
Turn the hose on--wash my face and my hair. Go inside and chill....
So much for a casual walk in my garden this morning....
A Day in y life of my Gardening......Gita
edited to say that picture #3 should be Picture #5. Sorry!!!
This message was edited Jul 17, 2012 6:25 PM
Oh, my! THat was exhausting to read. Just s thrilling as speediebeans story a week or two ago...
I enjoyed reading it, I could feel your pain...my sympathies as I have had similar endless
'' little strolls in the garden"...
oh my goodness, never seen damage like that and then to have termites to deal with, UGH
Gita: What a tale! Isn't it the truth that we spend so much more time fixing problems (weeding, pests) than actually planting!
Gita, sorry to heard about the shrubs. My SM infested brugs that I sprayed last weekend have all been fried in the heat and the leaves are no more. I knew it might happen when I sprayed them, but I was desperate :-(
Have a cold drink. It is another hot day.
Sally--
My pink, NOID Brug looks pitiful! Most of the leaves are gone. I am hoping they would re-grow
if the weather cools off. Just wishful thinking...
Dr. Seuss's leaves ALL have S.M. damage--but, overall, the plant is hanging on.
I too sprayed all the Brugs again--since I had all this NEEM mixed up. Yes! desperation....
(#2)--took a picture of the "table" on the patio side of the two Burning Bushes.
So you can see what i am talking about....
Jen---Termites are part of nature--anywhere there is old wood. ..Mulch...rotting RR ties, etc....
As long as they are away from the house--I am not going to freak out. I DO grab my Ant spray
and get them all, though.
It didn't take me long to realize that whenever I add something to my "to do" list, in reality it usually means there are three or four other things that need to be done before the original to do can be addressed. I do feel as though I am in good company though when you all share your less than spectacular gardening stories. Makes me feel a whole lot better when other admit to damage.
While watering last evening I saw a spider plant that had been chewed to bits. Not totally destroyed, but many of the leaves needed to be removed. Not exactly sure what might be doing this. Thankfully, for now it is just the one plant. I suppose it might make sense to move it away from any other plants for a while. Don't want to risk others getting whatever this one has.
Yeah Jean, your japanese beetle description is right on target. They have destroyed the one Hibiscus but haven't touched the other that is only a few feet away. Strange these critters.
Anyway, hope things will begin going better for those who are experiencing destruction of the gardens, no matter the reason.
Ruby
Today found that my Kong Coleus have been hit big time. Looks like beetles damage but no culprits in sight, no frass, nothing for a clue. . It may have been two weeks ago, there are new leaves coming out not damaged.
Sally---
I bought Kong Coleus once--several years ago....They look SOOO good at the sales point!
Well--when they start growing bigger--they loose all that compactness and become all lanky--ugly.
After that one year--i decided that i will never buy another one...
Hate to see all the customers at HD grab them up--but my lips are sealed--by Elmers Glue.....:oI
Sally, I saw a green inchworm on my red amaranth. It was easy to spot it because of the color contrast. The entire plant had been turned into lace (will have to go find the pic when I get home tomorrow). I found only one inchworm though. Not sure if one worm would be able to eat that much :-(.
Anyway, look closely to see if you can find a few on your Kong Coleus.
thanks donner, will do.
Red amaranth in my yard is always hit by Pigweed flea beetles. Go in the morning and look carefully for a tiny striped beetle. They hop away readily. And look for tiny pale green worms under the leaves. You will not see many of either but they apparently decimate the leaves and make that lace (too). My amaranth usually looks horrible, I should probably rip it all out and deny them the food for a year or three.
Tobacco budworms are bad on multiple plants too, I found one the other day- can't remember what plant. They like petunia buds and Nicotiana...
Sally, I just googled pigweed flea beetles. OMG!!! I saw three of them on a red amaranth last weekend and was wondering what they were!!! Must go look closely this weekend. My red amaranth are all doing beautifully, or should I say they WERE doing beautifully as of last weekend ;o). I will know what has happened to them this week when I get home tomorrow. I pulled out the one with the inchworm.
I saw a TV program recently called "Growing a Greener World". A guest interviewed on the program talked about how to identify good bugs and bad bugs. Bad bugs tend to cluster in large numbers, such as aphids and spidermites. Good bugs are predators who generally go hunting on their own. Of course, that may not apply to every bug. JBs do not cluster, do they?
This message was edited Jul 19, 2012 12:49 PM
I agree with his general statement that bad bugs are in numbers and good bugs are solitary. Not every single case but kinda, mostly. At least, when you see big clusters I think your should strongly suspect 'bad' (I meant to say that in my handpicking article and I think I forgot (pout))
I have wasps that (singly) patrol my asparagus looking for the grubs. Its way cool- they hover around obviously hunting, scanning the fronds...
sometimes I hear them whistling a happy little hunting ditty (doot~~ tee ~ doo doo~doo~)
I sprayed a few plants today with a systemic. Pretty much just house plants that are having a summer vacation outside and I am still treating them for mealy bug and spidermites. You should see the damage done to my hardy hib. It has beautiful blooms and a ton of them but the leaves are shredded from something probably JB's.
Oh yeah that is JB damage
DS made me go out and grab some greens from the garden for his midnight omelet. I found a caterpillar under one...looked like a hefty corn earworm. ??
Holly--Sorry about your Hib. I cannot say that I have seen any JB's here. We do not usually get many.
But the S.M.'s have done me in this summer. So have whatever crud hit all my Tomatoes.
3/4 of the way up--there are NO leaves left. I give up!
Started with my Butterfly Bushes---
You saw my Saga with the Burning Bushes. They WILL survive, though. What a mess!!!!
My Brugs are pathetic. I have sprayed them twice--so I do not know if there is any new damage--
but most of the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. The heat can also cause this to some extent.
I have to dress like a swat team--just to go pick some Cucumbers...Long pants--arms covered, etc...
But--they are cranking out cucumbers.....The plants are now climbing the roof of my shed....
#1--Dr, Seuss #2--Cuke plants----#3--Tomato plant (last week--it is much worse now).
