Garden Pests

I was asked to write a post on dealing with pests. While I might not have the same pests as people in other parts of the country, we do have a lot of common pests. Let's talk about the top five.

Ants

Ants are endlessly fascinating. If they weren't so destructive I'd let them be because they hunt for insects and carrion. They're part of the circle of life. I'm in awe of their efficiency. Still, in my little garden, I'd rather they be somewhere else because they also like to disturb where I've planted. We have fire ants down here. If you've never been bitten by a fire ant, I can assure you the name is well justified.

To kill the colony, we use Amdro. The workers feed it to the queen. Killing the queen is the only way to be sure the colony will die. If the colony has no other queens waiting to be born, it'll die on its own without a queen.

When ant mounds are in a precarious spot where I don't want chemicals, we use an actual flame thrower. I honestly didn't think this gadget would work, but I love it. You dig down and burn, killing queen and her eggs. Even if you don't get all the workers, without the queen they're doomed anyway.

This is the propane burner we bought. Just attach it to a small propane tank.

Boiling water. If all else fails you can drown them in boiling water.  Not as effective but it might help.

Cabbage Loopers

Oh, I hate these things. They're tiny but with an appetite that will decimate any cruciferous crop within days. If you see a gray-brown moth hanging around your plants, that's the sucker that will lay the eggs that will kill your plants.

Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a biological pesticide most commonly control used on loopers.

You can also pick them off, which is really the only effective treatment. Bt works, but they multiply so quickly, it might not work fast enough to save your veggies.

The only reliable defense is a row cover. It looks like gauze but made of spun bonded polyester.

Squash Bugs

Ugh! My mortal enemies. They're even more relentless than loopers. Once they have a foothold, it's almost impossible to prevail. 

I have picked them off, used duct tape to pry them off, and even vacuumed them with a ShopVac. All these methods work well. The problem is they're very good at hiding. They can scurry behind a leaf before you even get to that bit of geography.

Last year, I used a net tent. In the next bed I had squash plants in an unprotected raised bed. The squash in the tent went three weeks without an incident. On week four, one of them found a way in. And that was all she wrote.

This year, I'm growing squash in pots, away from the areas where I'd had trouble before. Perhaps with one plant per pot I can keep one step ahead of them. We'll see.

Grasshoppers

Every few years we get a plague of grasshoppers. If it's especially dry that summer, I can expect those beady-eyed thugs. We've had quite a few mild summers lately. I'm sure we're overdue.

Nolo bait was my go-to grasshopper eradicator, but the company went out of business. Ironically, no one has ever tried to buy that business. Nolo bait is a biological that killed grasshoppers for the long term. The only thing left is carbaryl bait which is an insecticide. It works, but you'll have to apply it more often.  For what it's worth, chickens love to hunt grasshoppers. If you're lucky enough to live somewhere without predators, let the chickens do your work.  

Snails/Slugs

We've never had much problem with snails or slugs. We get them, but it's always controllable. I get them the most when I spread wet wood chips. Snails and slugs seem to love wood chips. The best defense against them seem to be ducks and chickens. It's like crack candy to them. 

One of my favorite gardening experts, the UK's, Alan Titchmarsh once did a demonstration on slug deterrents on his tv show. All the usual home "remedies" were tried, including beer and barriers, then filmed the outcome. None of them worked. 

His latest recommendation is to pick them and throw them over hedgerows to the hedgehogs. Since I have neither hedgerows or hedgehogs, it's easier for me to hand pick them and give them to the chickens. 

Bonus: Spiders

Whether you like them or not, always let spiders be if they're in your garden. They are doing you a favor. If they're in your house, relocate them outside.

Whenever possible I try to use chemical free methods to stop pests. I worry about the effect on bees, even when the chemical says its nontoxic to them. Why take the chance? 

Ants are the only pest I will continue using chemicals because it works so well, but I much prefer to burn them out. It's a little more work than Amdro, but I'm always sure the job is done. 

As long as we're talking about pests, let's include the bigger ones. Deer and raccoons are two of the most destructive pests on our property. I've yet to find a deterrent for raccoons, so I have to harvest corn and sunflowers before they do. Unfortunately, they're a better judge when a crop is ready to harvest than I am.

With deer, the best deterrent is a tall fence. While they can jump very high, they usually won't attempt it if they can't see the other side, or if they see there's not much clearance for them on the other side.

I've given up growing hostas which they will eat like candy. 

Whenever possible I try to mix up my plantings with variety. It confuses and deters the natural enemies of the plants I want to grow. It's not a 100% cure, but it helps. Strong smelling plants are usually the best deterrents. I like marigolds, lavender, rosemary, basil, sage, lemon thyme, onion, and garlic.

So far the one pest that beats me most years is the squash bug. I've managed to grow squash in the greenhouse, but it's a lot of work and space for a squash. 

Which pests bug you the most? Have you found any sure-fire ways to get rid of them?

 

PS  I think I'm going to take the next two weeks off. I'm hoping the repair crews will be here later this week and there's going to be enough commotion to keep me busy. I'll try to pop onto Facebook during my time away from the blog.

 

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