Pest: Red Lily Beetle

Have you walked out to your gardens lately and noticed a very hungry beetle has moved in?

This beetle is the Red Lily Beetle which is definitely a ‘bad bug’ and devastates lilies. These beetles prefer true lilies and fortunately do not bother Daylilies (Hemerocallis).  If you have lilies in your gardens (Asiatic, Oriental, Easter and Turk’s) pay attention weekly for the bright red beetles and also for the eggs on the undersides of the foliage.  Examine the leaves for tan-colored, irregular-shaped lines about one inch long. These tan lines will be a row of eggs.  Just before hatching, these eggs turn a bright red color.  When eggs are found, they can be removed and destroyed.

If you only have a few plants in your gardens, hand-picking adults and eggs can be successful. Another option to control the reproduction of the Red lily Beetle is to use an insecticide.  Products containing Neem and Spinosad are effective on the larvae and should be applied weekly. Neem is also sold as Bon-Neem. Spinosad is sold as Monterey Garden Insect Spray and Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew. All of these organic products will need to be applied weekly during the growing season and have been found to be effective. Whichever method (handpick or insecticide) you prefer will make it possible for you to enjoy lilies in your garden this summer.

Japanese Beetles: How to Detect, Prevent and Get Rid of Them

If any of your plants look like this, you may have Japanese Beetle damage. There are many plants they enjoy to munch on and they are especially fond of plants such as Basil, Roses, Grapes and Hibiscus.  If you’ve been noticing lots lately, it’s due to high temperatures. They tend to come out when the temps reach 85 degrees and above.

Control of Japanese Beetles

The most cost-effective way to eliminate Japanese Beetles is to hand-pick them early in the morning.

Pick off the beetles and drop into a cup of soapy water.   We don’t recommend using beetle bags traps as they tend to attract more beetles to your yard.

Prevention of Japanese Beetles

Japanese Beetles lay eggs in late summer. The eggs hatch into larvae that overwinter in the soil.  The larvae moves towards the surface of the soil/grass in the spring as it warms up, and eventually emerge into adult beetles. The larvae are white grubs that feed on the roots of grasses and soils.

They actually can cause a great deal of damage to your lawn. The best way to get rid of them permanently is to treat your lawn with an organic control. There are several methods to eliminate and/or reduce populations of Japanese Beetles.  One method is an application of Milky Spore to your lawn.  Milky Spore is a biological that will kill the grubs as the feed on the roots and soil.  Other methods to prevent include include applying nematodes to your lawn, attracting native parasitic wasps and flies, and let your lawn go dormant during the hot summer months.  Watering your lawn promotes the environment in which they breed.

As always we recommend the most natural and organic measures to eliminate this pest to enable you and your family to enjoy the outdoors.

Woodchucks: Pest or Pet?

This year we have more to contend with in our home garden. Not only do we have a woodchuck, but it has an entire family with babies. The babies are so cute and my children seem to think we can keep them as pets. They’ve eaten our squash, cucumbers and parsley. The babies also seem to be enjoying my Phlox panicualata (summer phlox) and Echinacea (coneflower).

Luckily the warm weather has just begun and all of these plants grow fast. We will just replace the vegetables and make it so they don’t want to visit our garden. There are many organic controls for woodchucks – fences, bloodmeal , hot pepper spray, garlic spray and the product Plantskydd.

I just went out to the gardens and applied Plantskydd last night. I have successfully used this product for many years to deter little critters from the garden. You can apply using different methods – around the whole perimeter of the garden or around the plants they tend to eat. Either way seems to be just as effective.

There are some plants in particular that woodchucks seem to enjoy. These plants include squash, cucumber, parsley, Achillea (yarrow), Aster, Echinacea (coneflower), Dahlia, Phlox paniculata (summer phlox), Helianthus (sunflower), Papaver( poppy), Ipomoea (sweet potato vine) and Chrysanthemums (mum). These are plants that you want to be sure you protect.

You can fill your gardens with plants that woodchucks don’t tend to eat. Lucky for us this list is very long. You can add plants like Daylily, Veronica, Dianthus, Hosta, Anemone, Artemesia, Amsonia, Asclepias(milkweed, butterfly weed), Agastache (hyssop), Aruncus (goatsbeard), Cimicifuga, Campanula(bellflower), Astilbe, Coreopsis, Centaurea (bachelor’s button), Crambe, Eupatorium (Joe pye weed), Platycodon (balloon flower), Cranesbill (geranium), Euphorbia (spurge), Gypsophilia (baby’s breath) and there are so many more.

Personally I wouldn’t limit my garden to plants that don’t eat because once you apply a deterrent they stay away and find something else to eat. What do you use to keep woodchucks away from your garden?