1 00:00:01,134 --> 00:00:03,303 - Hi, thanks for joining us for "The Family Plot: 2 00:00:03,303 --> 00:00:04,605 Gardening in the Mid-South". 3 00:00:04,605 --> 00:00:06,039 I'm Chris Cooper. 4 00:00:06,039 --> 00:00:08,775 Today, we're going to answer a lot of viewer questions 5 00:00:08,775 --> 00:00:13,046 on tomatoes, watermelons, bees, birds, and more. 6 00:00:13,046 --> 00:00:14,715 That's just ahead on "The Family Plot: 7 00:00:14,715 --> 00:00:16,316 Gardening in the Mid-South". 8 00:00:16,316 --> 00:00:19,353 - [Voiceover] Production funding for "The Family Plot: 9 00:00:19,353 --> 00:00:21,889 Gardening in the Mid-South" is provided by: 10 00:00:21,889 --> 00:00:24,791 Good Winds Landscape and Garden Center 11 00:00:24,791 --> 00:00:28,462 in Germantown since 1943, and continuing to offer 12 00:00:28,462 --> 00:00:30,497 its plants for successful gardening 13 00:00:30,497 --> 00:00:33,600 with seven greenhouses and three acres of plants, 14 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,336 plus comprehensive landscape services; 15 00:00:37,304 --> 00:00:41,041 International Paper Foundation; 16 00:00:41,041 --> 00:00:45,779 the WKNO Production Fund; the WKNO Endowment Fund; 17 00:00:45,779 --> 00:00:47,981 and by viewers like you. 18 00:00:47,981 --> 00:00:49,249 Thank you. 19 00:00:49,249 --> 00:00:54,254 (pleasant banjo music) 20 00:00:58,358 --> 00:01:01,461 - Welcome to "The Family Plot". I'm Chris Cooper. 21 00:01:01,461 --> 00:01:04,431 This week, we're going to answer lots of viewer questions 22 00:01:04,431 --> 00:01:06,533 we have received over the past few months. 23 00:01:06,533 --> 00:01:09,836 We're dividing the questions into two categories. 24 00:01:09,836 --> 00:01:13,340 In a few minutes, we will talk about insects and animals. 25 00:01:13,340 --> 00:01:16,677 But first, here's some questions we've gotten about plants. 26 00:01:19,346 --> 00:01:21,782 The tree in my backyard is dripping a sticky 27 00:01:21,782 --> 00:01:23,550 sap-like mess everywhere 28 00:01:23,550 --> 00:01:26,753 which causes everything to be sticky. 29 00:01:26,753 --> 00:01:30,490 What in the tree is causing that? 30 00:01:30,490 --> 00:01:32,926 - Well you know what? It'd be good to know 31 00:01:32,926 --> 00:01:34,361 what kind of tree that was. 32 00:01:34,361 --> 00:01:35,862 - It would be good to know what kind of tree that was. 33 00:01:35,862 --> 00:01:39,533 - I'll bet it's either a pecan or maybe a maple. 34 00:01:40,133 --> 00:01:45,005 But if it's aphids, and that tree are secreting a substance 35 00:01:45,005 --> 00:01:48,842 called honeydew, and the leaves are probably shining. 36 00:01:48,842 --> 00:01:53,146 It's a very common situation, I wouldn't worry about it. 37 00:01:53,146 --> 00:01:56,516 Aphids normally, when they build up to very high levels, 38 00:01:56,516 --> 00:01:59,720 predators will come in and feed on them and also 39 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:02,422 there are diseases that take aphids out. 40 00:02:02,422 --> 00:02:04,725 So I wouldn't worry a whole lot about that. 41 00:02:04,725 --> 00:02:07,694 The sticky substance that drops on everything, pretty soon, 42 00:02:07,694 --> 00:02:09,930 another substance is going to start growing 43 00:02:09,930 --> 00:02:12,866 on that sticky substance called "sooty mold" 44 00:02:12,866 --> 00:02:17,638 and it will turn black, so it would be a good idea, 45 00:02:17,638 --> 00:02:21,441 especially if it's your car under there, to wash it. 46 00:02:21,441 --> 00:02:25,178 Wash everything that the sticky stuff is falling on. 47 00:02:25,178 --> 00:02:27,347 Wash it off, and you could use detergent. 48 00:02:27,347 --> 00:02:30,250 Regular detergent can take it off and maybe prevent 49 00:02:30,250 --> 00:02:31,885 the sooty mold from taking over. 50 00:02:31,885 --> 00:02:34,321 - Alright so it's honeydew. - Honeydew. 51 00:02:34,321 --> 00:02:36,289 - So the next time you walking under a tree 52 00:02:36,289 --> 00:02:38,725 and it's not raining, it could be... 53 00:02:38,725 --> 00:02:41,094 - Honeydew. And that's a very, very nice way of saying 54 00:02:41,094 --> 00:02:42,729 "aphid poo-poo". 55 00:02:42,729 --> 00:02:44,664 (laughter) 56 00:02:44,664 --> 00:02:45,699 - That's what it could be. 57 00:02:45,699 --> 00:02:48,702 (pleasant banjo music) 58 00:02:48,702 --> 00:02:53,273 My tomatoes have rotted on the vine while still green. 