Topic: Pests and Problems

[Patty S]

Do you have garden/plant "issues" that are trying to get the best of you... or some that you've managed to overcome?
                   Bring them here! 

[Patty S]

I've been dealing with creepy crawly things that try to thwart my efforts, & I know I can't be the only one dealing with Snails & Spittlebugs...

I say that I don't have a slug problem, but that's only half true, cuz the slugs here have shells! 
     

The only nice thing about snails is that unlike slugs, they're not hard to pick up & get them off plants. They outnumber my Irises & leave brown spots where they chew on the leaves, or suck the juice out of them (or whatever it is that they do)!  The only way I know to control them is with slug bait, but if you have pets or ponds with fish that's not an option for you.  To divert them, I lined up several rows of pennies around my Dahlia last year, cuz slugs & snails can't go across copper.  (I've also flattened out copper pipe to lay down as barriers around small garden beds.)  I don't like hearing the sound of shells breaking under my shoe & knowing that I'm killing something, but I have the luxury of a huge meadow right next to my yard, so I just pick them up & throw them as far as I can!  I figure that they'll find plenty to eat out there, & hope that they move too slow to find their way back!

Spittle bugs (a cousin to aphids) are a nemesis for me every spring when there's a lot of cool dampness, but they disappear as the weather warms up. They're sap feeders that get onto my Iris, strawberry & poppy leaves... & almost anything green that has a sweet, high nitrogen content.
     

The tiny green spittlebugs can't live for very long outside of the protective foamy sack they manufacture to protect themselves, so if you're in a low humidity climate, it's not real necessary to use insecticides (Ortho's "Sevin" is the only thing I found that kills them).  The "spit" is easily washed away with a spray of water... or you can go from plant to plant, wiping it off, if you can stand it! Spittlebugs are a real delicacy to spiders & other small creepy crawlies, if they can find them out of their frothy surroundings, so don't kill your garden spiders unless they have bright red hourglasses on their tummies or are known to be the kind that can give you health problems!

Does anyone have other methods they use to get rid of these (or other) pests?

[Dianna]

Well, Patty, it looks like your buddies are walking a straight line. Need to give them a little beer so they can get drunk and fall into whatever they are drinking out of. I sure hope I don't see any because we will have to use an alternative method. Can't afford to get the snails and us "feeling right"! 

As for the spittlebugs...I am wondering if you could just shake some powder on them and dry up the little "houses" that they like to live in? Maybe they would decide to find better accomodations then...

[Patty S]

Dianna, do you have ANY idea how much beer it would take to party up the collection of snails in a 3'X70' Iris row? (I'm too cheap to spend that kind of money on beer for ME!)

When I was out there taking pics of my new Iris the other day, I noticed that they were thicker than ever, so I watered everything down good & went back with 4 boxes of Corey's "Slug & Snail Death"® & sprinkled it all along the whole row.  The next day there were hundreds of empty snail shells! (Which I'll just leave there, cuz I figure they're probably full of calcium, which will be good for the soil when they break down.)

I don't know what kind of "powder" you could use on those Spittle bug goobers.   Maybe I'll try cayenne pepper... (or even regular pepper), the next time I run across one of those sudsy looking masses. (I know that pepper makes short work of soap suds, & that's about what those spittle sacs look like!)   I'll let you know, if it works.

[Dianna]

Plain, old baby powder would work just as well and would be a lot cheaper, Patty. Of course, if you gave it a heavy dusting, it would look like snow....

[Patty S]

Dianna, I don't think I want to put talc on anything in my garden. It's not water soluble, so when our rainy season gets here, I'd be wading in "gravy"! 

I don't think I know anybody who doesn't fight Aphids at one time or another during the growing season! My roses have been slow this year so I haven't paid much attention to them, but last night I noticed these very healthy ones!
     
I've always used Ortho's Rose Pride® on my roses & it works fine against Aphid, Powdery mildew & Black Spot.  I ran out of it last fall & was ready to go buy more, when a friend told me about Spectracide's Immunox®.  It's also a pesticide & fungicide, but it says on the label that it can be used on all shrubs & even grasses, so I decided to give it a try.  I was out spraying rose bushes, first thing this morning.

My long stemmed Tea Roses are starting to bloom, & just like last year, the petals are turning black along the edges!
     
These spots aren't from anything chewing them, so I don't think it could be from a bug. The bush doesn't have Black Spot (yet), but I've never seen it show up on blossoms before, anyway.  It's only on the roses of this one bush & I sure don't know what causes it!   I have 7 other rose bushes, & none of them have ever had this problem! Does anyone know what's causing this?

Another problem I have with them is the earwigs! (I didn't even notice it until I uploaded the pics from my camera!)
     
I haven't had much luck controlling them with the sprays, but maybe this new one will take care of them.

Does anyone know of any other "cures" for these problems?

[Dianna]

I didn't think about it not being water-soluble, Patty! Sure am glad you straightened me out before I practiced my bright idea on my own plants! Might have made a mess of my plants and flowers. I can just hear Jim now if I had sprinkled baby powder on "his" veggies...

