Posted on 05/26/2021 3:40:08 AM PDT by Bill of Rights FIRST
What are your trials and travails with various garden pests? Hopefully you found a natural(s) solutions to protect the good bugs and birds. I got in a "fight" with a tomato grub last year, and I won! :)
My biggest problem has been growing crookneck squash. I don’t know if it’s pest related, but my plants always die. Every year they start out big and healthy, then they bloom like crazy and put on squash, then they seem to die overnight.
For the first time ever in Northeast PA, two days ago there was a swarm of thousands of red spider mites on the stone steps to our house as thick as snow fleas. The attacked a white rose that flops onto the steps. I think I have them under control, but we’ll see. Apparently they love the very dry weather we have been having. Have always seen the occasional one, but wow!
That’s terrible. How disappointing.
Tomato hornworms last year.
YUCK!!!!!!!
However there are UV flashlights that show up the hornworms very well at night. Since I can’t stand the thought of actually touching the suckers, I put the leave off and toss it into a bucket of soapy water.
I also bought Bacillus Thuringensis to combat them this year and planted some trap crops and herbs that really seemed to discourage them in some of the plants last year.
We’ll see how that goes.
Could be squash vine borer.
They lay eggs at the base of the plant and chew into the vine and then the plant seems to die overnight.
The first thing that jumped to mind was squash borers. From the article I’m linking below:
“It’s an all too common occurrence. Your squash plants looked fine yesterday. Today they’re wilting, and no amount of watering has helped. What happened? “
Signs of Squash Vine Borer Damage and How to Control It
https://www.thespruce.com/squash-vine-borers-1402980
I guess for me it’s ticks when working in the garden and just have to remember to spray a little repellant on my clothes when out there.
Aphids are my worst insect problem for my veggies, a little Dawn and water keeps them somewhat under control.
Rabbits and gophers, they can get out of control.
Last month I bought to trail cams to watch whats going on at night......rabbits, coyottes, rabbits, gophers, raccoons, rabbitts, red fox, rabbits, opossum, squirrels, sqirrels, squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys, deer.
Suburb of Boston.
Oh and check out Diana in Wisconsin’s weekly garden thread here at FR if you haven’t already.
Diana in Wisconsin hosts a weekly garden thread.
Send her a PM to get on the ping list.
Yikes! :(
I like grouping plants to control pests.
Maybe it was a tomato hornworm I encountered then. It was the exact shade of green as the tomato stems and branches, it looked fat and short like a grub, and it took a fight to pull it off because its grip was so strong.
A friend of mine got Lyme disease from a tick, so definitely watch out for them. I heard that ladybugs eat aphids I think. I definitely know that ladybugs are one of the Good :) garden bugs.
I thought I had seen one before. :) Maybe we need a daily garden thread!
You have Squash Borers.
Easy enough fix, organically or conventionally:
https://www.growjourney.com/prevent-stop-squash-vine-borers/
Good luck!
I had some pests (I guess they were damaging(?) ) on my rosemary the other year that looked exactly like walking snowflakes. Seriously! :) They were actually very pretty...
We have a Weekly Gardening Thread here on FR. Come join us!
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3961442/posts
Hi! Please add me to your garden ping list.
Thanks! :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.