59 00:02:53,273 --> 00:02:54,641 Why is that, doc? 60 00:02:54,641 --> 00:02:57,044 - Oh, gee, I don't know. That one, really, 61 00:02:57,044 --> 00:03:01,048 a picture would have been really good because 62 00:03:01,048 --> 00:03:04,051 rotting to me may not be exactly 63 00:03:04,051 --> 00:03:05,852 what he thinks is rotting, or she. 64 00:03:05,852 --> 00:03:08,822 So, we talked about this a little bit, Chris, 65 00:03:08,822 --> 00:03:13,226 and you think...and I think this is probably right, 66 00:03:13,226 --> 00:03:16,163 that if it's the bottom or the blossom end of the fruit 67 00:03:16,163 --> 00:03:18,532 that's rotting, that's blossom end rot. 68 00:03:18,532 --> 00:03:22,769 But if it's rotting in other parts of the fruit, that's just 69 00:03:22,769 --> 00:03:24,571 some kind of disease, you know... 70 00:03:24,571 --> 00:03:26,373 - [Chris] Some kind of blight or something. 71 00:03:26,373 --> 00:03:29,276 - So, you know, again with the fungicide treatment, 72 00:03:29,276 --> 00:03:31,745 but if it's the blossom end rot, 73 00:03:31,745 --> 00:03:35,148 then that is a problem with water uptake. 74 00:03:35,148 --> 00:03:39,486 Because of calcium not being taken up in the water. 75 00:03:39,486 --> 00:03:42,889 So having plenty of water, even soil moisture, 76 00:03:42,889 --> 00:03:46,560 checking your pH, make sure you got the available calcium, 77 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:48,795 the pH is right, should take care of that. 78 00:03:48,795 --> 00:03:52,999 (pleasant banjo music) 79 00:03:52,999 --> 00:03:55,268 - [Chris] What is the best way to keep all tall plants 80 00:03:55,268 --> 00:03:57,604 from falling over, especially in the wind? 81 00:03:57,604 --> 00:03:59,606 - Becky let's let you go first. 82 00:03:59,606 --> 00:04:01,141 (laughter) 83 00:04:01,141 --> 00:04:04,744 - Okay, I would stake them some way, or put them close 84 00:04:04,744 --> 00:04:08,014 to the fence, so they have something to lean up against. 85 00:04:08,014 --> 00:04:09,549 Okay, go. 86 00:04:09,549 --> 00:04:12,752 - Well, the other plants can provide some support. 87 00:04:12,752 --> 00:04:15,989 And you can buy these expensive litle circular dudes 88 00:04:15,989 --> 00:04:19,493 at good gardening shops that actually the English use a lot. 89 00:04:19,493 --> 00:04:21,461 They're like little mini tomato cages. 90 00:04:21,461 --> 00:04:22,929 - [Chris] Ah, I've seen those. 91 00:04:22,929 --> 00:04:25,298 - That'll support it, but a cheaper way for us to do it, 92 00:04:25,298 --> 00:04:27,934 and more down-home for the South, is to get just a 93 00:04:27,934 --> 00:04:31,071 big ol' piece of what I call hog wire fence and just 94 00:04:31,071 --> 00:04:33,740 set that out in the garden and let them grow through it 95 00:04:33,740 --> 00:04:35,308 and then they'll be supported if you know 96 00:04:35,308 --> 00:04:36,843 it's going to be a floppy plant. 97 00:04:36,843 --> 00:04:38,578 - [Chris] Okay, yeah, I like that. 98 00:04:38,578 --> 00:04:41,548 And I've seen that, of course, at some of the garden centers 99 00:04:41,548 --> 00:04:43,950 where you can buy it, the little hog wire. 100 00:04:43,950 --> 00:04:45,752 That's a real good idea. 101 00:04:45,752 --> 00:04:49,689 (pleasant banjo music) 102 00:04:49,689 --> 00:04:53,126 Is it possible to have blossom end rot on watermelons? 103 00:04:53,126 --> 00:04:55,295 It kind of looks like the same thing 104 00:04:55,295 --> 00:04:57,998 that happened on my tomatoes. 105 00:04:57,998 --> 00:04:59,900 What do you think of that, Tonya? Is it possible? 106 00:04:59,900 --> 00:05:01,701 - [Chris] Yes it is. - [Tonya] Yes, yes it is. 107 00:05:01,701 --> 00:05:05,005 And I would say the first thing you need to do is soil test. 108 00:05:05,005 --> 00:05:09,576 It could be a problem with calcium uptake, 109 00:05:09,576 --> 00:05:12,379 you may need to add lime for the next growing season. 110 00:05:12,379 --> 00:05:16,683 And blossom end rot can be also caused by 111 00:05:16,683 --> 00:05:21,688 uneven moisture levels or the moisture fluctuation, so 112 00:05:22,722 --> 00:05:27,727 make sure that in times of drought, they're getting water. 113 00:05:28,028 --> 00:05:30,430 So that's what you can do in the short-term, is make sure 114 00:05:30,430 --> 00:05:33,400 that you water appropiately, and then for next year 115 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,268 soil test and lime if needed. 116 00:05:35,268 --> 00:05:37,204 Is that what you think? 117 00:05:37,204 --> 00:05:38,572 - That's it. 118 00:05:38,572 --> 00:05:41,074 I know under real dry conditions, even if you have 119 00:05:41,074 --> 00:05:44,911 adequate calcium out there, under really dry conditions 120 00:05:44,911 --> 00:05:49,783 the plant can't take it up, so keep them watered, if your pH 121 00:05:49,783 --> 00:05:52,652 is right, keep them watered and you ought to be okay. 122 00:05:52,652 --> 00:05:56,289 - Yeah, and I always like to tell folks to mulch. 