Not sure if this will still be up but it looks like it could do the trick. https://www.temu.com/1pc-insect-bir...&refer_page_id=10132_1716621784453_sbz9gw9vhe
No squash bugs here, but I have dealt with them in other locations. The easiest way to deal with them is to cover the plants with a protective cover like this. Another option is pyrethrum. It is a natural insecticide that breaks down in 24 hours or less and is harmless to warm-blooded creatures. It is a contact insecticide, so it doesn't bother bees either unless you spray them with it. My nemesis when I gardened in warmer areas was the squash borer. Those buggers hide inside the stems and you don't know you have them until the plants start to die. Neither option may be acceptable to you since the netting isn't the most attractive thing, and you have to seal it tightly to the ground to prevent entry.
Sorry, but I don't "do" TEMU. I won't deal directly with the Chinese. (Besides I got a security warning when I clicked that link.) Thanks anyway, Mary.
I have wondered about the netting but seems to me it would need to be installed at planting time to be truly effective. I think a lot of bugs lay eggs in the soil that hatch in the spring so they might end up inside the net anyhow. Very frustrating. I'd like to take a blowtorch to the whole mess.
No problem. I don't want to deal with them. But I have seen the exact same items on amazon, who also monitors us (security warning), with the same descriptions and pictures at three times the price. The money still goes to China as does all the money for items sold at Walmart. Just sayin'
Yes, I agree. But I will give my credit card info to Amazon... not directly to the Chinese. Also just sayin'.
Wellll, back at the farm, it is waaayyyy too wet to rototill (which is good because the roto tiller is down with something, bad tires, won't go into reverse...) so I romped in and harvested some more nettle and lambs quarters. And what do I see but some bothersome weeds growing among them. Potatoes, tomatos, carrots...and my daughters perenial (because she always leaves one for seed) parsnip. NOW what do I do? I wandered over to the orchard and although my wolf river tree is covered with little apples back at the house, the apple trees are not at the farm. BUT the pear trees are doing surprisingly well with tiny fruit. The Japanese apple pear has been naturally pruned by deer but a has bushy top knot of fruit and the red bartlett which I only put in last year has quite a few little red pears. My prune plum tree is covered with fruit although last year I did not put sulfer on it and it lost all its fruit. I hope this year will be different. The wolf river tree overshades my deck and I have to prune off a lot of branches every so often. The fruit can be amazing but I think it is getting on in years. I hope it lasts till we sell the house, whenever that is. I is one of my favorite aspects of the yard. I hope we dry up today so I can get some big chores started.
One last thought for the thread, I am wearing my sprayed clothes today. If you spray the clothes you wear for outdoor work with permethrin and let them dry, they will repel ticks for up to 6 weeks if you don't wash them. One question I have; If you don't wash them for 6 weeks won't they repel your significant other when you come in for lunch? Ticks are really bad this year.
A few "end of the garden" pics. Here are the last of the cucumbers, some random tomatoes, and the green beans I picked yesterday. Looks like some 'taters are peeking through...
Well, you could blowtorch things BEFORE you net the beds. That might cook the eggs if there are any. I think if you clean up the waste and rotate crops, the pests won't know where to lay eggs. I am experimenting with torching the soil in the spring prior to planting an area. I am also thinking about using vinegar as a herbicide prior to planting in the spring. The experiment starts tomorrow, as the plant sale ends tonight.
Yep. Normally I'd leave stuff through June but this year the bugs have beaten me; I'm done. As long as the bush beans are producing I'll leave them, and the okra plants. I am just finding small okras and the bugs don't seem to care about okra or beans.
Most of my tomatoes are in the Earthboxes with covered tops, so not much "waste" to clean up. I will just pull the plants out and throw in the trash.
My husband pulled the remaining tomato plants early this morning; the back yard looks naked. It's actually a relief to look outside and see them GONE. There are a few okra plants remaining but I'm thinking they will be short-lived. I'm so done with gardening this year.