We have a fair amount of them here, from tiny to HUGE and green, brown or grey! I remember years ago one of our kids picking up a huge one and getting bitten. He was not happy! Between them and the many hundreds of damsel flies in our yard lots of bad bugs get eaten here!

One cannot say that you don't stay busy Julia. All the work you did on your NY property and now all the work you are doing in WV is amazing!

Brad

All of my praying mantises are green. I've seen a few this year, but I used to have a lot more.

It sounds like you have been very busy. I look forward to seeing your garden areas next year. Sorry the deer are still around. Spraying every two weeks is a real pain. I haven't had to spray nearly that much. But I do need to spray new rebloom scapes on seedlings.

Debra

My praying mantis seemed to have gone on holiday for the last few years. That's why I was tickled pink when I found a mature one the other day. It's a whitish one, but I understand that it will probably grow darker as it gets older. They are my favorite bug and I was so surprised to find out that there are fan clubs and forums devoted to them. Some people keep them as pets. That's not going to be me btw...........Sometimes the journey to your goal is as much fun as the arrival. You seem to be enjoying all the prep work needed for you new garden. How many bulbs will you plant? It's the time now to order here and I've got a few coming myself, but no room for more then a few..........

White MANTIS:

Maryl

Only saw one green mantis this season, I do usually see a few every season. Hope you get those pesky deer to stay away.

Sherry

Spraying every two weeks is a pain? Some things I have to spray daily in the peak growing season. Fortunately, my daylilies on my home property are fence enclosed. Fall is a busy time. Lots of hard work, with no immediate gratification. True gardeners make use of the fall.

My matis are usually green, but I saw a mobster brown one this year.

I will be excited to see your photos of your project! I love to see the making of new gardens. Right now, due to no rain the past two weeks and record high temps (102 one day), my lawn is brown and dusty!!

I have lots of green mantis and caught this one in a flower causing me to wonder if he was waiting for a hummingbird--they will attack and devour if large enough.

For those that wish to see a neat video on many of the different types of Mantises out there, this may be an interesting 20 minutes or so. Amazing planet we have here with so much diversity of wildlife..............I've seen footage of a Mantis eating a Hummer btw. Well, part of the film. Too much for my tender heart to watch all of it. It wasn't a North American Mantis............Maryl

Varieties of Mantis

Interesting to see how some of you see the praying mantis in your garden. I've never seen a white one. .Thanks for the video link Maryl but not sure I want to see a hummer being eaten.

Another method I'm trying is laying down a tarp on the lower half of the slope to see if it will kill off the grass. Sort of a solarization method. Hope it works as I hate to use sprays. We had transplanted 2 Rose Of Sharon bushes to the upper slope on Friday. Sunday morning I noticed the deer got to them. These bushes should be deer resistant or at least that is what comes up on the internet. I made the mistake of not spraying them. Live and learn...spray everything.

Have a great week.

Julia