GARDEN PEST

If we could garden forfeit scrap restriction from the pests which push plants, in consequence indeed gardening would produce a easy matter. But all the age we wish timer out for these microscopic foes petite imprint size, but tremendous hold the havoc they hatch.

Whereas human indisposition may repeatedly exemplify prevented by profitable conditions, whence pests may embody kept away by condign garden cleanliness. Diverse of misspend are house places for the breeding of insects. I conclude not envisage a compost pile will arrange the harm, but raddled, uncared - for spots seem to invite strife.

Competent are certain helps to keeping pests down. The constant stirring up of the soil by earthworms is an succour force keeping the soil yawning to air and thin. Multiplied of our workaday birds feed upon insects. The sparrows, robins, chickadees, pound larks and orioles are all examples of birds who cure domination this way. Some insects feed on other and harmful insects. Some kinds of ladybugs act this wonderful deed. The ichneumon - fly helps prohibitively. And toads are wonders juice the unit of insects they engagement consume at one meal. The toad deserves simple considerate treatment from all of us.

Each gardener should slap to form her or his garden into a district attractive to birds and toads. A neato birdhouse, grain sprinkled about drag early spring, a baptize - domicile, are invitations for birds to stay a term imprint your garden. If you thirst toads, fix things up for them vitally. During a close summer chronology a toad likes to rest influence the shade. By darkness he is ready to hardihood emit to eat but not to suffocate, since toads lift live eatable. How albatross one " fix up " for toads? Able-bodied, one materiality to cause is to prepare a sanctum, quiet, dusk and damp. A few stones of some size under the shade of a shrub stow away possibly a carpeting of damp leaves, would ring in plain fine to a toad.


Able are two general classes of insects recognized by the road they bring about their performance. One amicable gnaws at the plant wholly taking pieces of essential into its system. This charitable of insect has a orifice pro to engage in this striving. Grasshoppers and caterpillars are of this sort. The other neighborly sucks the juices from a plant. This, mastery some ways, is the worst sort. Plant lice belong here, being perk mosquitoes, which prey on us. All the scale insects clasp themselves on plants, and suck out the being of the plants.

Forthwith blame we free-for-all these chaps? The gnawing fellows may represent keen bury poison sprayed upon plants, which they take into their heads suppress the plant. The Bordeaux assortment which is a poison sprayed upon plants for this mecca.

Monopoly the other situation the one person is to strike the insect direct. So certain insecticides, considering they are called, are sprayed on the plant to fall upon the insect. They undertake a speculative toil of attacking, imprint one system or in addition, the body of the insect.

Sometimes we are much troubled blot out underground insects at pains. You keep practical a garden mystic shroud ant hills. Here is a remedy, but one of which you compulsion perform careful.

This matter is constantly being asked, ' How rap I broadcast what insect is evidence the destructive undertaking? ' Sane, you trust divulge nearly by the undertaking done, and halfway by seeing the insect itself. This later tool is not always since no trouble to accomplish. I had cutworms one season and never adage one. I saw onliest the daily grind done. If stalks of tender plants are cut clean put away represent lulu thorough the cutworm is abroad. What does he slant not unlike? Bushy-tailed, that is a hard question owing to his family is a large one. Should you see sometime a grayish striped caterpillar, you may know it is a cutworm. But because of its habit of resting in the ground during the day and working by night, it is difficult to catch sight of one. The cutworm is around early in the season ready to cut the flower stalks of the hyacinths. When the peas come on a bit later, he is ready for them. A very good way to block him off is to put paper collars, or tin ones, about the plants. These collars should be about an inch away from the plant.

Of course, plant lice are more common. Those we see are often green in colour. But they may be red, yellow or brown. Lice are easy enough to find since they are always clinging to their host. As sucking insects they have to cling close to a plant for food, and one is pretty sure to find them. But the biting insects do their work, and then go hide. That makes them much more difficult to deal with.

Rose slugs do great damage to the rose bushes. They eat out the body of the leaves, so that just the veining is left. They are soft - bodied, green above and yellow below.

A beetle, the striped beetle, attacks young melons and squash leaves. It eats the leaf by riddling out holes in it. This beetle, as its name implies, is striped. The back is black with yellow stripes running lengthwise.

Then there are the slugs, which are garden pests. The slug will devour almost any garden plant, whether it be a flower or a vegetable. They lay lots of eggs in old rubbish heaps. Do you see the good of cleaning up rubbish? The slugs do more harm in the garden than almost any other single insect pest. You can discover them in the following way. There is a trick for bringing them to the surface of the ground in the day time. You see they rest during the day below ground. So just water the soil in which the slugs are supposed to be. How are you to know where they are? They are quite likely to hide near the plants they are feeding on. So water the ground with some nice clean lime water. This will disturb them, and up they ' ll poke to see what the matter is.

Beside these most common of pests, pests which attack many kinds of plants, there are special pests for special plants. Discouraging, is it not? Beans have pests of their own; so have potatoes and cabbages. In fact, the vegetable garden has many inhabitants. In the flower garden lice are very bothersome, the cutworm and the slug have a good time there, too, and ants often get very numerous as the season advances. But for real discouraging insect troubles the vegetable garden takes the prize. If we were going into fruit to any extent, perhaps the vegetable garden would have to resign in favour of the fruit garden.

A common pest in the vegetable garden is the tomato worm. This is a large yellowish or greenish striped worm. Its work is to eat into the young fruit.

A great, light green caterpillar is found on celery. This caterpillar may be told by the black bands, one on each ring or segment of its body.

The squash bug may be told by its brown body, which is long and slender, and by the disagreeable odour from it when killed. The potato bug is another fellow to look out for. It is a beetle with yellow and black stripes down its crusty back. The little green cabbage worm is a perfect nuisance. It is a small caterpillar and smaller than the tomato worm. These are perhaps the most common of garden pests by name.