Tents worms, beetle grubs, termites, rabbits & children!

... but the garden still looks fantastic!

Good Sunday, everybody - I have been a gardening fool ever since the weather turned warm. At some point I will have to creep back into my office and do something besides check the forecast and leave. Maybe tomorrow ... But tonight I have been catching up on the last month of posts - sounds like everyone is as crazy about this as I am.

About those tent worms: I used to help a friend in the Berkshires get rid of 3 acres worth of tent worms. We used a pole about 15 ft long with fuel-soaked rags at the end and burned the nests. It was vile, but it worked, and nothing else caught fire.

And Japanese beetle grubs: I'm obsessive about them. I did the milky spore thing and would only add to what was on Hart's link about it that my nurseryman said I mustn't allow my garden to get bone dry anywhere. When I find them, I put them in a small plastic tub and every half hour or so I dump the tub into a plant saucer towards the back of the garden and watch the birds line up. Last week I had robins, a brown thrasher, gray catbird, mockingbirds, jays, and blackbirds - watching them feast is entirely preferable to squishing the grubs, which completely creeps me out. Last fall a possum cleaned up what the birds didn't get to. I'll be interested to see if the milky spore reduces the numbers of beetles in my garden this year ... last summer I was out early every morning with a large cup of soapy water, knocking them off my roses by the hundreds. They are so destructive - give them no quarter!

I have other garden pests to think about, too. The other day I found myself in the middle of a termite swarm - swallows and sparrows loved that - and now I have to figure out an eco-friendly way to get them out of a stump. I found something called Bio-Blast, but it's a lot of money ...

There were some comments about rabbits and children and tulips ... Here's one for you: Two weeks ago, my two-doors-down neighbors' very unlovely pit bull leapt over two fences - one more than 5' high - and attacked my cat, who was lounging in a bed of on-the-verge-of-blooming tulips (destroyed). I had just that moment finished putting in 45 acidanthera bulbs when I saw that airborne devil going for Ciccolino and I went at him screaming and flailing with my garden claw. I must have distracted the dog just enough, because Ciccolino got away. I coralled the dog (which had a claw embedded in his ear), neighbors came running, the dog was taken away, and an hour later I found Ciccolino - minus a claw - with pit bull slobber all over his chest and throat. The owners of the dog promised he'd go to the pound (turns out this was his 3rd trip over the fence), but they've now decided that he'll be just fine chained up in their yard. I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about this. I haven't exhausted my options for getting this situation resolved, but in the meantime, believe me, that dog will be dealing with something much more lethal than a garden claw if he ever sets one dirty paw inside my garden again.

Nothing's going to drive me out of my garden though (at least until the Asian Tiger mosquitoes come out). I am having way too much fun.

Eek! Extra-long post - sorry! I'll shut up now!

Yang, I remember doing that same fuel soaked rag thing with my Grandfather. I was pretty little and I have just a couple of memories of him and that was one of them and I remember standing next to a wheel barrow while he was screening dirt.
My arm is still in a sling, will be at the Dr tomorrow to see if I can stop using it and how much I can start doing. Husband Ric and son Josh have been doing most of the yard work other than a little light weeding. I have a couple of hundred plants to plant, with what goes in the yard and the window boxes. Ric spent about 5 hr yesterday mowing and planting. Josh says all I do is walk and point. I had him putting in a few tree seedling yesterday. I can't seem to just go out in the yard and just sit. I keep walking from one area to another standing over it and looking at what needs to be done mussing over the fact that I can't do it yet. Today is Messenger spraying day. This is my first year to try it, we'll see if it's as good as I've been told.
Keep a good eye on the neighbors dog and have a good day out in the garden. Holly

Wow- so glad you and your cat ended up relatively OK. Just like a mother bear, jumping in on a dog attack to save the kitty! Our neighbors had a Rottweiler that we enjoyed, he could play in our yard, ( and once I watched my kitty stand him down under the bushes in my yard), but knew that we did NOT go on his yard or try to take anything out of his mouth. He had to be put to sleep due to threatening someone visiting their house, and it was quite sad. He was a fun dog under certain conditions.

Re the Jap beetles- this is anecdotal, but Dave says that four o'clocks are toxic to JBs. In my yard I can say that I used to see them frequently on wild evening primrose. I could go to the EP and handpick a few per plant. I started growing F O'Cs several yrs ago. Last year I bought two roses. Last year I never saw a JB anywhere, well maybe one all summer but I swear that was all. Now , whether four o clocks are a bigger pest than JBs may be debatable...
Re termites- well just doing their job : ^ ) Seriously, maybe you can help the stump along to rotten? drill holes in top and add nitrogen in some form? course I don't know how big it is, what you're dealing with. bust some up and dispose? if you break it up you might find these HUGE grubs of bess beetles that make big tunnels in there.
Re mosquitos. Everybody knows to check birdbaths and saucers, but check your outside AC unit. Mine had plugged up drain holes on the bottem, water and larvae. My sister had a nice family going in a vase of zinnias once, on the patio table. She was just adding water and flowers, not emptying.

challenging a charging pit bull might not be the smartest thing I've ever done, but I didn't stand there and weigh the odds! Pit bulls, like all dogs, but esp. those bred for defense, need lots of attention and supervision and exercise and unfortunately this one gets none of that. Your Rottweiler story is sad. I once was going to adopt a retired DEA Rott (incredibly well-trained and he had a pension!), but my homeowners insurance policy specifically prohibits several breeds, including Rotts.

