Pest Control

The entire eastern US complained this year about the Mexican bean beetle infestation. It’s one of the most undesirable and destructive insect pests of beans. My uncle lives in Kentucky and he faced with a Mexican Bean beetles infestation where all the veggies looked like there were chopped with a paper hole punch. These leaf eater pests ruin the entire plant by creating round holes into the leaves and the plant loses its ability to photosynthesize. As a matter of fact, most people call it a lady bug but it is not when it attacks your garden. It is a harmful pest! Actually, it took 2 weeks like my uncle to identify the problem. At first, he thought a nasty rabbit is nibbling his veggies but, in the end, the damage was done by the fake lady bug. How to get rid of Mexican Bean Beetles? Handpick larvae and beetles, and destroy them.Check undersides of leaves, especially from early spring until June, to look for and remove eggs and pupal stage larvae.Bring in beneficial insects! Lady bugs love to make a Mexican bean beetles buffet, so bring it on! You can purchase a colony online.Prepare a mixture made of 3…

Dealing with small green worms on the back of your kale leaves? Well, my dears, those are cabbage worms that have to be eliminated immediately! Otherwise, these worms will cause the death of your plants, because the more leaves they manage to eat the less the plant has the ability to photosynthesize. Just inspect your plants carefully and wash them carefully to remove these nasty green worms.Focused in protecting my vegetable garden from other pests such as, deer, rabbits, gophers, moles, I totally forgot that there are tiny insects which can ruin my crops completely. The kale, broccoli radishes and cauliflower in my vegetable garden were attacked this year by this green and yacky worm. As I’m not into chemical pesticides, I decided to get rid of these disgusting and hungry green pests using some natural methods.I was suggested to handpick them, but you can do half the job in one day and the other day your veggies will be full of worms again. This doesn’t works so well! However, I found the perfect natural methods in getting rid of these green pests: Repellant drench: In a blender puree spearmint, green onion, garlic, horseradish, hot peppers, peppercorns and water. Add one…

Ants are attracted to sugar and sweetness and since hummingbirds feeders are made up of sugar, spice, and everything nice, there’s no wonder that they will go straight to the feeder. Luckily, there are many ways of keeping ants away and enjoy the hummingbird's presence in your garden. As a matter of fact, my husband is a genius! This is the first year when we have problems with ants in the feeder, and I struggled in changing the water in the feeder periodically, after clearing all the ants.But, my husband came with the solution in creating a moat for the hummingbird feeder to keep ants out of the nectar. And it costs a few pennies! Let me tell you the steps you need to follow to ant-free your hummingbird feeder. 1. The first thing is to apply an ant moat which is a small cup that you have to place it between the feeder and the shepherds' hook. You can purchase it from the store or you can make one: cut a water bottle in halfdrill a hole in the bottom, big enough to fit the coated wire that holds the feederset the moat on top of the feederseal the hole…

These nasty and tiny creatures – TICKS – are disease spreaders. They love sucking the blood out of you while they transmit Lyme disease into your system.Every human being on this planet is afraid of them, because no one wants to get sick and it’s very important to control these tiny parasites. As you can’t control ticks into the wild, there are several methods in controlling them on your landscape – the goal is to keep them from getting onto your property. How can you prevent ticks from getting on your property? The main focus should be in repelling pests that carry these parasites such as, deer, rabbits, raccoons, rats, mice, gophers, and other rodents. Another important solution is to search your pets from ticks and powder their fur with tick repellent powder or collars. More tips in preventing ticks from getting into your yard! Remove leaf litter.Clear tall grasses and brush around homes and at the edge of lawns.Place a 3-foot wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas to restrict tick migration into recreational areas.Mow the lawn frequently.Stack wood neatly and in a dry area (which discourages rodents).Keep playground equipment, decks, and patios away from yard…

Aphids are yearly unexpected guests in our garden which love settling on rose bushes and other plants such as potatoes. As prevention is the key in every situation, aphids make no exception so, in order to keep your roses beautiful all summer long, you have to make an effort to control these nasty pests and keeping them out of your garden. Aphid Damage If the leaves of your roses are stunted, misshapen, curled or yellowed definitely you are confronting with aphid infestation. However, if you don’t see any aphids, you should check carefully the back of mature leaves. Aphids love to eat fresh young leaves and live in colonies on the back of mature leaves. Aphid Identification Beside the aspect of your leaves and their presence on leaves, there is another way to tell when dealing with aphid infestation. As these tiny pests feed with plant sap they will excrete a sweet liquid known as honeydew which is ant’s favorite food. So, if ants are invading your roses, you are definitely dealing with aphids. How to get rid of aphids? Well, there are a few ways in controlling aphids naturally, but the most effective is soap spray . You need:…

Skunks are nocturnal and shy animals which aren’t often seen, but they certainly can be smelled! They are harmless creatures but it’s not advisable to stay too close to them, because they can “aromatize” you with a dose of their noxious spray. In some cases, when skunks feel threatened, they can bite and infect you with rabies if they are caring the disease. However, having a skunk around your house is not indicated and must be treated as a pest! They can tear up trash bags and topple garbage cans in their search for food, which can attract insects to your home. To prevent their unannounced visit into the garden, you should make your home inhospitable by removing all food sources, hiding places and apply some effective skunk repellent. Steps to follow for getting rid of skunks in the garden: Spray a mixture of castor oil and dish-washing detergent diluted in water. Skunks find the smell offensive. Spray the area at night when the skunk is away foraging.Probably the best skunk repellent is a light. Skunks are nocturnal and their eyes are very light sensitive. A bright light or a motion sensor flood light will scare skunks away.Most animals, including…

