Healthy lawn tips to keep pests and weeds away

(NC)—From Health Canada, take a look at this snapshot from its website fact sheet “Healthy Lawn Tips”:

1. Although it may look untidy, leave grass clippings on your lawn when you mow it to provide nutrient recycling.

2. Aerate compacted soil in the fall to help oxygen, water and nutrients reach roots.

3. Over-seed patchy areas in difficult spots.

4. In heavy traffic areas replace grass with mulch or paving stones.

5. Check your lawn for early signs of pests and other problems such as holes caused by small animals digging for insects.

6. Set your mower so that your grass is 7 to 8 cm high to encourage deeper roots and help fend off weeds.

7. Water infrequently, but when you do, make sure you allow the water to get deep into the soil (about 1.5 centimetres) to promote deep roots. Over-watering starves the soil of oxygen and invites disease. Apply at least 2.5 centimetres of water. Put a container on your lawn to measure how much you’ve watered. An empty tuna can is about the right height.

8. Maintain good soil with ample depth and organic matter to prevent problems.

9. If physical control methods fail and you use a pesticide, be sure the one you pick lists the pest you are trying to control on the label, and follow all the instructions on the label to use it safely.

More information is available online at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/pmra. Fact sheets include “Starting a Lawn”, “Lawn Maintenance”, “Life of a Lawn” and “Common Lawn Problems”.

www.newscanada.com

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Bird feeder battles: Winning the war against squirrels

(ARA) – For bird lovers, the sight of a bushy tail hanging off the side of a feeder means just one thing: war.

Sure, squirrels have to eat, too, and no one wants to harm the persistent critters. But that doesn’t mean you have to put up with squirrels scarfing down the seed you put out for the birds, damaging your feeders and bumping up your blood pressure. It’s possible to discourage squirrels – and even outsmart them – with the right seed mix and some nature-friendly squirrel-control tactics.

Plant the seed

Birds, like people, are selective – even picky – when it comes to food. Seed is the best option to attract the most birds to your feeder. Unfortunately, squirrels also love seed. And while birds will sort through mixed seed to find what they like – and ditch the undesirable filler, like red milo, on the ground below the feeder – squirrels are not so picky. They’ll eat the cast-offs on the ground and then move on to the good stuff in the feeder, and devour that, too.

To entice birds, avoid brands that wash or coat seeds with chemicals and mineral oil. Look for brands manufactured by companies that focus on bird feed, like Cole’s, rather than treat it as a sideline business. Some feed mixes are full of cheap filler seeds, crop leftovers and the lowest quality oil sunflower. Cole’s uses only high quality seeds, and each blend is designed to attract specific groups of birds.

Taste aversion – serving seed that birds find delicious, but squirrels consider down right distasteful – is an effective way to keep squirrels out of bird feeders. Check out a squirrel-proof birdseed blend that uses hot spicy flavor to repel squirrels. Cole’s offers “hot” products that are designed to appeal to birds while dissuading squirrels. Its Hot Meats blend infuses top-quality sunflower meats with a Habanero chili pepper and Safflower oil that birds find delectable, but squirrels simply detest. Or, you can opt to add Flaming Squirrel Seed Sauce to any Cole’s blend. It’s a safe, effective and human way to feed birds and thwart squirrels. You can learn more at www.coleswildbird.com.

Squirrel-proof your bird feeders

Another option is to try to make your feed less accessible to squirrels – although that can be hard to do since squirrels are smart problem-solvers. You may find the best results from a combination of methods, including:

* Locate feeders far from trees, wires, porches or other launching points to make it more difficult for squirrels to reach the feeder. Remember, squirrels can jump distances of 10 feet or longer. Mounting feeders on a smooth metal pole at least 6 feet high with no surrounding branches or bushes within 12 feet may also work.

* Place a wire cage around the feeder with openings just large enough to admit birds but too small for squirrels to fit through. This can also help keep larger birds, such as starlings or pigeons, from accessing the feeder.

* Try specially designed feeders that have doors which close when triggered by a squirrel’s weight on the feeder. The doors keep squirrels from reaching the seed. And if you’ve had plastic feeders gnawed to destruction by squirrels, try switching to metal which they’ll be less likely to chew through.

If you can’t beat ‘em …

Sometimes you just can’t win the war and the squirrels refuse to leave. Or maybe you have a soft spot for those fluffy-tailed felons. When you can’t convince squirrels to vacate your yard, another option is to serve them something they’ll find even more appealing than bird seed. If you can lure them away from your feed, squirrels can be an amusing addition to your backyard landscape.

