Deterring Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles on a Bluebird Gardens fruit tree will breed until mid-August, then disappear.

Deterring Japanese Beetles in Your Garden

In the category of non-welcome bugs, Japanese beetles are currently decimating gardens, turning edible plants and herb leaves into lace. When these invasive bugs were first spotted in Missouri, people were asking for traps to help catch them.

Pheromone traps have proven to be, for the most part, counter-productive. People tend to hang them like birdhouses when they should be located downwind, at the edge of the property, so pheromones aren’t attracting more Japanese beetles.

I still do the garden inspection early morning with a can of soapy water. Once I spot the beetles, I place the can under them and they fall in to drown.

A beekeeping friend has suggested making a spray out of their dead little beetle bodies but I haven’t tried that yet. 

After several years of catching Japanese beetles in soapy water, I have less beetles in my woods-surrounded garden. It may not work as well in developed areas with other nearby gardens but it is worth a try.

Charlotte

Deterring Deer in Your Garden

I tend to see deer in my garden more in winter than summer.

Deterring Deer In Your Garden

Deer in particular get a bad rap, especially since some have a taste for our gardens. Tulips and hostas seem to be a favorite treat, according to ladies I meet when I talk to clubs. I have tried all of the standard deer-repelling suggestions from placing soap and hair around garden beds to a fertilizer made from a Wisconsin sewer system.

My current technique is to keep deer at the edge of my woods-surrounded property with a salt block and periodic servings of corn. I don’t recommend that for more developed areas.

One husband sent me this email about a deer pen he built that did the trick:

“The most critical dimension is the width of 10 feet. Our pen is 65 feet long, but any length should actually work. The two long sides are made from cattle panels of ¼ inch wire mesh of 6 inches by 8 inches. Each panel is 48 inches tall and 16 feet long. These panels are attached to steel tee posts placed 5.5 feet apart to form two long sides that are 10 feet apart.

"I used 12 foot metal gates for the ends just because they were available. They hang over a little , but the deer don’t seem to mind. The 10 foot spacing side to side has so far never allowed a deer to jump in. If they did try it, they would probably crash into the side opposite to the side they had jumped. Also, we put 18 inch high chicken wire around the bottom of the ends and both sides. It is just tied on the ends so that after moving the gates I can use a tiller inside the pen. This keeps out the rabbits and turtles.

We have had this setup a long time. It took some labor and material to build it, but it has been worth it. Now we can raise green beans, okra, lettuce, etc. without having it eaten.”

Do you think this will work? Have you tried it?

Charlotte

Missouri's Wild Petunias

Wild petunias are a hardy, lovely Missouri native flower found blooming close to the ground.

Missouri's Wild Petunias

Not that Missouri's wild petunias grow close to the ground, that's where I seem to find them in bloom, after a mower has cut them down.

Missouri's wild petunia, scientifically known as Ruellia strepens, is a native perennial that returns each year from previous locations and from self-seeding. The flower was named for Jean de La Ruelle, a French herbalist 1474-1537. According to Edgar Denison, author of Missouri Wildflowers, strepens is Latin for "rustling," the sound of exploding seed capsules. 

Wild petunia buds growing in a soil pile soon to be moved to flower beds.

Missouri's wild  petunia blooms May through October, with each flower lasting only a day. It is followed by other blooms in quick succession.

Leaves are long and can be either smooth or fuzzy. Can you see them in the photo? The ones I have are fuzzy.

As the flowers fade, seeds form and eject themselves into the air, which explains the rustling.

There are few true blue garden flowers, either domesticated or wildflowers, so this lavender to lilac-blue color is a nice addition.

Wild Petunias Easy to Manage

Often lumped in with unwanted grasses and herbs misidentified as weeds, wild petunias add a pretty lavender through the summer season.

If you don't want them growing to their 3-feet height, pinch them back early spring and they will branch out and bloom at a lower height.

Wild Petunias Are Easy Care

Best of all, wild petunia is not fussy about where it grows; any soil is OK, full sun or part shade works; drought doesn't deter it, either. It is also safe from deer and rabbit munching.

The flowers benefit pollinators, including bumblebees.

Charlotte

 

Help Pollinators By Not Using Pesticides

Help Pollinators By Not Using Pesticides

Last but not least on how we can help pollinators, from bees to butterflies. we need to rethink how we use pesticides.

I saw my first Japanese beetle drowned in one of my bird baths earlier this week. Instead of using sprays toxic to bees and pheromone traps, which only attract more Japanese beetles, I use a coffee can with a few drops of dishwashing liquid in water to drown the bugs.

I will start knocking the bugs out of fruit trees early morning when the bugs are sluggish and hand pick all I can. 

Make Your Own Bug Spray

I also make my own spray, a few drops of dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle full of water. When I need to discourage a bug from my plants, I use this combination. If I need to ramp it up, I add a few drops of hot sauce and apply using gloves so the hot sauce doesn’t get on my hands.

Pesticides As Exception

That doesn’t mean there aren’t situations where it is appropriate to use pesticides but please consider other options first. Home gardeners continue to be the leading misusers of pesticides, one of the major causes of the continued bee population struggle.

If you have to use pesticides, also please read product labels first. The Environmental Protection Agency has revised their product labels to make it clear when a product is dangerous to specific pollinators.

By helping pollinators, we are not only helping our ecosystems but ensuring our varied food supply.

Charlotte