What is eating my lobelia flowers?
markey
14 years ago
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flowerpowereverett
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Whats now eating my dahlia flower petals?
Comments (8)I agree Jennifer. Should have mentioned it in my previous comment. Occasionally I see them during the day tucked in new leaves on our hydrangeas. Before I discover the rats I would do as you do and go out with a flashlight and a tall plastic jug with a small amount of the soapy water. Got hundreds from my small dahlia area. When I discovered the soya sauce and cooking oil method it did a better job than my picking. But then the rats came and would tip over my bait stations. Had to get rid of the stations and the rats. Now I use a form of white powder that is supposed to cut the earwigs causing them to die. Doesn't seem to work too well for me. I try to focus on the flowers and ignore some of the chewed leaves, but the flowers are also susceptible, especially as they begin to fade. No more bait stations, flashlights and soapy water for me. My dahlias are blooming well and their flowers look great, but I know the earwigs are there. Ugh! Anyone know what to do to attract earwigs only? Maxyck...See MoreVoles are eating my flowers!
Comments (5)I think gopher is likely. Moles eat earthworms, altho' I guess their activities below ground can kill plants. Gophers have the nerve to even eat your plants while you are standing there watching! They aren't very far below the soil surface and the roots seem to hold the most interest to gophers. Voles are "meadow mice" and can be fairly serious garden pests. I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me before but I was reading something from UCDavis the other day and they suggest getting a dozen or more mouse traps and baiting with either peanut butter and oatmeal or apple pieces. For mice, I've had very good luck with peanut butter and raisins. Anyway, I have "driven off" gophers if not killed them with a metal bar and a hammer. Spending about 30 minutes in about 20 square feet of ground gives you a chance to put down dozens of holes, a couple of feet deep. 3/8th inch rebar should work but I used a smaller rod. For sure, I pierced the burrows in many places if not skewered the little pests, themselves. I have popped a gopher out of a burrow with a 4-pronged cultivator and whacked him and I've flooded vole burrows with good effect. Guard Your Garden! Steve...See MoreWhat's eating my Cosmos flower petals?
Comments (44)Hello Oakley, " But what do I do about the flowers? " Well, if that last picture truly describes the problem, and that species of katydid is the answer to the question in the title to this message thread, then you catch and kill those katydids. In previous messages you have caught in the act a small beetle that was much too small to have done any significant damage, and a young preying mantis, which is carnivorous and your friend in the garden. That katydid can obviously hop like a grasshopper, so he is a formidable enemy. A quick grab at him will probably damage the cosmos bloom, or break its stem, or both. I would probably just scare him off of the bloom and then catch him. If I were wanting to add him to an insect collection, a butterfly net could be an effective tool for catching him. As kids on the farm, we used to shoot large grasshoppers and cicadas with a BB gun. We used a Red Ryder rifle, but nowadays a target BB pistol might be more handy. But there are obvious disadvantages to that approach for your katydids, including the traditional "you will shoot your eye out". At a time when we were renting a townhouse that had only a few square feet of available gardening space, I was growing tomatoes in large containers on the front porch, and we had a serious problem with whiteflies. I used our canister vacuum cleaner to suck the whiteflies up, and that worked quite well. There was some minor accidental leaf damage, but some insects can be easily controlled with a vacuum cleaner hose. Katydids, not so much. At least you would have to remove the crevice tool to make room for them in the hose. I don't have a good solution for you with the Katydids on your Cosmos. Maybe just a pair of gloves to embolden your catching technique. Maybe a butterfly net. There are various insect catching gadgets on Amazon, but none that seem particularly suitable for katydids. A high powered laser gun could do the trick, but then there is that inevitable "you will shoot your eye out". ZM...See MoreHelp! Animals are eating my flowers! What to plant?
Comments (15)Re the holes in your lawn, how big are they? In my experience, squirrels don't make holes in the lawn.... my only plant damage from them is things like fruit theft and snipping off my tulip buds. :p. I've never had voles, but from what I've read I think they eat the roots of plants, not top growth. Lots of smaller holes in the lawn, along with dirt piles and ridges, is usually caused by moles.... but they wouldn't be eating/damaging your plants as described. If the holes are large, the problem could be groundhogs -- but you'd likely see them around. My sister has the occasional groundhog wander into her veg gardens and they steal/eat everything. eta, chipmunks will make holes in your lawn, but they don't do plant damage like you describe....See Moremvvick
4 years agomvvick
4 years agoMike McGarvey
4 years agolee la
19 days ago
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markeyOriginal Author