Garden Pests

Raccoons in the Garden

Raccoons in the garden are nocturnal animals that are thriving thanks to increased human contact, as anyone with an unsecured dumpster or trash can will attest. Wild populations prefer areas with trees and water nearby. But more and more they are found roaming city streets at night due to man’s generosity in providing new sources of food, water, and shelter. Beside garbage cans, raccoons are notorious for their love of sweet corn. These omnivores will also eat strawberries, tree fruits, peas, potatoes, melons, and grubs found in your lawn. They will dig holes in maturing melons and munch on ripening tree fruit. They make holes in lawns and mulch piles looking for insects to eat. Like squirrels, they also have been known to clean out bird feeders.

To discourage raccoons from visiting your yard, stow water and food supplies, such as pet bowls and bird feeders, out of reach at night. You can also deter raccoons with repellents, scare tactics, and a good fence. I use two wire electric fence which will keep deer and rodents out of the garden. Successful homemade repellents include a dusting of baby powder, cayenne pepper, or blood meal on vegetables and corn ears. In a small garden, cover individual corn ears or melons with bags taped shut. Place baffles on the trunks of fruit trees to prevent raccoons from climbing them. Prune overhanging limbs that raccoons might use to launch themselves into the fruit tree. To prevent lawn damage, control grubs and other insects. You can scare raccoons temporarily with loud, intermittent noises or lights, but the racket generated by motion-sensor noisemakers or lights may prevent you from getting much sleep at night! The best deterrent is a good fence. Raccoons are agile and smart, so build your fence well.

 

  1. A raccoon will rinse its food in water prior to eating it. When there is no water close by, a raccoon will still rub its food to remove debris.
  2. Some hypothesize that the purpose of a raccoon’s black mask is to reduce glare, helping it to see better in the dark.
  3. A group of raccoons is called a nursery.
  4. Although raccoons only live 2-3 years in the wild, a raccoon can live up to 20 years in captivity
DIY Projects

Exterior Window Treatments

Window Boxes

Putting up exterior window treatments such as shutters and window boxes can beautify your home while adding some practical benefits. On top of curb appeal (both through flowers and paint colors), awnings and closable shutters can help keep the house cool and shield windows from the elements.

Shutters

Shutters can be functional, especially if you live in a high storm area. But decorative shutters are a quick and inexpensive way to dress up your exterior windows. You can buy premade shutters in a variety of materials at your local home improvement store, or you can easily DIY them as well!

Awnings

Awnings typically manage to work double-duty, adding curb appeal while also filtering the sunlight that comes into your home and protecting your windows from the elements. Traditional cloth awnings come in a variety of sizes and styles, but a wood awning is striking!

Molding and Trim

If you’re still using wood exterior trim boards on your houses, then you know the deal. They’re lightweight and inexpensive, but, like a tuna sandwich, wood does not last long when exposed to the blazing sun and water. A smart alternative is composite molding and trim. While they may look like wood, these products will last until the cows come home. Composite trim may be wood/plastic, cellular PVC, vinyl, or polyurethane. They differ in weight and appearance, but they all boast better weather-resistant qualities than most wood exterior trim products.

Garden Pests

Hackberry Galls

Hackberry psyllids are small aphid-like insects that cause hackberry galls commonly seen on the underside of hackberry tree leaves.  An alternative name is hackberry “gall-maker.”  They are most commonly noticed, however, as a household nuisance in late summer and fall.

Psyllids (pronounced: Sill – ids) are called jumping plant lice.  They resemble miniature cicadas and have powerful hind legs that allow them to jump and fly away quickly.  The hackberry psyllids are 3/16″ long and have lightly colored wings mottled with tiny dark spots.

This species is specific to hackberry trees and does not develop anywhere else.  Adults fly to hackberry trees in early spring and lay eggs in leaf buds.  Eggs hatch into tiny nymphs that stimulate the raised galls or swellings in which the insect lives and feeds for the rest of the summer.  Infested hackberry trees are not harmed by the galls.

When psyllids complete their development in late summer the adults leave the galls to pass the winter.  They normally spend the winter in cracks and crevices of tree bark and other sheltered locations.  However, like many other nuisance pests, they may be attracted to houses in the fall and enter into walls through cracks and gaps around windows or in the siding.  From there they wander on indoors.  This is when they can be a temporary but very aggravating annoyance.  The size of the population and extent of the annoyance varies greatly from year to year.

Psyllids are annoying because of their presence.  They do not feed on humans although some people report that they “pinch” when they land on exposed skin.  They cannot sting and they do not carry disease.  They will not attack pets, house plants, stored products, or furnishings.

Although psyllids can be very annoying, they are harmless and control may not be warranted.  Effective control of adults in late summer and winter is very difficult to achieve.  Household “ant and roach” sprays or dusts have limited effect on this pest.

Preventing psyllids by spraying hackberry trees before gall formation is sometimes suggested.  Several applications of an insecticide would generally be necessary to have a noticeable effect.  Thoroughly spraying large trees is a further complication.  In short, there is little that is practical in the way of hackberry psyllid management other than to tolerate the occasional annoyance.