123 00:05:56,289 --> 00:05:58,625 It helps regulate soil moisture a lot. 124 00:05:58,625 --> 00:06:00,860 I think that'd be a good tool as well. 125 00:06:00,860 --> 00:06:03,830 - Also keep in mind that little spot got on that fruit 126 00:06:03,830 --> 00:06:05,632 when it was small, and just because 127 00:06:05,632 --> 00:06:08,702 you start doing measurements, that little spot's 128 00:06:08,702 --> 00:06:10,170 not going to go away. 129 00:06:10,170 --> 00:06:11,972 As a matter of fact, if that fruit grows, that little spot's 130 00:06:11,972 --> 00:06:14,841 going to grow, so what you're trying to take care of 131 00:06:14,841 --> 00:06:17,677 are the other fruit that do not have that little spot on it. 132 00:06:17,677 --> 00:06:19,980 You want to keep them from getting that little spot on them. 133 00:06:19,980 --> 00:06:23,850 (pleasant banjo music) 134 00:06:23,850 --> 00:06:27,420 - Hi Chris, I think I should have you over for supper, 135 00:06:27,420 --> 00:06:30,423 as many questions as I ask. 136 00:06:30,423 --> 00:06:34,361 We need to take that idea. - [Woman] What's on the menu? 137 00:06:34,361 --> 00:06:36,863 - Yeah, we need to see about that one. 138 00:06:36,863 --> 00:06:39,232 What are these bumps on my pecan tree? 139 00:06:39,232 --> 00:06:43,436 These bumps are everywhere, but only on one tree. 140 00:06:43,436 --> 00:06:45,939 Thanks, Miss Robin, and guess what Miss Robin. 141 00:06:45,939 --> 00:06:51,077 We have here today, Mr. D, who knows all about pecans. 142 00:06:51,077 --> 00:06:52,712 So we're going to sit back and listen. 143 00:06:52,712 --> 00:06:54,848 - Yeah, I used to live with pecans a few years ago. 144 00:06:54,848 --> 00:06:57,717 Yeah, that's pecan phylloxera, very common. 145 00:06:57,717 --> 00:07:02,455 It's caused by an insect that basically lays an egg 146 00:07:02,455 --> 00:07:05,659 during budbreak, right at budbreak. 147 00:07:05,659 --> 00:07:10,664 We actually have a home pecan fact sheet, if I can find it. 148 00:07:13,366 --> 00:07:16,636 Oh, here we are. 149 00:07:16,636 --> 00:07:21,641 Homeowner pecan spray guide that I took out of the Red Book. 150 00:07:22,008 --> 00:07:25,979 You know, you might want to make you a copy of that. 151 00:07:25,979 --> 00:07:30,150 That tells you how to control pecan phylloxera. 152 00:07:30,150 --> 00:07:34,087 I'm interested in...she said she only had one tree 153 00:07:34,087 --> 00:07:38,358 that had it, does that mean she only has one pecan tree? 154 00:07:38,358 --> 00:07:40,560 It will not get on other trees. 155 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,530 It doesn't get on oaks, or maples, or things like that. 156 00:07:43,530 --> 00:07:46,433 But, if you will spray, at budbreak, if the tree 157 00:07:46,433 --> 00:07:49,336 is small enough, if this is a small specimen pecan tree 158 00:07:49,336 --> 00:07:52,138 that's 10, 12 feet tall, you can spray it at budbreak 159 00:07:52,138 --> 00:07:57,143 with Thiomyl, Malathion, Merit 75WP, or Merit 2F. 160 00:07:57,877 --> 00:08:01,614 That one application will take care of phylloxera. 161 00:08:01,614 --> 00:08:03,650 You don't have to go down through the rest 162 00:08:03,650 --> 00:08:06,519 of the spray schedule to control phylloxera. 163 00:08:06,519 --> 00:08:09,656 That's the only one, it just shows up this time of year, 164 00:08:09,656 --> 00:08:13,026 and there's leaf phylloxera, there's stem phylloxera. 165 00:08:13,026 --> 00:08:16,096 It gets on the leaf and the stem. 166 00:08:16,096 --> 00:08:17,831 - Will it hurt the plant in any way? 167 00:08:17,831 --> 00:08:19,032 - It's not going to hurt the plant. 168 00:08:19,032 --> 00:08:21,434 It looks bad, it can be rather unsightly, 169 00:08:21,434 --> 00:08:23,436 but it's not going to kill the tree, 170 00:08:23,436 --> 00:08:24,938 it's not going to hurt the tree that much. 171 00:08:24,938 --> 00:08:28,141 If you got a 100 foot tall pecan tree, you can't do anything 172 00:08:28,141 --> 00:08:29,843 about it in a homeowner's situation. 173 00:08:29,843 --> 00:08:31,611 Commercial growers have no problem with it, 174 00:08:31,611 --> 00:08:33,046 because they have airblast sprayers. 175 00:08:33,046 --> 00:08:34,748 They go out there 176 00:08:34,748 --> 00:08:36,816 with their budbreak sprays and take care of it. 177 00:08:36,816 --> 00:08:41,388 (pleasant banjo music) 178 00:08:41,388 --> 00:08:44,357 - [Chris] I have a red-slash-brown large spots 179 00:08:44,357 --> 00:08:46,292 on our potted heuchera. 180 00:08:46,292 --> 00:08:48,928 What is it and how can I control it? 181 00:08:48,928 --> 00:08:50,830 And this is from George. 