Mosaic virus is a viral disease affecting many crops and vegetables such as beans, tobacco, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers and peppers, throughout the United States. Plant viruses are difficult to identify, because their symptoms are similar to many nutrient deficiencies. Although, you may look for symptoms such as: leaves mottles with yellow, white, and light and dark green spots or streaks. Other mosaic virus symptoms: Wrinkled, curled or small leavesYellowing on veinsStunted growth and reduced yields How to control mosaic viruses? Bad news! Once the plants are infected, there is no treatment you can use to get rid of the disease. But, you may stop the spreading by removing all the infected plants and destroy them.Very important to – disinfect all your gardening tools to prevent mosaic virus spreading. How to prevent mosaic virus to enter your garden? Plant resistant plants when available in your garden. Resistant varieties of tomatoes have yet to be developed for cucumber mosaic virus, but tomatoes that are resistant to tobacco mosaic virus may have some slight resistance to cucumber mosaic virus as well.Mosaic viruses are mostly spread by insects, especially aphids and leafhoppers. You can try covering your plants with a floating row cover or aluminum…

I have a gopher on my lawn! We’re like bad neighbors since we’re not on speaking terms. I yell all day to go away and stop damaging my lawn and plants, and he ignores me, pissing my nerves. I was advised to hunt it down with shovel by standing patiently over the hole and smack its head off when it gets out. But I don’t have patience and I had to come out with some other ways in getting rid of the rodent. Either way, the shovel method wasn’t something I would’ve tried it, because I’m not that bloodthirsty. I mean, I hate the gopher but I don’t want to kill it. However, I found other humane ways of getting rid of this troublesome rodent. 1. Noise As it turns out, moles and gophers are sensitive to noises, especially loud noises. So adding some natural noisemakers such as wind chimes in your yard is a good natural way to annoy these critters enough to leave your lawn. 2. Pet Waste I bet you didn’t know that you could use your dog’s pet waste to fight the battle against moles and voles. 3. Plants Moreover, yet another natural way to fight…

Stop Snakes Nesting Under The Deck Stop Snakes Nesting Under The Deck Snakes are considered pests due to human fear of the animal and most of the time this nuisance and fearful reptile has to be removed quickly, especially when you find it snaked under the deck! God! I scared the hell out of me when I got outside the house last week and saw something crawling under the deck. I, literally, froze! I could’ve thought to any other pesky pest, but not snakes! How To Stop Snakes Nesting Under The Deck And Encourage Them To Leave I know that North American snakes are non-poisonous and they are actually good pests for our garden, but I can’t stand the idea of living alongside with snakes. In this regard, I decided to call animal control and get rid of the colony living under my deck!For me, this was the best option in getting rid of snakes, because I’m too scared to deal with snakes all by myself. However, there are several ways of keeping snakes at a distance from your house or making them go away for good and never come back. Trap The Reptile Using a snake trap is an…

When groundhogs attack your vegetable garden, it’s critical! This situation requires smart tricks to repel these rodents from your yard! As a matter of fact, groundhogs ruin everything in their way: lawns, plants and crops. Before getting rid of groundhogs, let’s learn something about them! These indigenous rodents, also called woodchucks are most often found where wooded area meets the clearing and they spend most of their time in burrows. Groundhog burrows usually have one main entrance and one emergency exit (also called spy-hole) where their activity takes place. And their favorite activity is eating a wide variety of garden vegetables and fruits – yes, fruits! They can actually climb trees, so your fruits aren’t safe if you are dealing with groundhogs. Damagers, as I like to call these rodents! Pay attention! As they enjoy eating the same flowers and vegetables as deer and rabbits, you should check carefully to see which type of pest you’re dealing with. Groundhogs eat mostly during early morning and afternoon while deer and rabbits pop into the garden in the evening. How to control groundhogs? Sprinkle blood meal, ground black pepper, dried blood, or talcum powder around the perimeter of your garden. You can…

Some people say spiders are harmless and some people are extremely scared by them. I find myself in the second category; as a matter of fact when I see a tiny furry four-legged spider is like I’ve seen Boogeyman. Another thing I dislike is getting into those sticky spider webs they knit. I know, you’ll say that spiders are actually beneficial in the garden, because they are the natural repellents for some insects, but I can’t stand them. The other days while I was reading a book on the porch, a spider started climbing up my leg. I froze and hit it with the book! Geeze! The sensation is still giving me the goosebumps! I said to myself: spiders have to find another place to stay away from my garden. In this regard, I drove spiders away from my yard using all sorts of tricks and solutions: I removed most items suitable for spiders to build a web (and I had a lot of wooden trunks and other crap thrown in the garden).Trim any dense vegetation in the yard like bushes. There is the perfect place for spiders to knit their webs.Move outdoor lights away from windows or other access…