[Dianna]

You know I am a googler, Patty...

I googled spots on rose petals and think I have found the answer to your "spotty" roses. I think it may be Botrytis Blight Fungus. Looks like some nasty stuff. Another website I just googled gives management tips.

Hope the sites help...

[Patty S]

I never did find out what was doing that to my roses, but the latest ones to bloom haven't had that problem.

I have a new problem... lots of 'em!  Whitefly  
They're on my tomato plants, but I don't see them anywhere else. A friend of mine puts can lids under her plants, cuz she says that they reflect the light up to the bottoms of the leaves & tricks the whiteflies into thinking they're on the top of the leaf & they go away. I put a big mirror under the tomatoes & it seemed to work... for the bottom leaves! (They all moved up to the tops of the plants!)

Anybody know a safe way to get rid of whitefly on food plants?
Curious thing though... they don't seem to be doing any damage.

[Dianna]

We got a picture of a bug that we think is eating on our maters. We need to know if he is a good guy (and eating aphids that we don't see) or a bad guy (and chomping on our maters). We have found several tomatoes with holes in them. They don't look like birds have attacked them. They look like some critter is taking their time to make nice, neat little holes in them with a leisurely lunch...



Do we kill 'em when we see 'em or let them kill the bad guys? He is sorta squished up a little bit. He was flying around the kitchen and met up with a fly swatter...

Oh, and sorry, Patty, that I didn't answer in the forum about whiteflies, but sent you a link in an instant message. If you remember the link (that you had already found without my help), you  might want to post it here so in case someone else has the same problem, it might help them....

[Dianna]

I took some pictures yesterday of a bug that I think is eating our tomatoes. Unfortunately, they were so blurred you couldn't really see 'em in the pic. Just looked at the pics and they are awful!

I will try to get another pic tomorrow, but I will just tell y'all what it looks like now in the hopes that if I can't get a clear picture, a suggestion will lead me in the right direction to identify the "buzzard"! He/she/it is black with white spots and travels with a "pack". Does it sound familiar to any thing you know that would be on a tomato plant?

[Pharmerphil]

did it look like this but with white spots?
If so, it's the sap beetle, a.k.a. picnic beetle, beer bug, berry beetle...the list goes on, I call them NUISANCE
and, they will eat tomatoes, corn, strawberries, anything that is ripe, overripe, or that gets a lil damage (so they can smell FOOD)
best bet...go ahead and pick dem mators early Dianne.
These are very hard to control, they can be sprayed, but they come in DROVES, hundreds of them.
I never knew they exsisted till I moved here.
they are the Vector that carries the red oak wilt, that is destroying the red oaks in america!

[Pharmerphil]

oops, didn't see the pics, that looks like a infant squash bug from those pics...anyway, the sap beetle pic will be helpful to some...LOL

[Jim]

You read it right Phil.  I think you are right, it's the picnic beetle.  I bet we are feeding them little suckers cause when we find a bad tomato we fling it out in the field.  I read on one of the sites that we should bury or completely remove over ripe and rotting bad fruit completely from the area.  I've seen some of the little suckers in the the corn too. 

[Dianna]

Phil, we have both bugs out there a'munchin' away. When I saw the green one, I had the camera. Other pics that I took of the bug you posted, came out too blurry to post. Your bug pic looks similar to the other one we have out there.

So, both bugs are "squishers", huh? I didn't want to kill any beneficial bugs out there. We need all the help we can get to kick the bad guys out of the garden.

[Patty S]

           DEER PRINTS!

Our deck has been removed, as we're in the process of replacing it. The deer have never been able to get into the back yard, cuz they probably don't navigate stairs very well... but presently there are no stairs, & they have a straight shot into the area where I've planted all my NON deer-proof plants! I've been using a 5' step ladder as a barricade, but have only had it in place at night, as I'm out in the yard for most of the day, every day, usually with the radio on... apparently they don't trust me or don't like music!

I didn't spend much time outside today, but left the ladder down. This evening when I walked into the back yard, this is what I found... right next to my veggie garden!
     

Closer inspection led me to believe that there had been more than one
     
...and not only did they scope out where the veggies & strawberries are, but evidence shows that they cased the whole back yard, & admired my Dahlias, Lisianthus, Anemones & a Rose bush!

Tracks leading out of the back yard indicate that they made a hasty retreat, so I'm guessing that either the neighbor dogs (on the other side of the hedge) had sensed that they were close & started barking, or they may have been there when I turned on the AC, & the heat pump startled them before they decided what they wanted to munch on first!

I don't see deer damage on any of my plants, which actually surprises me, cuz it appears as though they spent some time right at the strawberry planters that are mounted along the veggie garden fence, directly above where the beets are growing!  (I'm sooo glad the garden gate was closed, cuz I know they would have made short work of my tomatoes, peas, beans & melon plants, had they wandered inside!) 

Note to self: Start leaving the ladder up, to block the pathway during the day when not outside, or a lot of hard work will have been for nothing!