182 00:08:50,830 --> 00:08:53,733 I have heuchera in my own yard, in my own landscape 183 00:08:53,733 --> 00:08:56,469 some of the same spots, okay? 184 00:08:56,469 --> 00:09:00,607 It's just leaf spot. That's what it is. 185 00:09:00,607 --> 00:09:03,510 It's just leaf spot. Practice good sanitation. 186 00:09:03,510 --> 00:09:07,547 You know, make sure there's space between the plants, 187 00:09:07,547 --> 00:09:10,784 of course, because you want those leaves to dry off. 188 00:09:10,784 --> 00:09:13,553 Make sure you have well-drained soils, though. 189 00:09:13,553 --> 00:09:16,756 You definitely need that for your heuchera, and if you must, 190 00:09:16,756 --> 00:09:18,458 because that's what he's asking here, 191 00:09:18,458 --> 00:09:21,928 is for control, you can use a fungicide. 192 00:09:21,928 --> 00:09:25,131 Now I always tell folks let's use the safer fungicides, 193 00:09:25,131 --> 00:09:28,735 let's go with the copper soaps, sulfur is something else 194 00:09:28,735 --> 00:09:31,337 that's safe, if you don't want to use those, then there's 195 00:09:31,337 --> 00:09:33,606 the chlorothalonil, which is Daconil, 196 00:09:33,606 --> 00:09:35,442 you know, which is something you can use. 197 00:09:35,442 --> 00:09:37,744 But I always like to mention the safer, greener, 198 00:09:37,744 --> 00:09:40,780 products first, like the copper soaps and the sulfur. 199 00:09:40,780 --> 00:09:44,451 But there you have it. It's just leaf spot. 200 00:09:44,451 --> 00:09:47,153 And we see a lot of leaf spot this year because guess what. 201 00:09:47,153 --> 00:09:48,388 The weather. 202 00:09:48,388 --> 00:09:52,425 The weather pretty much dictates what diseases 203 00:09:52,425 --> 00:09:53,860 we're going to see, for the most part. 204 00:09:53,860 --> 00:09:55,261 - [Woman] That's true, yeah. 205 00:09:55,261 --> 00:09:56,696 - And these spots are right on the veins, 206 00:09:56,696 --> 00:09:59,265 so that leads me to believe that's leaf spot. 207 00:09:59,265 --> 00:10:01,167 - Yeah, that sounds like it to me, too. 208 00:10:01,167 --> 00:10:04,137 - And with all the rain we've had, it's hard to keep, 209 00:10:04,137 --> 00:10:05,939 even if you were spraying with the fungicide, 210 00:10:05,939 --> 00:10:08,274 it's more of a protectant, it's not a curative. 211 00:10:08,274 --> 00:10:10,743 So you know, the rain washes it off, 212 00:10:10,743 --> 00:10:12,812 you got to go back and spray it again, and it rains again. 213 00:10:12,812 --> 00:10:14,380 And what the rain does, is just splatter 214 00:10:14,380 --> 00:10:16,583 those little pathogen spores all over the place. 215 00:10:16,583 --> 00:10:20,019 It's hard to control, you know, leaf spots and things, 216 00:10:20,019 --> 00:10:21,888 when we've had a lot of rain. 217 00:10:21,888 --> 00:10:23,523 - And that's a good point, doc, because again, 218 00:10:23,523 --> 00:10:25,959 now it's not going to correct this leaf. 219 00:10:25,959 --> 00:10:29,062 So this leaf is gone, but it can protect some of those other 220 00:10:29,062 --> 00:10:32,465 leaves because fungicides are protective in nature, 221 00:10:32,465 --> 00:10:34,033 preventative in nature. - Exactly. 222 00:10:34,033 --> 00:10:37,804 I would tell them, too, if it's not a lot of leaves.. 223 00:10:37,804 --> 00:10:41,241 If it's just a few.. Like you said. 224 00:10:41,241 --> 00:10:43,576 Practice some sanitation, just remove them. 225 00:10:43,576 --> 00:10:46,146 Get rid of them, destroy them, and hopefully 226 00:10:46,146 --> 00:10:50,984 that might be a good way to control it. 227 00:10:50,984 --> 00:10:52,685 - [Chris] I think it would be. 228 00:10:52,685 --> 00:10:54,487 There are a number of gardening events 229 00:10:54,487 --> 00:10:57,023 going on in the next couple of weeks. 230 00:10:57,023 --> 00:10:59,158 Here are just a few that might interest you. 231 00:10:59,158 --> 00:11:03,730 (pleasant banjo music) 232 00:11:23,483 --> 00:11:26,986 This week, we are catching up on answering viewer questions. 233 00:11:26,986 --> 00:11:29,923 Here are some questions about animals and insects. 234 00:11:29,923 --> 00:11:33,026 We are going to start off with Japanese beetles. 235 00:11:33,026 --> 00:11:35,695 How do you control Japanese beetles? 236 00:11:35,695 --> 00:11:38,565 They are eating everything in sight in my garden. 237 00:11:38,565 --> 00:11:40,733 He's already shaking his head. 238 00:11:41,234 --> 00:11:44,003 - They've just been such a pain this year. 239 00:11:44,003 --> 00:11:45,204 There are so many of them. 240 00:11:45,204 --> 00:11:47,974 They've been here for a long time, 241 00:11:47,974 --> 00:11:50,209 and it looks like they're not going anywhere. 