Yeah, we got bugs in Florida

Thanks Quilter - I am very cautious about Sevin because it kills bees - When the crape myrtles start blooming, I have to let the Jap. beetles eat some, and just spray the non flowering plants (i.e., Jap. maple or the crape myrtles which haven't bloomed yet.)

Someone gave me advice to spray Sevin in late afternoon when the bees had gone home BUT Sevin has a couple of days persistence so that plan would result in killing many bees the next day - so I don't do that.

Quilter what is DE?

Thanks,
Paul

O dear, I never knew that about sevin and the bees. No more sevin here.

DE is Diatomaceous Earth. Great stuff. You can even kills fleas.

You can even get "food grade" DE and use that in the house & on pets. Will keep bugs out of your flour. The DE at the garden centers has some non-toxic elements mixed in.

Today its tiny bitting critters that are driving me crazy. Guessing gnats. Way too small to be skeeters.

You can get large amounts on ebay for much cheaper than in the store. Stick with the food grade.

Diatomaceous Earth also can be added to your Cat food to get rid of Roundworms,... which they charge a fortune for one pill at the vets for...

I think I'll have some to then on occasion!

Add a Tbsp to a 5 lb bag of flour to keep the bugs out.
Can rub it on pets to kill fleas.

All sorts of good uses for the food grade DE.

Paul, welcome to the neighborhood.
I am over here at Lake Okeechobee and my closest Sam's Club is in Port St Lucy.
I have quiet a few plants and I don't believe Japanese Beetles are pest over here. We have no Crepe Myrtles here, but I do in Jacksonville. I don't remember seeing them there either.
If I do I will know shortly as anytime I brag I have to eat my words soon after.
Fall in love with Hibiscus. They just go and go.
Almost any plant that blooms will bloom over and over if you dead head.
Hibiscus drop off every day and pump out new blooms everyday.
I still pinch off what is left.
My all time favorite here is Sweet Almond. It's fragrant and takes pinching as an order!
Sidney

Sidney,
thank you for your nice welcome!
I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale and used to snitch cuttings from the prettiest hibiscus plants on the way home from school. I had good luck rooting them and my mom liked them a lot. This was in 1951-55.

I planted one of the hybrid hibiscus (from Home Depot) last Feb and it's doing well so far. I am heading back to Port ST Lucie on Tuesday to resume my Floridian life.

I'm glad to hear the Japanese beetles don't pose a problem -you would remember them if they were there. They turn pretty leaves into lace. I may have a yard full of lubbers when I arrive but I have a can of insect spray already so I can probably handle them.

This message was edited Jul 7, 2013 2:30 PM

Sidney,
I had to jump back here from flyboy's duck egg thread after I saw your corrected DavidofDeland's spelling of your name. When I saw that, I was afraid, I had also mis-spelled it, but I didn't.

Boy oh boy, just from being gone a week, my gardens are a wreck! Mostly looks like the grasshoppers did it. I have stayed on top of them diligently until cancer got first dibs on my time. I checked and all my tomatoes are wasted. I hope to walk out today to where the squash and beans are today but after this bilateral mastectomy, I am in slow motion. I really need to trim back a lot of stuff if there are any locals that want to do it, they can keep the cuttings.

Take the time to heal! You'll enjoy next year's tomatoes much better if you are strong! :)
One season's beans going down the tubes are worth the trade off !

Look after all my stomping they still survive ! Found this one this morn on my family room window it's about ten foot high outside where it is . My plan is to use the garden hose to knock it down (no ladder needed ) then cutt it's head off ! Doing my part as best I can .
Quilter stop sending these things over here !

This message was edited Jul 14, 2013 7:19 AM

LOL!!!!! I was just thinking mine must have drowned in all this rain.

I do have a pet Lizard now. Recognize him because he just has a stub for a tail. He sits/suns on the railing of the Studio. Has been there every day for a week. Turns his head to watch me go in & out of the door. As long as he eats the mosquitoes he can stay.

One of these days I'll get over there to "prune" your Brugs. My double purple has been blooming up a storm this year.

