Sugar for weed control
althea_gw
16 years ago
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sensibly_og
16 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Garden of weeds...
Comments (5)Roundup is one of the biggest toxic 'household' products you can imagine. Please stop using that stuff! (all who read this). Remove a few inches of soil. And either: Cover the ground with black plastic for a few months to kill whatever comes up. Or add new composted soil on top and immediately lay down grass (or seed grass). Plenty of tutorials online on making a good lawn (youtibe and such). And I was learned: one year of seed means seven years of weed. This means if you or the previous owner have neglected the garden for one blooming season, the weeds can come back for at least seven years after. Just remember: having a garden also means weeding....See MoreToo many Agave pups: Need birth control
Comments (3)Not that easy. I said agaves, not cats. I need concrete input. In fact, I have thought of putting a concrete barrier around each. Like being in a flowerpot. Has anyone tried a barrier? Or does anyone have a better idea....See MorePOLL: Do you use a pest control company at home?
Comments (19)No, but I do make rounds to keep the brown widow spiders numbers down. The browns will take more light than the black species, so they will make their home in the foliage of plants. I'm not happy, but so far have been lucky, whenever I grab a handful of foliage to prune and discover I have grabbed web/egg sacs/spider. After dark, a flashlight in one hand and a paint stirring stick in the other is all that is needed. They are "out" and don't flee because it is dark, and the flashlight makes even small ones easy to see due to the shadow. A bop with the stick and they drop; the flat stick makes them easy to squash. If I make a 10-15 minute round of the immediate yard once every 3-4 weeks, the numbers stay within limits and their maturity rarely reach the egg-laying stage. Because I do it manually, the good spiders and bugs get to stay alive. Well, until the lizards and birds eat them, at least....See MorePOLL: How often should pest control be done?
Comments (74)Our lakeshore house is treated professionally a couple times a year for spiders (permethrin, I think?). The co. recommends three times a year. I held out for years but once they spiders began colonizing indoors as well as outdoor surfaces, I caved! Otherwise, we do it ourselves... Dog is treated with topical Frontline to keep ticks and fleas under control. Spring invasions of ants mean placing bottle caps of borax mixed with jelly under stove (where dog can't get to it). Dog DID get into some mouse poison inexplicably in a snowbank last season, so we are looking to end use of THAT. She was very lucky in that we got most away from her and got her to vet quickly--we discovered that new formulations (Tomcat's at least) are nerve poisons, not blood thinners, so all vet could do was force vomiting, give her activated charcoal, etc. So-o, for mice we are headed back to traps. Sorry to say that we have also had to control a huge population of chipmunks, which were beginning to get into walls. A bucket half-filled with water, the surface covered with styrofoam peanuts and a floating dish of sunflower seeds, plus a plank from step to lip of bucket. Chipmunks can't resist. I don't like to think about it... Husband live traps skunks, woodchucks, etc. that burrow under garden shed, releasing or disposing of them depending on species. Downy Woodpeckers... I enjoyed watching them on suet on deck in winter, but inadvertently led them to consider our redwood siding as good nesting/shelter, actually getting into a small attic! We thought for a while there that we would have to replace the siding. I stopped feeding near the house, which we festooned with shiny disks and streamers. (I think woodpeckers are spooked by fast-moving light reflections--like shadow of a hawk?) The onslaught slowed, then stopped. Husband patched the siding with hope it will not be necessary to replace boards and sections. In late summer, we trap yellow jacket wasps with apple juice baited traps we fashion from plastic water and pop bottles. (Google for instructions.) Our efforts seem to reduce the numbers after our food and drinks on the deck....See Morealthea_gw
16 years agolast modified: 7 years agosparkles04
14 years agolast modified: 7 years agojustaguy2
14 years agolast modified: 7 years agoKimmsr
14 years agolast modified: 7 years agonandina
14 years agolast modified: 7 years agosharbear50
12 years agolast modified: 7 years agotulsacityfarmer
12 years agolast modified: 7 years agodrakedorosh_comcast_net
12 years agolast modified: 7 years agoKathleen Norton
3 years agoIrving Ragweed (Austin 8b)
3 years agoladas
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