Squirrels love whole, dried corn-on-the-cob and loose dried corn. Cole’s offers Critter Munchies, a blend of whole yellow corn, striped sunflower, peanuts in the shell, black oil sunflower and raw peanuts. Serve on an open platform-style feeder. Or place an ear of dried corn on a stick. A stake or pinecone can be coated with peanut butter.

Set up your squirrel feeding station away from bird feeders and make it as easy as possible for the squirrels to access their feeder filled with temptations like nuts, corn and berries.

If you can make peace with the squirrels, these intelligent characters and their antics can be a welcome sight in your backyard.

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Don't let garden insects destroy the fruits of your labor

(ARA) – Gardeners are familiar with the joy of planting and nurturing flowers, fruits and vegetables to maturity and the bliss of harvesting nature’s bounty. One of the few things that can make that bliss turn into annoyance is an infestation of bugs. While many insects are beneficial to the garden, others can be very destructive. Arm yourself with the facts for handling insects in your garden this growing season.

Beneficial pollinator bugs like bees may be welcomed guests, but their destructive cousins can have devastating effects on even the healthiest garden. There is nothing worse than having a cucumber vine wither just before harvesting the first crop, or picking a breath-taking rose just to find it covered with aphids.

Aphids, mealy bugs, mites, thrips, slugs, snails and cutworms are some of the most problematic garden insects across the country. Keep these and other pesky insects from “bugging” you and destroying your garden this summer.

Know the enemy:
Having the ability to identify problem insects in the garden is a big step toward overcoming them. Proper bug identification is key to protecting your plants and veggies. Also check your plants for symptoms to help identify the visitors to your garden. Is something eating seedlings at night? Maybe you have cutworms. Are plants’ leaves looking like lace? Sounds like Japanese beetles. Look around and see what is there. Finding an effective treatment is easy once you know what you are actually dealing with.

Plant wisely:
Sometimes the simplest bug prevention is using a few smart tips when planting or caring for a garden. Remember to clean up all plant debris at the end of the growing season to discourage insects from wintering over in the veggie patch.

Another easy tip is to consider planting flowers among fruits and vegetables. Flowers look great and will attract beneficial bugs that pollinate, like bees, but will also attract bugs that will eat pests, like ladybugs.

Rotating crops can also prevent recurring insect problems. This will discourage last year’s insects that may have wintered over from sticking around because the crop they found so delicious is no longer present.

Seek advice:
Do not be afraid to ask for help. Local gardeners and extension agents make great resources. Ask around and see what others have used that worked.

Your grandma may have used cans to keep cutworms from eating the seedlings in her garden. Simply cut both ends off of some cans and place them around seedlings when transplanting to create a protective barrier from cutworms, slugs and snails while plants are getting established.

If your neighbor has had success using row-covers placed on crops that are targeted by certain local pests, then that may also work for you. Just be sure to leave the covers off for part of the day to allow for pollination.

For more information and to find solutions quickly, download the Ortho Problem Solver App from the iTunes store.

Fight back:
When nothing else seems to be working, take serious action by finding the appropriate pest control for your garden and your situation. Home remedies, organic solutions or more conventional means of insect controls in the flower or vegetable garden are all options available.

Ortho Flower, Fruit & Vegetable Insect Killer kills over 100 garden insects without harming plants or blooms. For your organic garden, try Ortho Elementals Insecticidal Soap to kill some of the most bothersome bugs, like aphids, leafhoppers, mealy bugs, mites and thrips – along with a long list of other bugs. For snails and slugs invading an organic garden, try Ortho Elementals Slug & Snail Killer, or Ortho Bug-Geta Snail & Slug Killer 1. Both options are effective on a wide variety of snails and slugs.

Now that you are armed with all the right information, get out there and defend your garden, lawn and home from invasive insects.

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How to get rid of deer before they devour your yard and garden

(ARA) -Springtime means sunshine, blooms, birdsong – and the dreaded “deer drama” that will inevitably wreak havoc in your beautiful backyard this season. Deer are now a permanent part of our landscapes, brazenly entering our yards and eating our gorgeous gardens. They are majestic animals, and beautiful to look at – from a distance. Up close, trampling and tasting your tulips, they’re just not a welcome sight.

Springtime is when deer damage is most noticeable, particularly as plants awaken from months of dormancy and prepare to bloom. Deer are the poster critters of natural adaptability. As suburbia has encroached on their wild habitat, deer have adjusted easily, finding plenty to eat in residential landscapes.