I read about 4 o'clocks and J-beetles on this website sometime after I put some in last year ... they did attract the beetles but I wasn't aware at the time that the 4 o'clocks are toxic to the J-beetles. I could have saved myself some trouble if I'd read that a couple of months earlier! Now I'm space challenged and haven't room in my sunny spots for more 4 o'clocks (hm - do they like shade?). Though indeed they are sprouting up everywhere!

I'm having AC installed soon - I'll remember to check the outside unit for standing water. That's a good tip.

HollyAnn - when I read your post this AM about your grandfather it jangled something in my memory that has been dogging me all day ... and now I remember burning up those nests with my dad in Chapel Hill. I couldnt've been older than 4-5, but the whole fire thing was very exciting and of course, Daddy was my hero. He checked out years ago, so thanks for jogging my memory. Best of luck getting your arm out of that old sling. I'd be going nuts.

Oh, I'm so glad I could stir your memory. I only have a few memories of my Grandfather all good, and almost all of them are me following him around the yard "helping". My Dad says that my Grandfather grew up in a hard time and had a hard life. He became rather successful but had worked so hard for so long that he didn't get to relax and enjoy much. He said his best memories of his father are those when he watched us together, he said it was the only time he saw a softer side of his father.

I have two particular beds that seem to be full of grubs. Yuck!!! I rate them along with slugs for yuckiness. Anyway, I bought some Grub X on Saturday and plan to try and treat the beds today or some time this week at least.

Holly, I am along with those who say that if they had a cast on their arm, they would go a bit nuts. I have had some medical issues that cut in to being able to do things that I normally do and it is very frustrating. I hope that the cast will come off this week and that you will soon be able to perform a bit better than you are at the moment. Get well soon - at least before the plant swap. ha-ha

Ya'll have a great day.

Ruby

In a normal year, the 4 o'clocks do a good job of keeping the Japanese beetles off the roses and other plants. But the past two years, we've had really bad infestations of Japanese beetles and they have been all over everything. Year before last was really horrible. Last year was bad but not quite as bad so I'm hoping the cycle will be over this year.

What I'm saying is definitely plant some 4 o'clocks to protect your roses but keep an eye on the beetles. If they start showing up not only on the 4 o'clocks but on your roses and other plants in large numbers, start spraying with Sevin.

The best protection is Milky Spore, which will kill the grubs for many years to come but of course if you live in a subdivision and your neighbors aren't using it, you're still going to get some beetles from their yards. Keep us posted on how quickly it worked for you, Yang.

I use the traps too but I have a much bigger yard and can put them in an area to draw them away from my garden plants. They do seem to help a lot.

I would never use fire to get rid of tentworms. I'm surrounded by the national forest.

Yes, you can grow the 4 o'clocks in shade as long as they get some sun. You can also, by the way, dig the tubers just like dahlias and bring them inside over the winter if you want to. They will also reseed but the seedlings are easy to pull up and move or toss if you don't want the extras.

Holly, hope it's good news from the doctor today. I'm sure you're sick and tired of having your arm in that sling. Don't overdo, okay?

As always, that hart lady seems to know of what she speaks. ha-ha Hope so anyway, cause I am listening to you. So hart, do you grow dahlia's? I am going to plant some this week and wondering about taking them up over the winter. Would they be okay staying in the ground?

I still have bulbs to get in the ground. I cannot believe how busy I seem to be these days. My life used to be boring and I had loads of spare time on my hands. Since moving to this house three years ago, it seems that I never catch up. I haven't read a book since moving here, though I bought a Mary Higgins Clark one last weekend that I plan to read. I am about a quarter of the way through it so far. She is my favorite author.

In the next few days I plan to list what I am bringing to the swap. Just haven't gotten around to putting it on here even though I do have a list made already. As I see things, I am sure that I will be adding to it too.

I hope that anyone reading this will have a great day.

Ruby

I have dahlias planted in a very protected spot right in the corner between the back porch and the wall of the house on the southern side of the house that I've never taken up in years and they come up every year. There's also a nice, thick green mulch of golden moneywort there that's evergreen.

Hmmmm......intersting. I will see where they will do well here. Great idea for the moneywort. I can start some of that with them too. Againl hart to the rescue. Thank you babe.

Ruby

For goodness sakes don't go out and buy it. You can get some at the swap. I have plenty.

I might not need any hart. I have two very small patches going already. Thanks for alerting me though.

Ruby