242 00:11:50,209 --> 00:11:53,880 They're a problem in farmer soybean fields. 243 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:57,951 They don't do a lot of damage.... 244 00:11:58,885 --> 00:12:00,587 They actually do a lot of damage. 245 00:12:00,587 --> 00:12:03,156 The damage they do, they have chewing mouth parts. 246 00:12:03,156 --> 00:12:06,059 They have little bitty mouths, though, so they basically 247 00:12:06,059 --> 00:12:11,064 skeletonize leaves, and I'm thinking if we continue 248 00:12:11,698 --> 00:12:13,433 to have problems like this, we're going to have to 249 00:12:13,433 --> 00:12:17,337 start to go earlier with some of the soil products. 250 00:12:17,337 --> 00:12:22,508 In the Red Book, it mentions Marathon in April. 251 00:12:22,508 --> 00:12:25,178 Soil application, that ran you in the middle, 252 00:12:25,178 --> 00:12:26,512 so you may want to do that. 253 00:12:26,512 --> 00:12:28,881 The only problem is they're very strong flyers. 254 00:12:28,881 --> 00:12:32,719 And if you kill all the larvae, they're like a white, 255 00:12:32,719 --> 00:12:37,290 grub worm in your soil, they do damage your turf grass 256 00:12:37,290 --> 00:12:41,995 and other plants when they feed in the soil as larvae. 257 00:12:44,030 --> 00:12:47,834 But they can really make your ornamentals look bad, 258 00:12:47,834 --> 00:12:52,839 and agricultural settings we don't normally recommend. 259 00:12:53,139 --> 00:12:57,577 Soybeans can take a tremendous amount of leaf damage. 260 00:12:57,577 --> 00:12:59,345 They can tolerate a tremendous amount of leaf damage 261 00:12:59,345 --> 00:13:02,348 without it adversely affecting the yield, and probably 262 00:13:02,348 --> 00:13:05,551 our ornamentals can, too, but it just looks bad. 263 00:13:05,551 --> 00:13:07,620 Either you have an aesthetic threshold, 264 00:13:07,620 --> 00:13:11,824 everybody's aesthetic threshold is different. 265 00:13:11,824 --> 00:13:16,896 The other, Sevin, Tempo, Decathlon, 266 00:13:16,896 --> 00:13:18,998 Tempo SC Ultra, Talstar, Scimitar, 267 00:13:18,998 --> 00:13:22,735 June, July, and early August, spray weekly. 268 00:13:22,735 --> 00:13:24,070 - Weekly... - Weekly. 269 00:13:24,070 --> 00:13:29,008 And that's not w-e-a-k-l-y, that's w-e-e-k-l-y. 270 00:13:29,242 --> 00:13:30,510 - Weekly, he says. 271 00:13:30,510 --> 00:13:33,146 - Agressively spray weekly. There you are. 272 00:13:33,146 --> 00:13:35,048 - Do you have any of those problems? 273 00:13:35,048 --> 00:13:36,516 With Japanese beetles in your landscape? 274 00:13:36,516 --> 00:13:39,519 - Yeah, I do. I actually have in my hanging baskets, 275 00:13:39,519 --> 00:13:41,554 I have a potato vine that's coming down 276 00:13:41,554 --> 00:13:46,559 and I have these beautiful skeletons of potato leaves. 277 00:13:47,460 --> 00:13:49,095 They're beautiful. 278 00:13:49,095 --> 00:13:50,930 - They definitely skeletonize your leaves. 279 00:13:50,930 --> 00:13:52,932 And Mr. D, you want to add something else to that? 280 00:13:52,932 --> 00:13:54,367 - Yeah, I do. 281 00:13:54,367 --> 00:13:57,136 A lot of folks, including a lot of my relatives, 282 00:13:57,136 --> 00:14:00,006 buy these bags at lawn and garden centers 283 00:14:00,006 --> 00:14:01,841 that have a pheromone attractant in it, 284 00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:04,944 and it attracts these, and in just a matter of hours 285 00:14:04,944 --> 00:14:08,414 they get completely full almost, in a day or two. 286 00:14:08,414 --> 00:14:12,952 They completely fill up with the Japanese beetles, 287 00:14:12,952 --> 00:14:15,054 and there's an insecticide in there that kills them. 288 00:14:15,054 --> 00:14:17,924 So you've got a big bag of dead Japanese beetles, 289 00:14:17,924 --> 00:14:20,793 and it works, and you can get some pleasure 290 00:14:20,793 --> 00:14:23,096 out of seeing those dead Japanese beetles. 291 00:14:23,096 --> 00:14:25,498 But, the thing that folks I don't think understand, is that 292 00:14:25,498 --> 00:14:29,802 there's a pheromone attractant in that bag that attracts 293 00:14:29,802 --> 00:14:32,205 Japanese beetles, and you may think 294 00:14:32,205 --> 00:14:34,173 you're only getting the ones in your yard. 295 00:14:34,173 --> 00:14:37,944 But they're downwind, if they can smell that pheromone, 296 00:14:37,944 --> 00:14:41,447 the males are coming. 297 00:14:41,447 --> 00:14:43,416 So you may be bringing in Japanese beetles 298 00:14:43,416 --> 00:14:46,452 from miles away to your backyard. 