“In the early part of the 20th century, the deer population in the U.S. was less than half a million animals,” says Greg Ecsedy, owner of Bobbex Inc., which manufactures deer repellent. “Today, estimates place the deer population at between 15 million and 20 million animals that cause about $1 billion a year in damage to farms, gardens, yards and timber.”

“We know that deer will eat more than 500 different types of plants, so there’s a good chance that something you’ve planted will appeal to them, and you can bet they’ll eat it,” Ecsedy says.

Since deer need to consume a high volume of calories to survive – bucks weighing 125 to 250 pounds need 4,000 to 6,000 calories per day – their foraging can cause significant damage to suburban landscapes. Deer seldom travel alone, so a small herd can devastate a neighborhood quickly. Deer’s close proximity to people over the course of time has dulled their natural fear, so it’s quite common to see multiple deer nonchalantly noshing away – right outside your window.

Deer’s adaptability stems from their capacity to learn. Homeowners can defend their landscape by putting deer’s natural learning ability to good use. Deterrents that convince the deer your yard is no longer a desirable dining destination can successfully protect your home environment from these foraging foes.

Several methods can be effective in deterring deer, including the use of repellents like all-natural Bobbex Deer Repellent. Common solutions include:

* Deer Repellent – Deer rely heavily on their sense of smell to assess the desirability of an area for feeding, and to alert them to danger. Disrupting their sense of smell can disrupt their sense of security, which is why scent-based repellents often prove effective. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station gave Bobbex a 93 percent protection index – second only to a fence, at 100 percent, for effectiveness. The repellent uses ingredients that blend the scents of putrescent eggs, garlic, fish, clove oil and other proteins, so it smells and tastes awful to deer. It’s environmentally friendly and safe for animals and your family.

Apply it in almost any weather, it dries clear, won’t wash off after heavy rain or burn plants and grass. Bobbex Deer Repellent is available online at www.homedepot.com and in garden retail stores. To learn more, visit www.bobbex.com.

* Deer Deterrent Devices – Motion-activated noise makers and lights can scare deer off for a short time. Deer’s movement in the yard can activate motion lights at night, scaring them away, during the day you can use motion-activated sound. It’s likely, however, that deer will become acclimated to both tactics over time, and the sound and motion might not have an effect on them.

* Deer Fence – Fencing is considered the only surefire way to keep deer out of a garden, but keep in mind that deer have been known to jump 10-foot fences, and many communities restrict the height of fencing. You may not be able to put up a fence high enough to keep deer away – plus, fencing might not be practical and can be costly.

* Deer Resistant Flowers – Another option is to grow plants that deer don’t like. A hungry deer will eat just about anything, but you may have some success by planting deer-resistant flowers and plants like catmint, hellebore, yarrow, fuzzy lamb’s ear, and cleome near the plants you want to protect.

“Gardening on a rural acreage with a large deer population proved challenging in all seasons until we discovered Bobbex Deer Repellent,” says garden writer Jan Patrick. “We like that the same product we used to protect our shrubs and dwarf conifers in winter also effectively protects the summer garden. The fertilizer value of Bobbex is an extra plus.”

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Squirrels can be a pretty big pest when it comes to a backyard garden. They have been known to dig up flower beds, chew on wires and hoses and make nests in all the wrong places, including barbeques.  They create their fair share of damage and there are tons of products on the market that claim they can deal with squirrels.

Before I go into how to save your pots and flower boxes from your neighborhood squirrels, I would like to mention first that you shouldn’t waste your money on the number of deterrents out there.  Many companies will recommend noise emitters and smells, such as mothballs, that should deter the squirrels from digging in an area but the main problem with these is the fact that a squirrel will learn to work through them.  If you want an example of “If there’s a will, there’s a way,” you don’t have to look much farther than a squirrel.

Instead of wasting your money on an expensive spray or noise box, I would recommend driving down to your local home hardware store and picking up a roll of metal screening.  This is a metal screen that has a square grid pattern to it.  There are different grades but it is important to find one that does not have large holes.  If a squirrel can get its paws through the grid, then it is much to small.

Once you get it home, it will be time to start preparing your flower pots.  The first thing you will want to do is carefully measure each flower pot.  Once you have the measurements, take the wire and cut out a piece of screen that will cover the pot from rim to rim.

