Palm Trees

Palm TreeOctober 7, 2010
Palm trees are very popular where our vacation home is.  They are rather problem free, tolerating the heat and humidity well.  Pictured is one of the palm trees near our vacation home.  Now palms actually come with one itsy, bitsy problem.  They attract palmetto bugs aka American cockroach.  I am not impressed with palmetto bugs at all even though I know they don't bite

Unidentified Moth

Unidentified MothSeptember 16, 2010
During one of out strops a few days ago I spotted this pretty moth fluttering around on the sidewalk.  His wing span was about 3 - inches so a rather impressive size.  He stopped just long enough for me to get this picture showing his gorgeous markings.  I'm not sure what kind of moth he is.  If you can help identify please leave a comment.

Happy Gardening!

The Grasshopper Incident

King of Denmark is a wonderful heirloom spinach that performs nicely.  One look at the mature plants and you will easily see why this variety is king just from the sheer size of it.  A few days ago I noted that the King of Denmark spinach was looking rather good.  Then I noticed that something had been helping itself to a taste test.  A couple of days later I found the critter responsible for the

Earwig Damage on Parsley

Earwigs (Forficula auricularia) are a common sight in many gardens.  They are attracted to damp locations so can be found under plants, in mulch and anywhere else damp like decaying vegetable matter.  Earwings are more of a nuisance indoors.  Despite their appearance earwigs aren't harmful to humans.  There is the old wives' tale that earwigs get into your ears when you are sleeping and while it

What's Eating My Sweet Basil?

Herbs generally are rather problem free plants in the garden yet this year I have encountered more problems with herbs than in previous years.  The oregano has been attacked by spider mites and fungus gnats.  Earwigs attacked the potted parsley and I just discovered an unidentified caterpillar attacking the potted sweet basil.  I'm hoping this isn't a sign of things to come for this growing

Spider Mites

Spider MiteJune 17, 2010

It would appear that my oregano in the raised beds has been hit with the double whammy of fungus gnats and spider mites.  Both are known pests to oregano as are white flies and aphids.  At this point all I can say is I'm not amused.  At any rate the infestation isn't too bad so can be controlled.

Spider mites are 8 legged, spider-like creatures ranging in colour from

Fungus Gnats

Fungus GnatJune 17, 2010


The gardens and yards have been hit with fungus gnats.  Fungus gnats are comprised of a number of species in the insect order Diptera, family Sciaridae (dark winged fungus gnat species Bradysia coprophila, impatiens and paupera) that are about the same size as a mosquito.   These tiny little creatures cause minimal damage to herbs such as oregano where they were having

Controlling Garden Insects Effectively

Yesterday I wrote about the reasons why electronic bug zappers should not be used in the yard or garden for insect control. One of the biggest problems with these devices is the do not distinguish between harmful and beneficial insects. In one evening they can easily kill 10,000 insects effectively destroying the balance in your yard. Less insects mean less insect predators giving other more

Controlling Bugs

While the weather is still cool soon it will be time to consider insect control for those pesky insects like mosquitoes and the damaging insects in the garden. In many urban residential areas folks turn to using an electric bug zapper. The premise is the insects are drawn towards the light then are electrocuted effectively serving as insect control. However, bug zappers are one of the worst

Purple Martin House

Purple Martin HouseThe Purple Martin (Progne subis) is a member of the swallow family. It is a medium sized, migratory song bird much desired in gardens. The male is entirely a glossy dark, purplish black sheen while the female is purplish black with a duller sheen and lighter underpants. Several Purple Martins will nest in a multi-compartmented birdhouse much like a bird condo building. They