299 00:14:46,452 --> 00:14:51,457 So you've got to kind of weigh the advantages 300 00:14:51,724 --> 00:14:53,092 and disadvantages of doing that. 301 00:14:53,092 --> 00:14:57,196 - No bags for me. 302 00:14:57,196 --> 00:15:01,434 (pleasant banjo music) 303 00:15:01,434 --> 00:15:05,638 Last year I had a problem with birds eating my blueberries. 304 00:15:05,638 --> 00:15:07,740 You sure you didn't send this one in, Mr. D? 305 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:09,442 How do I keep them out of my bushes 306 00:15:09,442 --> 00:15:13,146 so they will not eat them all again? 307 00:15:13,146 --> 00:15:15,882 There are some things that you can try, and then 308 00:15:15,882 --> 00:15:18,351 something that you're probably going to have to do. 309 00:15:18,351 --> 00:15:23,356 The things you can try are an owl, stick you an owl up there 310 00:15:25,391 --> 00:15:30,396 to try to scare those birds away, or a snake, 311 00:15:30,930 --> 00:15:35,668 scatter you some plastic snakes around and those might 312 00:15:35,668 --> 00:15:40,673 give you some temporary relief. 313 00:15:41,174 --> 00:15:42,909 What you're probably going to have to do is put net around. 314 00:15:42,909 --> 00:15:45,978 Bird net. Put your structure around. 315 00:15:45,978 --> 00:15:48,247 Of course, you only need them on there 316 00:15:48,247 --> 00:15:50,149 when the blueberries are ripe, 317 00:15:50,149 --> 00:15:52,752 so you're talking about ten for three or four weeks. 318 00:15:52,752 --> 00:15:55,922 These rabbiteye type blueberries, 319 00:15:55,922 --> 00:15:59,959 they only get 20 feet tall in our area, 320 00:15:59,959 --> 00:16:02,662 so you only have to go 25 feet tall 321 00:16:02,662 --> 00:16:04,797 unless you prune them down to a smaller size. 322 00:16:04,797 --> 00:16:06,599 And you can, you can bring them down. 323 00:16:06,599 --> 00:16:08,100 You can control the height a little 324 00:16:08,100 --> 00:16:09,535 so that you only have to build 325 00:16:09,535 --> 00:16:13,239 a 10 or 12 foot tall structure around them. 326 00:16:13,239 --> 00:16:17,376 But that's the only way I know of, and there's certainly 327 00:16:17,376 --> 00:16:19,378 nothing you can spray to keep the birds out. 328 00:16:19,378 --> 00:16:20,613 - No, there's nothing you can do. 329 00:16:20,613 --> 00:16:23,516 - But I would try the frightening agents. 330 00:16:23,516 --> 00:16:28,521 I don't know if the noisemakers will help a lot. 331 00:16:28,921 --> 00:16:31,924 But I've seen owls and I've seen snakes 332 00:16:31,924 --> 00:16:36,729 work for a little while, but birds are pretty smart. 333 00:16:36,729 --> 00:16:38,631 They figure those things out pretty quick. 334 00:16:38,631 --> 00:16:42,101 (pleasant banjo music) 335 00:16:42,101 --> 00:16:45,738 - Red wasps are in every nook and cranny outside my home. 336 00:16:45,738 --> 00:16:47,240 Is there any way to keep wasps 337 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,775 from making their home at my home? 338 00:16:49,775 --> 00:16:52,078 This from Miss Liz. I like that. 339 00:16:52,078 --> 00:16:57,250 Wasps, so when I think of wasps, they like to be in areas 340 00:16:57,250 --> 00:16:58,885 where there's like open containers, 341 00:16:58,885 --> 00:17:01,921 where there's food around, so trash. 342 00:17:01,921 --> 00:17:04,056 Bins, and things like that, so make sure you don't have any 343 00:17:04,056 --> 00:17:08,427 spoiled fruit or anything like that lying around your area. 344 00:17:08,427 --> 00:17:10,529 Second thing is this, I actually do this at home, 345 00:17:10,529 --> 00:17:14,600 they make their homes, but their homes start out real small. 346 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:16,802 If you can spot them in time enough, 347 00:17:16,802 --> 00:17:18,070 I'd knock them down with a broom. 348 00:17:18,070 --> 00:17:19,305 - [Woman] With a paper wasp? Yeah. 349 00:17:19,305 --> 00:17:20,673 - Yeah, I just knock them off with a broom. 350 00:17:20,673 --> 00:17:21,908 And try to discourage them 351 00:17:21,908 --> 00:17:24,243 from coming back in that area again. 352 00:17:24,243 --> 00:17:27,580 And then thirdly, hey, you got nooks and crannies? 353 00:17:27,580 --> 00:17:31,083 I'd try to seal those up, you know, any little holes, 354 00:17:31,083 --> 00:17:34,086 or anything like that, I would seal that up, and hopefully 355 00:17:34,086 --> 00:17:35,888 that would discourage them from coming in as well. 356 00:17:35,888 --> 00:17:38,457 - Oh, and they hurt, too, when they sting you. 357 00:17:38,457 --> 00:17:40,326 And some people are allergic, which is kind of 358 00:17:40,326 --> 00:17:43,229 a real serious situation for some people. 359 00:17:43,229 --> 00:17:45,865 So they can be bad. 360 00:17:45,865 --> 00:17:48,768 And they'll want to get right under your porch. 