Mark on the screen where the plant stem is in the pot and then carefully cut out a whole in the center of the screen.  Fit it onto the flower pot.  If the plant is already in, simply cut the screen in half and then fit it around the plant so that there is about a half inch to an inch of space between the stem and the screen.

After you fit the screen into the flower pot, take a bit of soil and sprinkle it over the screen to cover it.  Make sure it is not too deep, about one inch only so the squirrel will hit the screen the moment he starts digging.  Around the edges of the pot and on the cut seam, sink a few rocks into the soil so it holds the screen in place and no amount of digging will move it.

You can screen small flower beds and flower boxes in the same way and when you are done, those squirrels won’t be able to dig in your garden and create a mess of your flower beds and pots.  Of course, knowing squirrels, once they can’t do something, they will find something else to entertain themselves with and you may be faced with a whole new problem.

Sirena Van Schaik

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I am always promoting the need for backyard habitats.  Inviting animals into yard not only provides you with many picturesque scenes but it also provides you with a biological pest control.  In this article, I am going to look at ways to invite animals into your yard and the benefits that those animals will bring.

The Bat Box

Okay, I’m just going to start with this right away.  When most people think of bats, they often think about how icky they can be, yes I said icky.  Now, I’m not a big fan of bats in my house, of which I just had to dispose of two in my basement, but I am a big fan of bats in my backyard.

You may not realize it but bats in your backyard are a valuable pest control that will ensure that your garden is free of many pests like aphids, craneflies and cutworm moths.  In addition, bats will remove most of the mosquitoes in your backyard, which leaves you to enjoy your evenings outside.

When you make a bat box, you want to mount it on a high post at the farthest corner of your yard.  Make sure that it is away from high traffic areas and also away from running water.  Once it is up, all you have to do is sit back and wait.  Eventually a bat will find it and set up shop and once you have one, it won’t be long before you have a colony munching up those pests in your backyard.

The Bird House

Everyone loves having birds in their backyard and they have become the eternal symbol of a peaceful garden.  It is important to invite birds into your garden by using plants that provide habitats and by also adding a few man-made bird houses in the yard.  Make sure that when you set up bird houses that you keep them out of the reach of any maraudering cats, whether you own a cat or not.  Also make sure that you provide them with a few bird feeders and a bird bath to draw a variety of birds into your yard.

Birds, like bats, enjoy eating aphids and they will also help out by picking off grubs, slugs, snails and caterpillars.

The Backyard Pond

Not everyone is going to have a backyard pond but if you have a space for a pond and wouldn’t mind having one, then this is a great feature for any garden. Although it may not seem like it, a backyard pond can be a wonderful habitat for a variety of animals that will enjoy riding your garden of small bugs.  Most backyard ponds can become an oasis for frogs, toads and other lizards, which will feed on slugs and other garden pests.

The last point that I want to mention when I discuss biological pest controls is to allow other creepy crawlies to reside in your yard.  Spiders are an excellent creature to have in your yard and if you see a spider or a spiderweb in an area where it does not interfere with you don’t destroy it, so for instance a spider web across your patio set would have to go.  Another great insect to have in your yard are wasps, although most people don’t feel that way.  Again, if you see a wasp, let it be unless it has a nest where it would interfere with you.

Lastly, and I hate to say this because I hate, and I mean hate, them, is to let any centipedes go when you see them in your garden. They are great little helpers and will eat a variety of insects and beetles that are eating all of your plants.

Once you have all these little oasis’s in your backyard, you will find that you will have many backyard helpers that are more than happy to rid your garden of damaging insects.

Sirena Van Schaik

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• Closely monitor your outdoor space to determine the type of pest and degree of severity.

• Wrap trees and shrubs in burlap to protect them from animals like skunks and rabbits.

• Keep garbage tightly locked and water sources covered at night to discourage raccoons.

• Ensure mulch is pulled away from the bases of shrubs to deter mice from gathering inside.

• Keep an eye out for aphids, which can tolerate cooler temperatures. For a natural solution to aphids, try Scotts EcoSense insecticidal soap, made from plant-based fatty acids.

• Control lingering weeds on hard surfaces to prevent damage to patios and walkways naturally with an acetic acid or vinegar formulation such as Scotts EcoSense weed control.

• Weeds in the lawn are best controlled by crowding them out by overseeding in the fall when cool, damp conditions are perfect for seed germination. For best results, use a pure premium grass seed for a thicker lawn with fewer weeds.

For more information about pest control throughout the year, visit http://www.Scotts.ca or call 1-866-436-8477.

- News Canada

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