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tovaxin_lab_rat 05-23-2008 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girlie Girl (Post 285224)
Thanks Brain! Is it too late to move the phlox seeing they are already blooming?

No, it's not too late. Just dig it up and move it! It's probably almost done blooming now anyway!

JustWeave 05-23-2008 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Av8rgirl (Post 285136)
I remember your battle! How about an air gun or a pellet gun filled with rock salt! I don't know...ground hogs are pretty nasty varmits....

Let me check with my local expert and get back to you!

I'd love to shoot the little thieves, but I can never catch them in the garden!:mad: I went back to the same guy I got my tomatoes from last year. I asked him what critter would enjoy a green tomato and plant buffet. Without any hesitation he said groundhog and I hadn't given him any options. We have rabbits and squirrels too, so I wasn't sure who the problem was. He suggested putting out unwrapped bubble gum for them. He was told the groundhogs would eat the bubble gum, but not be able to digest it, and that would finish them off for me. I'd like a tried and true method or two.

tovaxin_lab_rat 05-23-2008 04:27 PM

Ground Hog Control
 
Groundhog Control With Repellent Smells or Tastes

Epsom salts can be sprinkled on the vegetation and fruits of your garden plants to render them foul-tasting to groundhogs. The good news about this strategy is that Epsom salts will also help some of your garden plants to grow better. But the bad news is that rain will wash off the Epsom salts, meaning that you will need to make repeated applications. Another strategy that suffers from the same drawback is discouraging groundhogs with foul-smelling agents such as ammonia. Ammonia-soaked rags can be strewn along the perimeter of your garden, forming a stinky barrier to repel groundhogs. But even ammonia's smell fades eventually and a re-application will be necessary.


http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/Profe...groundhogs.htm


http://www.critter-repellent.com/gro...FSY1agod2k4CDA

http://www.havahart.com/advice/critt...undhog-control

Curious 05-23-2008 04:31 PM

my old neighbors used moth balls to get rid of moles.

we didn't have any pets..so i used decon pellets in the holes. they must have ate them and died. we didn't have problems after that. or they moved next door. :D

tovaxin_lab_rat 05-23-2008 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curious (Post 285534)
my old neighbors used moth balls to get rid of moles.

we didn't have any pets..so i used decon pellets in the holes. they must have ate them and died. we didn't have problems after that. or they moved next door. :D

According to the guys that come out and poison the multitude of gophers we have in our field, they use zinc oxide, predators don't eat the stomachs. We were concerned about neighborhood animals catching and eating gophers and dying. We were assured that would not be the case.

The zinc oxide is buried down inside the gopher tunnels so it is not a problem for wandering animals.

We also have a problem with voles. The issue with the vole poison is that it is put down on top of the ground and neighborhood dogs who wander through our field would eat it because it looks like dog snacks. Fortunately, we've not had that much of a problem the last couple of years with either the voles or wandering neighborhood dogs!

We don't have moles where we live, we just have gophers and voles.

braingonebad 05-24-2008 03:19 PM

We had some little critters that looked just like mice except they had longer snouts, flat and black if I remember right.

My dog Ozzy rooted them out and killed them off.

:eek:

:cool:

I was surprised the weasel didn't get them first. I think I get lucky, not having too many pests, because I have a lot of predators.

Remember I was deciding on what kind of tree to plant? Well, Im going with a redbud. I was taking a walk with the grandbaby today, admiring my neighbor's flowers. I heard somebody say "We should ask her!"

So they say they just dug up a redbud, and ask if I'd like it.


A nice walk, a free tree... you can't beat that.

:)


tovaxin_lab_rat 05-24-2008 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by braingonebad (Post 286145)
We had some little critters that looked just like mice except they had longer snouts, flat and black if I remember right.

My dog Ozzy rooted them out and killed them off.

:eek:

:cool:

I was surprised the weasel didn't get them first. I think I get lucky, not having too many pests, because I have a lot of predators.

Remember I was deciding on what kind of tree to plant? Well, Im going with a redbud. I was taking a walk with the grandbaby today, admiring my neighbor's flowers. I heard somebody say "We should ask her!"

So they say they just dug up a redbud, and ask if I'd like it.


A nice walk, a free tree... you can't beat that.

:)


Good deal! I love Redbuds!!!

:D

Doody 05-24-2008 07:07 PM

Here's a garden tip for you!
 
Watch out for the plants you buy at Walmart!!!! Egads, most especially the perennials. Second year in a row I've bought perennials from them that had grub eggs in them.

Just planted some daylilies from there and on the last pot saw the darned eggs. Dug around the ones I had planted and they were packed with them as well. 5 of the plants.