[Patty S]

Apparently my four-legged "buddy" thought she could sneak back in to the back yard today! (By the way, I did find deer damage today... there is was a volunteer tomato plant growing among the beets, & it was pretty well trimmed!)

When I was taking pics in the yard, I noticed her over by my "deer barrier" bed, which is on the outside of the veggie garden fence... so I shot her (with my camera). She let me get pretty close to her, about 20 feet away, & I could see that she's a wet doe. (Maybe she had the younguns with her yesterday, but wanted to check things out before she brought them back again!)

     
I've never seen any deer as close to my deer barrier as she was today, cuz they don't like the strong aromas there, & usually give the area a wide berth. The adjacent field is all dried up now though, so the only grasses that are green & available to them these days, are those around the edges that get water runoff from my gardens.  (I told her that she could trim those grasses all the way down to the ground if she wants, but to just forget it, if she thinks she'll get any delicacies from inside the fence... She ran away, pouting!)

The only "sure cure" that I've found for keeping the deer away from my garden fence (where they manage to get their snouts & tongues between the chain links, so they can snack on pea, bean, tomato & melon vines), is to plant a ridiculous abundance of aromatic herbs & plants that they hate, right at the edge, the entire length of the garden.
     
This year the Basil, Dill, Anise, Devil's Claw & Rhubarb have done especially well & have also been absolutely gorgeous, with their many shades of green & the many blossoms. Basil is an especially good deterrent in flower beds (& also repels some of the creepy crawlies), as it makes awesome border plants.  If it gets too tall it can be cut back without doing any damage to it, cuz it just gets bushier!

Note: I plant the Devil's Claw there because deer don't like the smell of it, plus, it makes pretty flowers all season.  However, the seed pods are VERY dangerous to animals... they're shaped like "claws" with needle-sharp tips, & have been known to attach themselves to the legs & fur (cutting or puncturing the animal & causing infection). I have to keep a close watch on the plants & remove spent blossoms, so they don't form seed pods.  I do select a few, at the end of the season, & let them go so I can have seeds for the following year, but I put netting around the plant to prevent the pods from posing a danger to these beautiful (but garden-destructive) critters.

[Dianna]

How pretty, Patty! Deer are beautiful creatures, but hungry little things, too. They will eat four rows of peas in a heartbeat. I don't know how to really control them. It seems a shame not to feed them when we have cleared out their habitats and made them ours.

Jim is to the point that he is telling the young'uns that deer season will be open on our land next year. Even offered Justin the gun to do the dirty deed with! They will be responsible for cleaning, preserving, and whatever on the poor critter that gets caught in the crosshairs.

I wish there were a simple way for us to all live together. I would even consider planting them their own garden, if they would stay out of ours...

[Patty S]

The neighbors have been telling me that they're having mice problems this summer... (& 1 of the neighbors said that she saw a rat!)  I figure they've come up from the field, cuz the guy who owns it is keeping it mowed, & never had in previous years.  Apparently the rhodents have always had plenty to eat there, but have to go outside their boundaries to find snacks now. 

Earlier this spring, I had mice in the garden shed, & they chewed through a bag of grass seed, but I cleaned it up & gave the seed to Peggy, since we don't need it now & I don't want to keep grains around for no reason, cuz they only attract those kinds of critters.

Well, apparently they also like cantaloupe, cuz something was munching on one of mine, last night!
     

I guess they like the rind well enough, cuz you can sure see the teeth marks in it, but he never got down to the good part! I didn't see any "sign", so I can't determine whether it was a mouse or something bigger... but whatever it was, either worked on it for a long time or got scared off by something (or maybe it got full), cuz this was the only thing that was disturbed. 
(Could it be some sort of a bug that did that?)

I'm so glad that my mystery critter didn't do what the birds do to the strawberries, & sample each one instead of having the decency to stick with the first one they sample!  Tonight I covered my melons with heavy pots, so they won't be available for midnight snacking.  I'm just hoping that they don't like cucumbers or peppers, cuz that's gunna make me pretty mad!  All I need to do is to remember to take those pots off everything, in the morning!

[Dianna]

Looks like a rat has been helping himself to fresh fruit, to me, Patty! 

When Jim bush-hogged the peas down, we had a rat running around out there trying to hide. I went one way and he went the other...

Now that the first planting is done, we are getting ready to do a second. I will be poking around with a stick out there before I put my hand down to harvest anything. I don't want a rat mistaking my finger for some kind of veggie!

[Patty S]

It looks like I have a Katydid problem this year!  I've never seen them around here before, but this is the second one I've found in a week.  The first one had chewed holes in my Datura last Saturday, & today I found a buddy of his on a rose!
     

This is the kind of damage they do, & I would imagine they aren't fussy about what they eat... as long as it's botanical.
     

Does anyone know of a way to repel (or destroy) them?

[Patty S]

We went to my Aunt's house for dinner on Thanksgiving, & when I saw what was hanging from her trees, I thought she'd lost her mind!  

     

She claims that the squirrels dont bother her bulbs now, but the birds don't seem to mind the rotating CDs/DVDs that she hangs in her trees!

I don't have squirrels to test it on, but maybe someone here could try it out & report back.