Garden Pests

Carrot Weevil

Who is eating these tunnels in my carrots? They all called the carrot weevil. The adult in a tiny brown bug with a snout laying eggs on the crown of the carrot. The little white worms burrow down on the taproot leaving tunnels along the root.

Carrot weevil damage on carrots
Carrot Weevil Damage

If you have them this year, you will have them next year. The best control is prevention by digging up the garden in the fall and removing the debris from the garden. Crop rotation in the garden is the best way to prevent many problems. They are worse in wetter years than dry years.

You can use a drench of Neem oil (mixed with equal parts of water in a sprinkling can) and saturate the ground where the carrots are growing. If you see the weevils before they lay eggs, you can spray with Malathion.

These weevils attack parsnips, but to a much lesser extent.

Halloween

Halloween Outdoor Decorations

Everyone is looking for something to do with the kids this year for Halloween outdoor decorations. As a family, get an old pair of pants and shirt, stuff with straw, and place on a stake or set it on a straw bale with the stake in the bale. Stick a pumpkin head on it and you got a ghoulish scarecrow!


Blow up some balloons and glue white or black gauze on them and hang them in trees as witches or ghosts. I know someone each year that dips his bare feet in red paint (washable paint) and leaves footprints up the sidewalk.

Ideas are endless like taking paper towel rolls and cutting eyes in them, placing a glow stick in the roll then hide them in the bushes to stare out. Using plywood to make gravestones or pallets for cages.

Home Improvement, Home Maintenance

Roofing Materials

I replaced my house asphalt shingles with a metal roof. The type is called a standing seam metal roof with seams running upwards. It is quiet and durable. Most last from 30 to 50 years and come in many colors and designs. Stronger than regular shingles that will withstand heavy snowfall. Becoming increasingly common in fire-prone areas. Today, there are many different types of roofing materials.

Roofing types
Roofing types

Roofs come in many materials. The most popular is asphalt shingles. Made from asphalt with a mineral granule that flexes with temperature fluctuations. Life span ranges from 15 to 30 years.

Metal shingles
Metal shingles

In a combination of the two are metal shingles. They can look like wooden shakes, slate, or clay tiles. They last as long as a metal roof.

Shake shingles
Shake shingles

Going back to the old day are wood shingles or shakes. Usually, cedar or redwood making an attractive roof. They last from 20 to 60 years depending on atmospheric dampness.

High profile clay shingles
High profile clay shingles

Clay tiles are made from clay and fired to make them hard. Usually red-orange color and found in hot climates because they are a good insulating material. They may last as long as 100 years.

Concrete shingles
Concrete shingles

Concrete tiles are similar to clay tiles however using sand instead of clay. They are the most durable and be colored. They come in high or low profiles. Very good in withstanding high winds. Concrete tiles may require extra framing because of the weight.