Repelling dogs

QuestionI would like suggestions on plants/herbs or whatever to plant among the English Ivy (?)covering the area in front of my townhouse to repel dogs and their lazy owners who let them do their stuff among the Ivy

pet rabbits

QuestionHi Larry Please can you suggest some rabbit resistant plants for my garden? Answerhi Rachel there are no rabbit resistant plants persay, rabbits will eat anything if they are hungry, but they do have there

hibiscus pests

QuestionI have a small hibiscus (5 tall) that grows in a pot on my deck. As we live in Pennsylvania, I have brought it in for the winter. It is has had aphids, which I have controlled with lady bugs, but

Plant destruction

QuestionThank you very much. We will take your advice and try to catch the culprit in the live trap with fruit. I have seen mice in the yard, but not rats. Could mice do this? Have you ever seen an animal cleanly pe

Asian Beetles

QuestionWe are looking for information on control of the Asian Beetle (harmonia axyridis) population and a website that may help us. AnswerThere are several places you can look. Most of the sites speak about

Insecticide treatment of garden chaffer grubs

QuestionHello Larry, I have been advised to spray an insecticide called CrossFire 480 onto my lawn to try to kill off the chaffer grubs that are killing the grass. My problem is I do not know how much to dilute the

Indoor/Outdoor Insects

QuestionHi Mike - Although this isnt strictly a gardening question, I have a feeling the bugs that have begun infesting our kitchen are something a gardner would know about. Theyre smaller than ladybugs, but

Over population of earwigs

QuestionWhat can I do to organically control my over population of earwigs in my backyard. They are consumming my seeds, taking over fresh potting soil, and have even started to come indoors to my sons room (the onl

Deer and Trees

QuestionI want to plant trees at my place in West Virginia. It is loaeded with deer and we are not always there. Can you recommend anything to keep the deer from eating the trees? AnswerHi Carolyn, I make ve

Are These Garden Pests?

QuestionHi, Mike. I have a question that I need to ask you; it may affect whether I garden this year or not. There is news that in my region theyre looking for a cicada swarm early this summer. I n

pests/animals

QuestionMy apple trees were planted last June, they were about 2 -3 ft. I wrapped them up with landscape fabric and insulated them with leaves. During the winter mice/moles or something got in and ate the bark off t

raccoon in attic

Questionhow can i get or trap racoon in attic AnswerHi Walter L. Gipson, First you should figure out how the raccoon got in. An hour or two after dark the raccoon will be out for the night, then close the op

cabbage pest

QuestionI live in New Zealand and I have been getting some type of worm which lives inside the cabbage as it grows. It looks a bit like what we call a tiger worm or some sort of compost or earthworm. I do use large

Praying Mantis

QuestionHi, I have just ordered 8 Praying Mantis Egg Cases from eBay. I want to rais some of them IN the house this time, because our growing season is to SHORT here, in ND to allow them to

animal control

QuestionIm a first time gardener attempting to use 2 raised beds to grow vegetables. Im also the proud owner of two male cats who enjoy leaving me surprises in my flower beds. What can I do to repell the

Pheasant eating my flowers

QuestionHi Stephen, I am a new gardener, trying to figure out what to do about a pheasant whos been visiting my garden on a daily basis. Ive been enjoying him all winter but have been getting increasingly ann

unknown nocturnal animal digging holes

QuestionI live in a surburban neighborhood in Houston, Texas. I have some unknown nocturnal animal(s) digging holes in my flower beds around my deck; actually most of the holes appear to go under my deck. &nbs

Bores-Aspen Tree Infection

Question------------------------- Followup To Question - Do you know of any home remedies for treating bores? I have a large number of aspens in my front yard and the cost of commercial applications is proh

Mole damage to lawn

QuestionI live in the outer Richmond District of San Francisco, one-half block from Golden Gate Park and one mile from the ocean. Two weeks ago mounds of earth began appearing on my lawn, and this has continued dail

Mysterious stuff on flower bed mulch

QuestionA mysterious blob of what looks like yellow vomit appears on my flower bed mulch. It changes appearance after a couple of days becoming splotchy and then it hardens. When watering the flowers, if it is hit b