361 00:17:48,768 --> 00:17:50,636 - Right under. 362 00:17:50,636 --> 00:17:53,039 - Or we had one, one time, that we had like a picnic table 363 00:17:53,039 --> 00:17:55,608 like this, and we had benches. 364 00:17:55,608 --> 00:17:58,811 You sat down, and there were wasps under the bench. 365 00:17:58,811 --> 00:18:00,346 And they'd come out and sting you right in the 366 00:18:00,346 --> 00:18:02,415 fatty part of your leg. 367 00:18:02,415 --> 00:18:05,084 Boy, you would just about flip the end 368 00:18:05,084 --> 00:18:07,253 of the picnic bench over, because oh those things... 369 00:18:07,253 --> 00:18:08,988 Just like getting hit with a hammer. 370 00:18:08,988 --> 00:18:13,192 So they can be in sort of scary places, so not a good thing. 371 00:18:13,192 --> 00:18:15,061 - Not a good thing, but if you can do those things 372 00:18:15,061 --> 00:18:16,596 that I just mentioned, I mean that would help 373 00:18:16,596 --> 00:18:19,799 to discourage them from coming around. 374 00:18:19,799 --> 00:18:20,967 - Alright Miss Liz, 375 00:18:20,967 --> 00:18:22,101 you be careful out there with those wasps. 376 00:18:22,101 --> 00:18:25,371 (pleasant banjo music) 377 00:18:25,371 --> 00:18:30,142 Can you have Mr. D talk about controlling possums? 378 00:18:30,142 --> 00:18:32,611 I live in rural Shelby County and they are 379 00:18:32,611 --> 00:18:34,947 wearing my place out. 380 00:18:34,947 --> 00:18:37,650 Mr. D, can you help us? 381 00:18:37,650 --> 00:18:40,886 - Well fortunately, since you live in a rural area, 382 00:18:40,886 --> 00:18:44,757 then you can use my number one control method 383 00:18:44,757 --> 00:18:46,325 for controlling possums. - I know what that method is. 384 00:18:46,325 --> 00:18:48,627 - It's a 12-year-old with a 20 gauge shotgun. 385 00:18:48,627 --> 00:18:49,829 (laughter) 386 00:18:49,829 --> 00:18:53,132 And number six shot or larger. 387 00:18:53,132 --> 00:18:56,035 That'll do the trick, and I'm reading this right here 388 00:18:56,035 --> 00:19:01,107 from my prevention and control of wildlife damage 389 00:19:01,107 --> 00:19:04,710 publication, and right down here, it says... 390 00:19:04,710 --> 00:19:06,645 Well, it doesn't say a 12-year-old, but it does say, 391 00:19:06,645 --> 00:19:09,915 "Shooting can be effective where firearms are permitted." 392 00:19:09,915 --> 00:19:13,152 And fortunately in rural areas, firearms are permitted. 393 00:19:13,152 --> 00:19:16,956 "Use a shot gun with number six shot or 22 caliber rifle." 394 00:19:16,956 --> 00:19:20,526 Another good thing about possums, 395 00:19:20,526 --> 00:19:25,531 they're really intelligent. They are intelligent critters. 396 00:19:25,731 --> 00:19:30,069 But they don't act intelligent, and they're not 397 00:19:30,069 --> 00:19:35,141 wary of people, they will easily go into traps. 398 00:19:35,141 --> 00:19:39,678 You can use the baits that you can use for live trap. 399 00:19:39,678 --> 00:19:43,482 Vegetables, apple slices, sardines, scrap meat, 400 00:19:43,482 --> 00:19:48,487 canned dog food, chicken entrails, fish, table scraps, 401 00:19:49,555 --> 00:19:53,759 any of those things will attract a possum. 402 00:19:53,759 --> 00:19:55,027 - [Chris] Pretty easy. 403 00:19:55,027 --> 00:19:59,665 - So trapping them, they are nocturnal primarily. 404 00:20:00,766 --> 00:20:05,104 If you see one running around in the daytime, 405 00:20:05,104 --> 00:20:07,940 be very careful because they can carry rabies. 406 00:20:07,940 --> 00:20:12,078 Not as common as raccoons, but they can carry rabies. 407 00:20:12,078 --> 00:20:13,979 But they are primarily nocturnal, 408 00:20:13,979 --> 00:20:15,414 you got a problem with them? 409 00:20:15,414 --> 00:20:17,950 Go out every once in a while with a good, high-powered 410 00:20:17,950 --> 00:20:20,886 light, spot light, and shine it around your property 411 00:20:20,886 --> 00:20:23,155 and blast them. 412 00:20:23,155 --> 00:20:27,493 I don't know of any better method to control them, 413 00:20:27,493 --> 00:20:28,761 really I don't. 414 00:20:28,761 --> 00:20:31,664 Maybe if you let your Jack Russell run free 415 00:20:31,664 --> 00:20:33,766 out in your yard all the time at night 416 00:20:33,766 --> 00:20:35,367 that would probably take care of it, too. 417 00:20:35,367 --> 00:20:38,070 - Alright. When in rural Shelby County... 418 00:20:38,070 --> 00:20:41,774 - A 12-year-old and a 20 gauge shotgun, hard to beat. 419 00:20:41,774 --> 00:20:43,542 - Hard to beat. Alright. 