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Vines
Insects
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Insects
1 . Something is eating my Hosta. I have holes on the leaves and the plants turn brown at the roots, then wilt and die.
Hi, Thanks for writing. It sounds as though there may be a couple of issues going on. The holes in the leaves is usually from slugs or snails, which you can treat using a slug/snail bait. The br...
2 . my lawn it LITTERALLY COVERED with dime-sized holes. There is no dirt-mounding such as ants would cause, and the ground is not soft and spongy as I would expect from some insect tunneling under ground. Can you tell me what might be causing this and what to do about it? I would rather use a natural remedy if possible as I hope to attract birds and butterflies next summer. There are also some larger holes - 1 1/2 to 2 inches across, and I have seen some small snakes around the property.
I can only think of one thing that might be causing the problem as you've described it. Sod webworms sometimes infest lawns, and then birds come in and feed on them, especially starlings and grackles....
3 . We have new rosebushes, hostas and several other plants that have been growing very well since they were planted in May, however, we have noticed that the leaves are being eaten away. When I was out there the other day, I noticed that there are lots and lots of grasshoppers that don't even want to budge off the leaves when you shake the leaf. I had heard about spraying them with a mixture of water and lemon scented detergent so I mixed Melaleuca dishwashing detergent & water but it didn't help
Hi Sadly, once grasshoppers get mature it takes a lot to kill them. Your mix would not even stun them. I've found that a malathion/rotenone based spray will knock them back. The best time to control ...
4 . I'm wanting to construct a pergola with hanging vines to create an outdoor kitchen area, but i'm not a big fan of spiders. Any suggestions for controlling them?
Hi Well there's no way to really control them unless you want to constantly spray insecticide around, which I don't recommend at all. Actually spiders are great to have around because they catch and ...
5 . Something in the soil is boring little tunnels in my Iris rhizomes and in my potatoes. When I tried to grow rutabagas they looked like something had been gnawing all over them. I live in NW WA, lots of rain in the spring, fall and winter, some below freezing temperatures, 70-80 degrees in July and August. I have raised beds in my yard. The soil get fairly hard when it dries and it doesn't hold moisture without mulch. Any ideas of what they are and how to get rid of them?
You may have several different soil insect pests causing these problems. The tunnels bored into the iris rhizomes and potatoes might be from wireworms. (There is also an iris borer which can cause a l...
6 . My Hostas start out beautiful, but they soon become "soggy" and "wilted" at the base of the plant. Before long, the leaves turn clear, like they have been hit with a hard frost. This happens in the middle of summer. It also looks like something is eating the leaves. They have little holes all over them. I've also noticed small spider webs on the plants. I have tried everything from dish soap to the the very expensive sprays, but nothing seems to work for very long.
Hi Well a number of things could be going on here. First, my guess is that the holes are being caused by slugs or snails. These creatures are famous for eating hostas and they do it at night when you...
7 . I have an abundance of mosquitos in my yard and would like to know what type of bird is most interested in snacking on the little pests and if I can invest in a specific type of bird house to encourage that bird to live here. Thank you very much, Debra
Hi Well the most known mosquito eating bird is the Purple Martin. Although it is claimed they eat a huge amount of mosquitoes a day, it's not quite true. They do eat mosquitoes, but they also dine on...
8 . How can I get rid of green worm on my basil plant? Would spraying it with white vinegar work? I had a hard time seeing them because they are the same color as plant, I wonder how many I have eaten? Help!
Hi Don't use vinegar. I would suggest you use a safe, organic product such as Bt, which stands for Bacillus thuriengensis. It's a naturally occurring bacterium that affects the guts of caterpillars a...
9 . what is causing Hosta leaf edges to become brown and also the leaves on all of my hostas have small holes what insect would be eating at the Hostas besides slugs.
Hi, Thanks for writing. Has your area seen any harsh weather lately? Hail or very heavy rain can tear small holes in hosta leaves --- this is very common. Black vine weevil is an insect pest th...
10 . What can we use to rid white flies on vegetables plants but not harm the plants or have it be toxic to new growth vegetables (mostly the cucumber/bean/pea and spinach plants)?
Hi You can buy sticky traps that are yellow in color (yellow attracts white flies). When the flies land on the yellow card, they get stuck to it. You can buy organic products like this from Gardens A...