Ive never seen a double purple, except in a picture. Brug or Dat, Im guessing its gorgeous
I love my lizzards without tails, you know they have cheated death, and won. I also love their territorial nature, as its fun to keep seeing the same ones in the same places.

This message was edited Jul 14, 2013 8:34 AM

Now you have me wondering if it is a double...................Of course right now it isn't blooming. I think I have a pic somewhere

Here's the pic..................Do you consider this a double??? I'll share.

I would personally consider that a double. Love that purple color

I've had this plant for 5 years & I don't think it is any bigger now than when it was given to me. It has been blooming like crazy this year. In the fall I'll let the seed pods ripen.

I was given some seeds of the double purple as an extra bonus in a seed trade. I've ended up with two plants and recently moved them from the pots to the ground. Mine are only four inches tall, so guessing I may not get flowers this year. Sure are pretty blooms.

Qwilter is your plant in the ground or in a pot? Just wondering how they do with freezing temps?

It's in a rather big planter. Has been there since forever. It is sort of under a large Phil and Oak tree. It dies back in the Winter & comes back in the spring. Never thought about protecting it.

Well that is good to know because I put mine in the ground, but there is a canopy of trees overhead.

I tend to initially put everything in pots so I can move them about till I find a spot where they will be "happiest". Since this guy never got any bigger I just left him in the pot. I toss some fertilizer on occassionally. Hopefully will put some new potting soil in this Fall.

And we have had a rain free day which I spent outside dealing with the effects of all the rain. Weeds pulled; bushes trimmed; grass mowed. Looks oh so much better now.

Now the front yard is looking good but the back is still a jungle. And my trimmer ran out of string.

I have the same double purple datura. Mine is blooming now. If I can remember I'll save those seed pods as they will sprout many little ones. They are really beautiful. I finally learned to water them at ground level as they don't like water down their throats.
Found 1 adult lubber. Stomp and twist so he is gone.
Happy gardening all.
Bonnie

My bug madnwas here yesterday & hopefully got rid of the nasty wasps who decided to start living in almost every possible location out of the rain.

I'm always on lubber watch!!!!

Seems like when you have a rain free day up there, we have rain down here. :)

Bonnie nice to see you back again. Nice to know you see good too. :-)

I'm on a hill, we never get standing water, so guess I don't have to worry about that, but I did get these from Onalee down south and her instructions did say they can handle dry better than wet. One of mine has grown new growth since I put in the ground, but the other hasn't and leaves don't look so great.

Hi Sherri,
Right now I'm fighting ants on bird feeder poles. Got some Tanglefood to try. Birds won't touch the food with ants in it. Don't blame them.
My beautiful hibiscus or mallaow has white lumps on it so got to get spray made and get to that.
Gardening tasks never do get caught up do they.
Q. you are doing beautiful job on your yard.

Funny Bonnie, was just saying to my local gardening friend that it is a never ending job...but I do love it, I'd be so bored if I didn't have my garden to tend to...if only I had a maid for the house, I'd be a happy camper. :)

Anyone seen these green cockroaches? They are Cuban cockroachs. Anything else from Cuba we should know about?

Whoa!!! That's a new one for me! Never seen anything like that. Seriously? A cuban cockroach? Maybe it needs to be added to Bug Files!

They are good guys from what I understand. I googled green cockroaches and sure enough.... They don't freak me out like regular roaches. They do fly though.

Are they introduced here in Fl. from Cuba? As the Cuban Anoles are?

I don't think they're a bad roach, they come out at night, I've only seen them down in the Keys and over on the west coast when camping. They are also called banana roach, so guess they came in banana shipments.
The brown freak me out, but these not so much. I've never seen any in my garden.

I've seen a couple of those green roaches in the back yard. I know this is going to sound weird, but they're kinda cute and well weird at the same time.

Cut 3 large lubbers in 1/2 the past 2 days.
Went outside at 4AM yesterday (couldn't sleep) and found 4 very large CTF on side of my house. Buggers all went up underneath metal fascia where I couldn't get to them. Will be on the hunt from now on.
One thing Fl. really has is a variety of bugs and crawly things.
Our daily showers have stopped so today irrigation came on. Thanks God for that.
Bonnie

We had over 3" of rain over past 2 days. No sprinklers needed up here yet.