Japanese Beetle – Destoyer
During a recent stroll through the garden, I noticed the leaves on some of my lovely flowers were being eaten away! The poor leaves on some of my Zinnias were beginning to look like lace instead of leaves. What to do? After careful examination, I discovered the blasted Japanese Beetle having lunch on my plants.
japanese beetle
This beetle, having an almost neon greenish head and copper colored wings, is not hard to identify. And, these beetles can be disastrous for ones garden. Never having to deal with these invaders before, I researched for several hours on how to rid my garden of these nasty, destructive insects.
Some sources advised to get beetle traps. These traps, hang several feet away from the garden, contain pheromone, to attract the beetles into a trap where they cannot escape. That sounded like a good idea, but further reading gave me reason to seek other advise. These traps, although pretty convenient, have been known to attract more beetles than the garden actually has because of the pheromone. A hormone like substance that is like that of the female beetle and attracts the male beetles.
Other sources advised to eliminate the plants the beetles are munching on. These horrid insects are munching on the Echinacea, Zinnias, Sunflowers, and the Salvia! Destroying these plants is not an option I want to make. And, I am not one to want to use strong pesticides in my gardens. Still other sources suggested capture the insects and destroy them. Fantastic idea I thought!
How to do that? Further reading gave me some ideas how to fashion a contraption to capture the bugs in. Although I did not follow the precise instructions, I made my own death trap for the Japanese Beetle! Being one who recycles as much as possible, I headed to the basement. I knew I had a bag of litre size soda bottles down there that had been rinsed and bagged for a project my granddaughter had been working on. Sure enough, the bag was still there, so I removed 2 bottles and cut the top end of one bottle long enough to serve as crude funnel, and left the other bottle in tact. Not having the duct tape handy, I used electrical tape and taped the funnel portion on top of the threaded portion of the in tact bottle. (see photo) Not the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen, but you know what, it works!
The first day, I filled my trap with about a cup of water and headed to the gardens. Examining each plant for the intruders, as I saw one, I would place the funnel under the leaf or flower and shake it until the bug fell into the funnel. Then I would give the bottle a shake so the garden pest would fall into the larger bottle hitting the water. I was able to capture every bug I saw, which amounted to about 100 beetles. That evening, I strolled the garden again, and captured about 20 more of these insects, then folded and rolled a paper towel to serve as a plug for the funnel and left it sit over night so as to make sure my prisoners were dead. The next day, I dumped the dead beetles and started over with fresh water.
So far, this is working! I take a stroll each day and have only seen a few each day, which I send to their death.
Dandelion – A Welcome Weed
dandelion
Often, when one thinks of weeds, the dandelion comes to mind. This lacey leafed plant with its bright yellow flower springs up in most everyone’s yard at some time or another. For years, children have gathered these bright buttery flowers and given them to mom as a token of love and affection. But, for some, the dandelion is considered nothing but a pesky weed, think again! The dandelion, when harvested without conditions of being sprayed with weed killers, can be a healthy, nutritious, addition to ones diet.
Offering many healthy benefits, including high in vitamins and minerals, this “weed” can be incorporated into your salad greens, made into pasta noodles, or even made into wine.
I hear so many people say the reason they don’t eat healthier, or purchase organic foods, is because it is more expensive to do so. The dandelion is free; another gift of nature that takes only a little physical effort to harvest.
For further herb reading about the benefits of dandelion:
University of Maryland Medical Center:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/dandelion-000236.htm
Herbalist Isabell Shipard (Austrailia):
http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-herb-information/dandelion.html
Susan Weed Backyard Medicine Chest:
http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/september03/herbalmedicine.htm
Herbal Book Reviews:
http://www.thegreenwoman.com/bookreviews.html
Dandelion Recipes to Make with Kids:
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