Category Archives: pest control

Exorcism in the Garden

pest control

Okay, this is really cool. Today one of the four-legged garden staff found a new visitor to the garden. I noticed him hopping around and pawing at something on the ground. I put aside my garden snippers and walked over to see what he had found. Here it is.

Praying Mantids
Tenodera sinensis

As soon as I saw it was a praying mantis, I quickly snatched up my garden helper so the insect wouldn’t be harmed. This scared the mantis, who flew up out of the grass. That in turn freaked both myself and the feline-help out, with the cat leaping one direction and me shrieking like a little girl. After it was confirmed everyone was okay, I snuck over to the black-eyed susan where the insect had perched. Isn’t it gorgeous? This is the first time I’ve witnessed one of these visit The Lot.

The praying mantis is great, natural pest control for the garden. They make a buffet out such troublemakers as aphids, mites, and whiteflies. When I searched The Googles, I found our particular visitor was a Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis). According to the National Geographic profile, these insects can also turn their heads from 180 to 360 degrees. Bizarre.

While snapping a whole series of pictures, I crept closer and closer to the mantis. Then it ever-so-slowly turned it’s head, without moving any other part of it’s body, to look at me. That’s when I shot the above picture and backed away to give it some privacy. I didn’t want to upset it. After all, it may know this guy.

Exhibitionists in the Garden!

pest control,

Oi with the bugs! This year I’m having a heck of a time with insects. I am aware I should take care not to harm helpful insects, but whoever chews through the plant leaves and lays eggs in the budding flowers are not considered good guys. Maybe this year I am more aware of them.

Anyway, I was admiring the hollyhocks a few days ago. They are about five feet high and ready to tilt their heads up to the sun. Then I did a double-take. What are those bugs and WHAT exactly are they doing on the hollyhocks?!  It was a regular love fest, sans the tie-die and purple haze.
These very amorous bugs looked as if they were the insect equivalent of an anteater. They are gray, beetle-like and have a very long snout. After googling around the interwebs and finding the What’s that bug? site, I found out what they are… hollyhock weevils. The female bores into the flowerhead with that huge snout to deposit her future brood in there. Argh!
Since I have four-legged garden foremen, I’d like to take care of these nasty creatures without the use of hardcore chemicals. Any suggestions?

Bites & Blemishes

disease, pest control, , , , , , , , ,

One thing I’ve found very annoying about gardening is the fact that plants get sick. I know, there is no such thing as easy, non-maintenance gardening. I am also willing to work for beautiful plants. But, it doesn’t change the fact I fret and even get grumpy about plants being chomped on or made ill.

Both the catnip and the foxglove are showing such signs. I snapped pictures so I can try to puzzle out what’s going on with them once I was back to the computer. With the catnip, I’m thinking a combo of the wet spring and dense foliage is causing a type of mildew/blemishes on the leaves. I don’t know yet what is stressing the foxglove. At first I thought it may be some frost damage from a cold snap we had after the plant had sent out it’s first new shoots. Now I think it’s some kind of insect. Will have to research it more.
Edelweiss are budding in the back bed and yellow day lilies are going to open any day in the sidewalk bed. The forget-me-not seedlings are well on their way in Loki’s bed and the moonflower seedlings and new black barlow columbine in the gate bed are growing well. The rose bush in the southwest bed bloomed! The flowers are a very pale pink that turn almost to white after opening.
Also, this week I brought home some different types of ground cover from a co-worker’s garden. Our lot now has some vinca, chameleon plant and bishop’s weed.