Garden Pests, Lawns

Dog Ticks (Control & Prevention)

Dog ticks are everyone’s nightmare especially your dogs’. Keep areas free of tall grass, weeds and garden debris – you’ll also discourage small rodents, which transport ticks. Place outdoor play and entertainment areas in sunny, airy spots, away from tick-prone zones. Most importantly, eliminate existing ticks and create a perimeter of protection around your home with effective tick control treatment.

With GardenTech® Sevin® brand products, you can kill and control ticks and dozens of other unwelcome insects, even among favorite fruits and vegetables and landscapes where edibles and ornamental mix. Target larvae and nymphs with late spring and early summer applications. Target adult ticks in late summer and fall.

When applying spray, either organic or chemical, to eliminate fleas and ticks from your yard, it is important to exercise caution and restrict your pets from the treated areas for at least 24 to 48 hours. Pets may experience adverse reactions, even when coming in contact with natural ingredients.

The cheapest and easiest way to keep your yard free from fleas and ticks is to practice proper cultural care and keep up on your garden landscape. Mow your lawn and keep shrubs and plants well-manicured. Additionally, remove anything from your yard that might attract rodents and other animals, including trash and debris. Rodents and animals carry fleas and ticks and may be the cause of an infestation.

How to remove a tick from you or your pet

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.

Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.

After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.

Container gardening, Flowers (annual and perennial)

Good Plants for Plant Containers

Plants that love sun in containers:

1. Lantana:

It is great for a hot spot and the Lantana colors are nice too, with yellow, confetti and some lavender and white.  It does good in sun and is drought tolerant.   

Try a combination in a large pot with ornamental grass in the middle surrounded by with sun loving flowers such as Lantana, which tends to spread out. Another colorful combination for sunny areas is red Salvia in the middle of a pot, with yellow Lantana around it.

2. Wave Petunias: 

The plant gurus say the Wave Petunias are preferred over ordinary petunias because they last into early fall, compared to the standard petunias, which tend to get “leggy” about midway through the summer. 

The Wave Petunias are “growing machines” in the sun and do not need to be dead headed.

3. Marigolds

A big pot of marigolds provides a lot of color and is easy to maintain with the ability to repel some insects. You will have to deadhead them. The shorter French marigolds work best in containers.

4. Tropicals

Mandevilla and Bougainvillea because they do well in the sun, provide a lot of color and last throughout the season with little or no maintenance other than watering. They are great for hanging baskets.

Tropicals don’t winter over very well, but for one season in direct sun around the deck or patio or pool, they are a good choice.  

Mandevilla

Bougainvillea

5. Sedum

If you are looking for the most durable sun loving plant, try low growing sedum. Nothing kills them and they good for hanging over the edges of the pot.

Purple sedum

Plants that love shade

6. Ferns 

Boston ferns are easy and in general are “excellent shade plants. Other varieties recommended are the Springeri (asparagus) fern and the delicate Maiden Hair fern as nice additions to shade pots. 

Hosta and Maiden Hair Fern

7. Coleus

Coleus have a wide-ranging color through its leaves, is hardy, and can stand alone or be mixed in with other plants. Known for its colorful foliage, it is nice in a pot or around trees or shrubs. There are varieties that do well in the sun, however, I would keep them on the east side of the house.

8. Begonias

There are a lot of varieties of begonias and they get a thumbs up because they are colorful (leaves and blooms), they are low maintenance and don’t need as much water as some other plants. The wax begonias can be brought into the house in the winter and if placed in a south window will bloom over the winter. 

9. New Guinea Impatiens

The garden experts all recommended New Guinea Impatiens for shade and for areas that have some sun, too. The New Guineas are resistant to mildew if you have that problem and are a hardy variety with larger, more showy blooms. There are varieties that can take some direct sun.

10. Caladium   

Another shade lover, Caladiums, with their colorful heart shaped leaves, are pretty much carefree once they are planted. They are tubers, and they spread nicely. Although they don’t have showy flowers, they brighten up shady spots. 

Lawns

Dandelions are so Annoying

Dandelions are so annoying. I dig them, they grow back and just keep popping up again. It makes you wonder if there is a secret to their multiple lives. Well, the secret is out. Dandelions have long roots that go deep. I found if I dig them and leave out part of the roots, it will send up a new weed to replace the one you thought was never to be seen again. Digging dandelions or pulling them out is definitely hit or miss.

Unlike crabgrass that are eliminated by pre-emergent herbicides, dandelions are perennials. Now that you see the rosettes and before they bloom is the time to control them. Apply weed and feed to damp lawn. This allows the chemical to go through the leaves of dandelions and be transported to all other parts including the roots. It only takes days for those nasty dandelions to curl up and wither. Better yet you do not have to wet your lawn before applying if you use a spray like Weed-B-Gon, just make sure they is no breeze when applying.

Also remember not to apply this on a rainy day if you don’t want your weed killer to just be washed away by rain. Finally, one more thing to keep in mind is to feed your lawn regularly. Eliminating the weeds is always just 50% of the battle. Fortify your lawn against weeds by regular feeding, at least four times a year. Keep your grass length to 2.5 up to 3 inches tall after you mow to help keep the weeds from germinating.