Help!!!

Oz, has she given you a remedy for achy -breaky back?

Did you put any bonemeal in the holes you planted things in?

Our part lab puppy was a big "landscaper" when we first got him. He would take potted plants out of the pots. He loved to take water hyacinths out of the pond in the back yard and bring them to the front porch. If any of your neighbors have a puppy, that could be your culprit. Labs are also big thieves. Our dog brought home a pair of jumper cables and we still don't know where they came from.

deb, our dog was so bad about bringing things home that we named him Dodger, as in artful dodger.Labs are big thieves, my daughters lab steals the neighborhood newspapers from her entie block.

If you have coons or skunks around I'd bet on them. They are after worms or grubs. I've had them dig up deck containers over and over till everything was torn up and ruined. Taught me to use new potting soil every year. There could have been something in the potting mix the plants came in that attracted them. We're allowed to discharge a firearm in the county, but there is a $250 fine for trapping and transporting a raccoon to another area and letting it go. Last yr our county had 25 cases of coon rabies - and those are the ones they documented. They are saying it came over from PA.

Don't use moth balls, they are carcinogenic - read the package label. You don't want that stuff in your garden. In the open air I'm not sure they'd work anyway. I finally used a deer repellent spray and that did it.

The farmers around here use a blue granular fly bait that is sweet and mix it with Coke. It will kill anything in about 15 minutes. I know it's sometimes necessary to get rid of the coons but I shudder to think of anything that poisonous laying on the ground. Something is eventually going to tear up the carcass if you don't find it and pick it up. We have a coon that I have caught twice now inside my kitchen in the trash can. Somebody leaves the door open a crack and there's the invitation. They are fearless and yes - dangerous if cornered. I hate to say it, but once they do something like come in the house they have to be destroyed.

Masgard----- Nope nothing in the way of back pain relief. She has many more however related to things that burn or explode I believe.

Oz,lol your sick,I can't stoplol

Progress report on my squirrels eating the birdseed: Both HD and the local hardware store had blood meal, I should say "blood meal", as that's what the front of the bag said. The back of the bag did admit that only 12% was even derived from blood meal. The squirrels were unimpressed, I should say -- I watched them just brush the stuff off the birdseed. The swiss chard and lawn grass will like it but it's of no use to scare the wildlife -- too processed.

My HD refused to admit they didn't have fake owls, just couldn't say where they were shelved. The hwr store had them, but first, they look so dreadfully fake, and being made of plastic I couldn't see how any squirrel would take them for real, as neither the appearance nor the smell was there. Second, the label enthused how the fake owl would scare away the birds, too. Now, if I wanted to keep birds away from the bird feeder I'd just stop loading seeds into it. So that was a no-go.

But the hardware store had a "small critter" repellent which the label says is mostly garlic oil, and it warned that the squirrels will need to smell it for about 2 weeks before it makes a dent. But I was desperate. So I got it and sprinkled it around the birdfeeder. It doesn't bother the birds at all, I'm glad to say, and it already seems to have an effect on the squirrels. It pisses them off. Literally. I went out to feed the birds this morning and the lid of the tub I keep the seed in was awash in squirrel pee. There are worse fates, though, and I rinsed it off with the hose before opening the tub.

This repellent also comes in "domestic cat", dog, and deer flavors, and at my hardware store it cost $14.99. Apparently they don't make a puma repellent, but you can't have everything.

Just what would a puma be afraid of? Nothing that lives in central MO that I know of. We have them around here too. Our son saw one coming out of the alfalfa field with cubs a few years ago. I've heard all kinds of stories about them during deer hunting season.

My remedies for back aches are multiple and varied. All the way from supports that help with preventing you from bending in the wrong places, the braces with ice packs in a pocket in the back, to lying on a heat pad or cold gel packs for a while, to hot showers, oils with lavender essense as well as those with menthyol and other herbs in them, to meds both over the counter and prescription. I love the SalonPas patches. About $3. 75 for 40 patches that last 8 - 12 hours. I like them better than the Thermacare ones. Most pharmacies carry them.

Nothing has exploded around here since last 4th of July. Sorry to disappoint you, Oz. lol But I have used all my diesel fuel killing the root systems of wild parsley and dock in the old barn lot. I need to get more tomorrow. I'm going to try using it without the Tordon. It certainly would be less expensive that way if it works. A qt. bottle of Tordon is about $13 if I remember correctly. A gallon of d. fuel is less than $3.

Seandor,

Just to answer your question re: "...do moth balls repel squirrels..."?

No, they don't. I have squirrels that dig in my containers and I did try mothballs...suffice to say that the squirrel(s) just picked the mothballs one by one out of the pot(s) and dug anyway!!! I truly dislike neighbors feeding the tree rats peanuts and then their "little buddies" come in my yard/garden and do their digging. We have done the "trap and release" using the "Hav-A-Heart" traps using peanut butter but haven't had to use it lately (...knock on wood...). Also, if you do release it has to be far enough away because they will return within a certain radius...

HTH,
Jan

Our neighbour phoned DH two days ago, pleading with him to stop trapping because one of the squirrels was "crying for its mate" - yeah, right! Why is it okay to kill rats but not squirrels - both are wildlife and both are vermin.

I started laughing about the lab who stole everyones papers. We had a great lab who brought in our papers, but we praised her a bit too much, and yes, she collected all the other neighbors papers, too. I sure miss that girl.

The tree rats have started planting acorns in my pots, I've chased several off the porch this week. One comes and stands against the door looking in for the dog. I swear it laughs at her when she goes nuts in the house.

I seemed to have found the answer to my raccoon problem. I bought jars of inexpensive red pepper, and sprinkled it on the soil in all the deck pots. No digging this year !!! When ever the pepper was washed away, I re-peppered.
The armadillos have attacked our yard since the fall rains came. Holes everywhere !