My gray rain frogs disappear if I use them- tho we get as many tadpoles as skeeter larva- dont the tadpole eat the larva?
Bugs! They're everywhere!
Becky, I use a commercial product called Organocide. The active ingredient is sesame seed oil, so it's perfectly safe. You might try concocting your own version of a sesame oil spray, but I can vouch for the commercial product. It also works on spider mites.
Cactusman, is the spray for flea beetles?
The the manufacturer calls it a 3-in-1 and says it works on soft-bodied insects, mites , and certain fungal diseases. I know from personal experience that it knocks out flea beetles in the first minute of the 1st round. The manufacturer lists several fungal diseases to use it against including black spot on roses. It also contains fish oil, so be prepared to deal with that odor for a day or two if you use it in the greenhouse.
Also says it can burn tender perennials,
Thank you, I may look into it when those guys come back.
I have cut the grasshoppers back by letting 3 hens and a rooster roam the garden for several days in a row. Penned them up today as it was trash day.
And I found a mosquito "off" spray to make with elderberry leaves, but now I can't find the link I got it from and I haven't typed it up or copied it off yet. Might be worth a search.
Need to bait my carpenter ants again, they are going up in the roof of my porch and doubtless doing some damage.
We had an unexpected storm yesterday and now the Mosquitos are terrible. They are at every doorway. I don't know if I've ever seen them this bad. Strange summer weather.
I burn citronella candels at my doors to keep them away. They do burn kinda slow
I tried Naturapel with 20% picardine & it actually works really well for me. It is very nontoxic except to fish. It doesn't smell horrible, although I wouldn't use it as perfume. 😝. It allows me to garden at dusk & when I'm done, I take a nice swim!
Where did you get Naturapel? Never heard of it but maybe wasn't looking.
I was looking for a deet alternative & went to my very favorite store--Amazon! I like to read some reviews & study things before I buy. That's one of the big reasons I like Amazon. And the free shipping!😊
I've been potting up some cuttings that will stay indoors until the temps cool off but not too cool. Yesterday I went outside to scoop up some of my shredded oak leaf mold (yum) and later saw some wiggly things that if they had slowed down might be earwigs. If these end up in a potted plant, will they (1) potentially damage the plant and/or (2) potentially crawl out and find a place to call home in my house?
In case it matters, the cuttings are from various types of epiphyllums.
Thanks for any advice. I might just go outside and dump this latest batch of leaf mold. Except I want to add leaf mold to this mix.
Wish I had some chickens, they'd be fat and happy! Lol!
Flowerchild, I don't have any experience with earwigs, but a little internet research recommended sticking a short piece of something hollow, like rolled newspaper or a paper towel roll into the soil of your infested pots and the earwigs will hide in it. You can then pick up and remove a number of earwigs each time they congregate, and that should help get them under control :)
I see I'm not the only one up WAY TOO LATE!!! Goodnight, DGBuds😊
aha - good one on the earwigs on the night owl thread!
Lol! Yes it was a late one.. Game of thrones marathon had me worked up!
I emptied out the pots that had I started cuttings in just in case. However, whatever was wiggling around wasn't an earwig. Don't know what the heck those boogers are.
Can you describe them? Long thin brown w/ legs millipedes? Silverfish? Wireworms?
I get a lot of black soldier fly larvae in my brush pile when conditions are wet. Can't say I have them now since it's been bone dry, but maybe you could compare??
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetia_illucens
I was trying to avoid saying maggots...
Supposedly the BSF are a great weapon against the common housefly so although the BSF larvae are just as wriggly and gross as regular maggots, I usually throw them my melon rinds and other wet stuff to keep them around.
Not earwigs, silverfish or millipedes. Not black soldier fly larvae. Have no idea what wireworms are. Maybe they were baby worms? (Ha!) They were brown, teeny tiny but worm-shaped. Maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch long at best and scooted really fast. At this point it doesn't matter b/c I went ahead and repotted the cuttings.
I did do something dumb the other day. It was one of those slow reaction, 'Duh!' moments. I was feeding my plants liquid seaweed (yum) and was re-filling my watering can. When I was about to take the lid off the seaweed there was a baby bug on top of it and I just brushed it away. A few seconds later I realized it was a baby grasshopper. And I could've squashed it right then and there. Rats! Oh, well. Missed opportunity.
Lol! Git um Flowerchild :))
It's so dry here, the grasshopper population seems to be dwindling. Finally. Maybe I'll be able to try sweet corn again..
Does anyone know what bug looks like a giant bee and digs a hole in the ground? I saw it carrying a full grown cicada into its underground hole (one of its multiple holes anyway) this morning. The cicada had to have been at least twice it's size. I just want to know what it is just in case I get stung. It's been dive bombing me since my MIL tilled this weekend, and I suspect one of its holes was buried in the process.
It is the Cicada Killer, here is a link;
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/cicada_killer.htm
I was wondering what that hole was in one of my small raised beds. The hole is relatively large, and kind of out in the open. Looks like you solved that mystery Josephine.
Great! I am glad I was able to help.
What a fitting name! I'll try to get a pic of it with a cicada today, it's actually an interesting bug, just scary when it's coming right atcha! The article says the females are capable of stinging, but only do so defensively, if handled. Good to know, thanks for the info :)
You are welcome.
I LOVE my cicada killers. They also take care of some other wasps when they run out of cicadas
I'm glad I know what it is now, but I'll feel real bad when I till amendments into the veggie plot this winter, disturbing her nest..
I don't til amendments in the nest. I work around it. Only have one.
I have at least 3 nests by the same cicada killer, all within 20 yards of each other. And 2 of them are on my MILs side, and she's already plowed one of them..
Mosquitoes: I have a tomato etc. out on my 3 foot wide patio. DH was just out there watering my tomato (because it's Sunday) and he said the mosquitoes OUTSIDE are terrible. I've been stung INSIDE more times than I like. Is it from opening the door to go outside, or because the plants have too much water?
The lady who waters them for me M-F waters more when things look stressed, and I know some plants (like zinnia) that drowned from being watered too much.
And yes, there is yummy basil out there!!!
You could try to water with a diluted hydrogen peroxide to kill off any larvae in your container mix. I use 1 Tbsp. HP per quart of water on my indoor plants to keep fungus gnat larvae at bay. Or maybe if you use a rainwater collection system, you could add a mosquito dunk to it to provide BT (is it BT in mosquito dunks or something else??).
Do you notice if you see the skeeters around the basils when you release aroma? They supposedly dont care for it, and I get less bites whenit is pungent. I brought mine out as truck deoderant and the african blue and sweet aussie are awesome. Havent got skeeters in truck this year either...
SO CLEVER! Traveling basil plants!
Chuckl. This truck is so rough I thought I would have battered basils, but they perked right up. I had seen one gal that put a shallow square tub in the floorboard with water and 2 tubs of what I guess to be cats grasses, had considered trying to sprout lemon grass while in the truck and decided I may keep it too cool for that.
Haha gotta get your gardening fix in even on the road!! When we go out of town, I always bring home some seeds and cuttings. Hub thinks it's funny -- well most of the time ;)