Garden Pests

Organic farmers control most pests, weeds included, with a number of different methods. The use of mulches, cover crops, mechanical cultivation, and hand labor are probably the most common, although there are a few organic-certified herbicides.

Black plastic sheeting, garden forks, mowers and herbicides can be used to get rid of ground elder. The perennial in question (Aegopodium podagraria) can have its near-surface rhizomes removed by garden forks even though underground parts further down will need to be dug up. Eradication may require solarizing the soil with weighted-down black plastic sheeting after spraying leafy growth in mid-summer and while using residual control products around and under nearbywoody plants.

Terrifying, it will destroy your garden in days if not treated. Quick get it treated, once its been there too long, your garden is finished...

Drainage is a reason why nematodes affect plants is sandy soil more than in clay or loam. Clay or loam may end up retaining too much water for the roundworms in question. Infiltration and percolation of water tends to be faster and non-saturating in sandy soils, which offer a drier environment, which adult nematodes prefer for ensuring the next generation's sustainability.

You blow it to smithereens or you simply use bee killer.

Yes, acid will decompose a dead animal in a roof vent pipe. Lye or refined lye caustic soda will dissolve organic materials without hurting the pipes. But the best way to remove the obstruction would be the hook end of a coat hanger, the retriever head of a sewer snake, or the treble hook of a strong cord.

This is because in 1947, a moth got stuck in a circuit in the Harvard University Mark II Aiken Relay Calculator (a primitive computer), causing it to malfunction. When they got it out and fixed the problem, they coined the turn "debugging" a computer. The name stuck.

Early spring and late winter are the times of the year for ridding lawns of moss. Moss must be controlled while the weather still is cold. Warmer weather will be accompanied by the spore releases that re-establish or solidify mossy presences in lawns.

Yes, Japanese beetles kill rose bushes. The insects in question (Popillia japonica) may leave disfiguring traces on above-ground rose bush parts when they are few in number. But they will have the possibility of killing the beautiful ornamental woody plant when roses already are stressed environmentally and subjected to swarming invasions.

Emission of high-frequency sounds whose cycles are digitized to random variations and whose pitches discourage cockroaches, mice, and rats from feeding and nesting in attics and garages is the way in which the Ultrasound pest repeller works. Efficacy nevertheless requires an absence or paucity of furniture and outlets as well as a lack of such domesticated animals as chinchillas, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, minks, and tarantulas whose behavior and hearing will be impacted.

Black plastic sheeting, hoes and shovels, matches, pruners, and systemic weed killers are the best products for killing ground elder in the garden. The weed in question (Aeropodium podagraria) can be controlled by digging up roots, hoe-cutting foliage (which is edible between February and June as ground up seasoning or pasta ingredients), and treating with systemic weed killers. It also may be controlled by a coordinated approach of controlled burning, extreme trimming, and plastic sheeting, from which the ground will be solarized, the weed will die, and the topsoil will need to be replaced to prevent ground elder returns.

Bugs that attack cilantro plants are fungus gnats.

Applying algaecides and chlorine, monitoring pH balance, preventing algal build-ups, and skimming food sources and pool pests are ways to eliminate backswimmers from pools. The insects in question cannot live where regular anti-algae scrubs, insect removal, and pH checks are instituted.

Yes, deer will eat bellflowers [Campanulaspp]. It may not be top on their list of preferred foods. But if deer are hungry enough, they'll eat whatever gives them what they like: nibble sized, moist portions of flowers and leaves. And if they're really really hungry, they'll have no requirements. They'll just take what's available ... even plants that are touted as deer resistant and even deer poisonous!

Yes they will eat the lower new leaves and ones higher up too if they can get at them. They will also have a chew at the bark and if left to their own devices will ruin a newly planted hedge. Hares will decimate a newly planted hedge. They chop off the stems and strip the bark. If either beasts are attracted to a newly planted hedge fence it with chicken wire--both sides.

Basal traps, canola and horticultural and neem oils, crop rotation, diatomaceous earth, floating see-through row covers, litter pick-up, manual removal, mulched newspaper, natural enemies, resistant cultivars, soapy water, squashing boards, and vine trellises are ways to get rid of squash bugs. The insects in question (Coreidae family) congregate around plant bases, which can be cleared of bodies in the morning by removing and replacing mulched newspapers or board traps. The most effective treatments demand early intervention against eggs (by horticultural oils or manual removal) and nymphs since adults are crafty in seeking the more inaccessible garden debris and plant parts.

Accidentally and tangentially are the ways in which Red Lake Earth deters skunks. The product in question functions as an effective insecticide whose efficacy and potency affect no animals other than amphibians and reptiles. It nevertheless numbers among environmental presences whose color, form, and scent displease skunks.