11 . on 2 of my taller bushes i have small black bugs and they are packed around some of the branches they almost look a little fuzzy or maybe they are young with wings and when they hit the ground and i step on them they seem like there is a burgandy fluid in them also there is a lot of large flies in the bushes and bee s in the ground around the root area. whats going on here and what should i do
Hi It's hard to say what's going on here, but my bet is that it's nothing to worry about. At this time of year, in northern gardens, many different types of insects start to mass in an effort to find...
12 . I read that grasshoppers, once mature, are hard to control. How do you keep them from getting mature? How do you keep young grasshoppers out?
Hi You are correct. Once mature, grasshoppers are like tanks and are difficult to destroy. If you have a grasshopper problem, you need to start control early, basically as soon as you see a baby gras...
13 . There are webs on my juniper trees and short boxwoods. I had them once before but can't remember what to put on the bushes to get rid of the web making critters. I think it's some sort of beetle or spider mite?
Hi Well it depends on what kind of webs these are. Spider mites, for example, make webs, but they are barely visible to the naked eye. You generally discover you have spider mites when the plants beg...
14 . I have miracle grow garden soil left from the earlier planting this spring and i opened it to plant new Jade plant. but when i opened the bag many small flies flew out of the bag, looked like small flies that we have on bananas, some were light bluish in color. also the soil was infested with many tiny white ant like bugs moving quickly in the soil. have also seen these in some of my indor plants lately, wondering if they are white ants and would like to know how to terminate them. Thanks
Hi These sound like fungus gnats to me, which is a common pest in very organic, moist soil. Indoors, you can take care of them with a standard houseplant insecticide and by keeping the soil less wet....
15 . I have a small perennial garden that has a variety of plants. The flowers I'm having a problem with are the purple cone flowers and daisies. Something seems to be eating the petals so I'm left with the middle parts of the flowers on a long stem - please help! I've been having this problem for the past couple of years and can't figure it out. Thanks.
Hi Well this is a hard one because unless you have some idea of what's eating your plants, it's hard to tell you what to do. To me, it could be grasshoppers, but it could just as easily be any numbe...
Insects
1 . Something is eating my Hosta. I have holes on the leaves and the plants turn brown at the roots, then wilt and die.
Hi, Thanks for writing. It sounds as though there may be a couple of issues going on. The holes in the leaves is usually from slugs or snails, which you can treat using a slug/snail bait. The br...
2 . my lawn it LITTERALLY COVERED with dime-sized holes. There is no dirt-mounding such as ants would cause, and the ground is not soft and spongy as I would expect from some insect tunneling under ground. Can you tell me what might be causing this and what to do about it? I would rather use a natural remedy if possible as I hope to attract birds and butterflies next summer. There are also some larger holes - 1 1/2 to 2 inches across, and I have seen some small snakes around the property.
I can only think of one thing that might be causing the problem as you've described it. Sod webworms sometimes infest lawns, and then birds come in and feed on them, especially starlings and grackles....
3 . We have new rosebushes, hostas and several other plants that have been growing very well since they were planted in May, however, we have noticed that the leaves are being eaten away. When I was out there the other day, I noticed that there are lots and lots of grasshoppers that don't even want to budge off the leaves when you shake the leaf. I had heard about spraying them with a mixture of water and lemon scented detergent so I mixed Melaleuca dishwashing detergent & water but it didn't help
Hi Sadly, once grasshoppers get mature it takes a lot to kill them. Your mix would not even stun them. I've found that a malathion/rotenone based spray will knock them back. The best time to control ...
4 . I'm wanting to construct a pergola with hanging vines to create an outdoor kitchen area, but i'm not a big fan of spiders. Any suggestions for controlling them?
Hi Well there's no way to really control them unless you want to constantly spray insecticide around, which I don't recommend at all. Actually spiders are great to have around because they catch and ...
5 . Something in the soil is boring little tunnels in my Iris rhizomes and in my potatoes. When I tried to grow rutabagas they looked like something had been gnawing all over them. I live in NW WA, lots of rain in the spring, fall and winter, some below freezing temperatures, 70-80 degrees in July and August. I have raised beds in my yard. The soil get fairly hard when it dries and it doesn't hold moisture without mulch. Any ideas of what they are and how to get rid of them?