Soooo, I swooped back over to Walmart and asked to speak to the garden supervisor. Told her what had happened and she said I should bring in one of the plants to show them and they would see what they would do.

Just then someone was buying a boatload of the same daylilies, so I said, "Oh no problem, I can show you right here!" I took one of those poor patron's lilies and said, "SEE!?" Grub eggs all over the soil. The garden manager says, "Well those look like some kind of seeds or part of the potting soil."

So I reiterated that they were grub eggs and said, "I'll just have to show you." Grabbed a few and squished them between my fingers. Poor lady, the juice splattered on her face.

:eek:

So, they gave me back my $25 AND a bag of grub poison.

Anyway, take a good look if you buy anything from Walmart. Since it happened to me at our other Walmart last year (we have 2), I suspect they are getting their plants from a supplier with a big grub problem! Grrrr.

tovaxin_lab_rat 05-24-2008 08:21 PM

I wonder if they bothered to PULL all the daylilies from the shelf?

That's the problem with the "box store" nurseries. They are not typically educated. A lot of the time if you ask them questions, they're reply is I don't usually work this department!

I am glad that you got their attention and got your money back and something to take care of the grubs.

I have a good one to tell you about a National Lawn Care Company. When I was going to school, I didn't have time to take care of my yard so I hired this well known company to keep my yard Green. I have 3/4 of an acre of grass. I had a maintenance service come in once a week to take care of the mowing, etc and this other company come in to fertilize, bug spray, etc.

About mid-way through the summer, the maintenance company owner called and told me that my back yard was 2/3 dead and he wasn't sure what was going on but it looked read bad. He didn't think it was the sprinklers b/c he checked them out and they were working fine.

I had been out of town on a job site for about 2-3 weeks so when I finally got home I was shocked at the disaster in my back yard. 2/3 of it was dead. I took one look and knew exactly what the problem was. Billbugs. I had paid for billbug application. I called this National Lawn Care company and they sent a rep out to take a look. He told me I wasn't watering my yard enough and that's why it was dead. I told him that I wanted his manager out to see me ASAP.

Next day his manager met me at my house. This guy tried to tell me that I was not watering enough, that the maintenance company was cutting my grass too short for the hot weather, that I had broken sprinklers, etc etc etc....so when I pulled up the dead grass and showed him the billbug grubs, he had the audacity to tell me they were -- are you ready for this --- fertilizer pellets!!! Since when do fertilizer pellets 1) move and 2) are long white grubs with black heads!!!

This guy just looked at me like I had 3 heads and said well....I am a Master Gardener and I know what I am talking about and I am not going to let some homeowner tell me how to do my job. :eek:

I said fine. You've lost a customer. And you've lost a lot of word of mouth referrals. I suggest you get YOUR manager on the phone and we will discuss this. He hung himself right there and then. His manager knew who I was b/c he had come to our class to speak (and recruit) and found out there and then that I had a degree in Horticulture, had passed the State Pesticide Exam and the State Herbicide Exam. This company replaced my back yard at their expense. And they refunded my entire fees for that year. And I have never been back as a customer. And I don't refer anyone to them either!

Speak up! Don't get pushed around!

mrsD 05-25-2008 05:52 AM

???
 
You know...the pelleted fertilizers they use for long term now look alot like
eggs. And as they absorb moisture they squish too. They tend to be
off white to buff/light tan color. The better growers are now commonly using them. And I have switched to them too for all my containers. These tend to be in size just a bit larger than those round seeds you find in some pickles, but darker in color. These pelleted fertilizers do not shrink in size as they age, they become hollow. So you can see them "forever". I just repotted my planters that I use for my african daisies...and the little spheres were still there from last year. They last 3 to 4 months (the fertilizer inside that is) and commerical growers are now using them commonly I have found.

Grub eggs would be smaller I'd think.

This link says grub eggs are slightly oval.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2500.html

Wow...I have never had a critter in a soil pot from a nursery or WalMart. I think they buy locally.
I know that Meijer's for example uses a local perennial grower, who is also excellent. So it might depend on
your region...the quality etc.
(our WalMart gets really nice stuff at good prices. The pansies I bought this year and last were just spectacular)

But I did get heavily infested tropical New Guinea impatiens one year from a greenhouse.
(you know the large fancy ones) These were little black mites, much smaller than aphids, on the underside of the leaves. So I suggest everyone examine those expensive impatiens carefully. These mites were majorly tiny, and you can really only see them if they are massed in a bunch. The leaves get mottled before they fall off.


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