I went into the garden yesterday expecting to find the same things I always do. A moth or two, a stink bug or two, a few aphids, and the norm, okra, peppers, maybe a cuke. Some flowers to hand polinate. And I did! Only problem? I also found hundreds of moths! No kidding! I've NEVER seen this before. Always a couple, sure but when I went to pollinate the pumpkin flower 20 of them flew up at me. And then I noticed that there was already a worm in the unopened flower! ARGH! NO WONDER they keep shriveling before they open for pollinations. I sprayed Bt 10 days ago, but it looks like it will have to be upped to weekly at least for now.
Know what else I found? Squash bugs! And, I found 2 of them doing the nasty on my small sugar pumpkin vine! Can you guess what they found? Instant death. Both of them. I squished the eggs that I could find as well. I'm fairly mortified at the sudden onslaught of bugs. THere was a pickleworm in my both my cukes today. I'm concerned about the pumpkin and butternut squash. Should the fruit actually set (and it looks like the butternut finally has 1!)
Ho hum. So is the life of the gardener. On the hunt for squash bug babies and caterpillars again tonight. Thinking I won't wait until the weekend to spray. I've got company coming and don't want them to see me on the warpath! Believe youme - THIS MEANS WAR!
Sing it, Sista!
ReplyDeleteYes there are a lot of bugs now. I also have mosquitoes eating me alive in my yard. I haven't sprayed anything yet. I have just been killing with my fingers, but I can't keep up with them anymore. I think I will spray some spinosad.
ReplyDeleteI think my chickens are keeping some of the bugs under control. We let them out every day for a few hours, and they go around the garden beds eating whatever shows sign of life. I also did go out there one day last week and scattered diatomaceous earth over everything. Bugs hate it.
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