You may have several different soil insect pests causing these problems. The tunnels bored into the iris rhizomes and potatoes might be from wireworms. (There is also an iris borer which can cause a l...
6 . My Hostas start out beautiful, but they soon become "soggy" and "wilted" at the base of the plant. Before long, the leaves turn clear, like they have been hit with a hard frost. This happens in the middle of summer. It also looks like something is eating the leaves. They have little holes all over them. I've also noticed small spider webs on the plants. I have tried everything from dish soap to the the very expensive sprays, but nothing seems to work for very long.
Hi Well a number of things could be going on here. First, my guess is that the holes are being caused by slugs or snails. These creatures are famous for eating hostas and they do it at night when you...
7 . I have an abundance of mosquitos in my yard and would like to know what type of bird is most interested in snacking on the little pests and if I can invest in a specific type of bird house to encourage that bird to live here. Thank you very much, Debra
Hi Well the most known mosquito eating bird is the Purple Martin. Although it is claimed they eat a huge amount of mosquitoes a day, it's not quite true. They do eat mosquitoes, but they also dine on...
8 . How can I get rid of green worm on my basil plant? Would spraying it with white vinegar work? I had a hard time seeing them because they are the same color as plant, I wonder how many I have eaten? Help!
Hi Don't use vinegar. I would suggest you use a safe, organic product such as Bt, which stands for Bacillus thuriengensis. It's a naturally occurring bacterium that affects the guts of caterpillars a...
9 . what is causing Hosta leaf edges to become brown and also the leaves on all of my hostas have small holes what insect would be eating at the Hostas besides slugs.
Hi, Thanks for writing. Has your area seen any harsh weather lately? Hail or very heavy rain can tear small holes in hosta leaves --- this is very common. Black vine weevil is an insect pest th...
10 . What can we use to rid white flies on vegetables plants but not harm the plants or have it be toxic to new growth vegetables (mostly the cucumber/bean/pea and spinach plants)?
Hi You can buy sticky traps that are yellow in color (yellow attracts white flies). When the flies land on the yellow card, they get stuck to it. You can buy organic products like this from Gardens A...
11 . on 2 of my taller bushes i have small black bugs and they are packed around some of the branches they almost look a little fuzzy or maybe they are young with wings and when they hit the ground and i step on them they seem like there is a burgandy fluid in them also there is a lot of large flies in the bushes and bee s in the ground around the root area. whats going on here and what should i do
Hi It's hard to say what's going on here, but my bet is that it's nothing to worry about. At this time of year, in northern gardens, many different types of insects start to mass in an effort to find...
12 . I read that grasshoppers, once mature, are hard to control. How do you keep them from getting mature? How do you keep young grasshoppers out?
Hi You are correct. Once mature, grasshoppers are like tanks and are difficult to destroy. If you have a grasshopper problem, you need to start control early, basically as soon as you see a baby gras...
13 . There are webs on my juniper trees and short boxwoods. I had them once before but can't remember what to put on the bushes to get rid of the web making critters. I think it's some sort of beetle or spider mite?
Hi Well it depends on what kind of webs these are. Spider mites, for example, make webs, but they are barely visible to the naked eye. You generally discover you have spider mites when the plants beg...
14 . I have miracle grow garden soil left from the earlier planting this spring and i opened it to plant new Jade plant. but when i opened the bag many small flies flew out of the bag, looked like small flies that we have on bananas, some were light bluish in color. also the soil was infested with many tiny white ant like bugs moving quickly in the soil. have also seen these in some of my indor plants lately, wondering if they are white ants and would like to know how to terminate them. Thanks
Hi These sound like fungus gnats to me, which is a common pest in very organic, moist soil. Indoors, you can take care of them with a standard houseplant insecticide and by keeping the soil less wet....
15 . I have a small perennial garden that has a variety of plants. The flowers I'm having a problem with are the purple cone flowers and daisies. Something seems to be eating the petals so I'm left with the middle parts of the flowers on a long stem - please help! I've been having this problem for the past couple of years and can't figure it out. Thanks.
Hi Well this is a hard one because unless you have some idea of what's eating your plants, it's hard to tell you what to do. To me, it could be grasshoppers, but it could just as easily be any numbe...
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