420 00:20:43,542 --> 00:20:46,712 (pleasant banjo music) 421 00:20:46,712 --> 00:20:49,682 What is the best way to get rid of ground bees? 422 00:20:49,682 --> 00:20:54,687 They have taken over my yard. Ground bees. 423 00:20:56,455 --> 00:21:01,160 - You know, most the time, when I've seen heavy infestations 424 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:02,895 of ground bees, it's been in areas 425 00:21:02,895 --> 00:21:05,631 where the grass is kind of thin, have you noticed that? 426 00:21:05,631 --> 00:21:07,032 - [Chris] I have. 427 00:21:07,032 --> 00:21:08,968 - So that kind of goes along with what you mentioned 428 00:21:08,968 --> 00:21:12,505 earlier, about some of the other problems we have, 429 00:21:12,505 --> 00:21:13,906 some of the weed problems. 430 00:21:13,906 --> 00:21:17,943 If you do a good job soil testing and make sure 431 00:21:17,943 --> 00:21:20,846 you try to get your turf as thick as you can get it, 432 00:21:20,846 --> 00:21:23,382 and fertilize it correctly, water it correctly, 433 00:21:23,382 --> 00:21:26,152 mow it correctly and all that, you may have fewer problems 434 00:21:26,152 --> 00:21:29,188 with these ground bees, because ground bees... 435 00:21:29,188 --> 00:21:31,290 I'm not seeing any university that recommends 436 00:21:31,290 --> 00:21:33,225 spraying insecticides to kill them. 437 00:21:33,225 --> 00:21:36,896 They're solitary bees, they're not going to sting you. 438 00:21:36,896 --> 00:21:40,166 They're looking for a place to burrow down in the ground, 439 00:21:40,166 --> 00:21:44,503 lay eggs, lay an egg, and you know, 440 00:21:44,503 --> 00:21:48,641 continue propagating their species. 441 00:21:51,243 --> 00:21:56,248 They like generally dry soil, so that may indicate 442 00:21:57,249 --> 00:21:59,185 that you need to irrigate a little bit more 443 00:21:59,185 --> 00:22:01,654 where these ground bees are. 444 00:22:01,654 --> 00:22:04,957 But they're really not a problem, they're just kind of 445 00:22:04,957 --> 00:22:07,760 unsightly, and they may irritate you a little bit. 446 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:12,765 I would look at initially putting a little water on them, 447 00:22:15,835 --> 00:22:18,804 chasing them out that way, and then trying to get 448 00:22:18,804 --> 00:22:21,207 the grass thicker, where they're a problem. 449 00:22:21,207 --> 00:22:22,608 - I would definitely recommend that as well. 450 00:22:22,608 --> 00:22:25,110 - I have seen them in lawns, though, a few years ago 451 00:22:25,110 --> 00:22:28,047 in the Bartlett area outside one lawn that I've never seen 452 00:22:28,047 --> 00:22:30,082 so many ground bee burrows in my life. 453 00:22:30,082 --> 00:22:33,886 They were all over the place, and that can be irritating. 454 00:22:33,886 --> 00:22:35,621 That can be scary, until you realize 455 00:22:35,621 --> 00:22:37,189 they're not going to sting you. 456 00:22:37,189 --> 00:22:39,825 - I recently went to a homeowner's site 457 00:22:39,825 --> 00:22:43,996 and she had ground bees, but the lawn was thinned. 458 00:22:43,996 --> 00:22:48,300 She was trying to grow the wrong grass type 459 00:22:48,300 --> 00:22:51,203 under a lot of shade, so it just thinned out her lawn. 460 00:22:51,203 --> 00:22:53,772 Ground bees were all over the place. 461 00:22:53,772 --> 00:22:56,408 And it scared her, because when I drove up I could see 462 00:22:56,408 --> 00:22:59,311 the ground bees very visibly, 463 00:22:59,311 --> 00:23:01,347 they were just flying all over the place. 464 00:23:01,347 --> 00:23:02,948 I said wow, how about that? 465 00:23:02,948 --> 00:23:05,417 - Probably don't need to aerate. 466 00:23:05,417 --> 00:23:07,219 - No, because they're doing that for you. 467 00:23:07,219 --> 00:23:08,587 - Free aeration. 468 00:23:08,587 --> 00:23:09,722 - Yeah, they leave small, little round holes. 469 00:23:09,722 --> 00:23:11,557 They sure do. - Wow, how 'bout that. 470 00:23:11,557 --> 00:23:15,194 - They're good questions, and these are things that we see 471 00:23:15,194 --> 00:23:16,528 out in our landscapes all the time. 472 00:23:16,528 --> 00:23:20,432 (pleasant banjo music) 473 00:23:20,432 --> 00:23:24,069 Can you use vole bait around dogs? 474 00:23:24,069 --> 00:23:27,773 What would happen if my dog ate some of the bait? 475 00:23:27,773 --> 00:23:29,208 It's a legit question. 476 00:23:29,208 --> 00:23:31,443 - Yeah, that's not a good thing. Not a good thing. 477 00:23:31,443 --> 00:23:36,515 Most of the rodenticides are toxic to cats and dogs, 478 00:23:36,515 --> 00:23:41,520 so it's a good idea to put your baits in either a closed 479 00:23:42,154 --> 00:23:45,991 bait station that only the vole can get into, 480 00:23:45,991 --> 00:23:49,495 or, unless your dog is a heck of a digger, 481 00:23:49,495 --> 00:23:53,799 you can make a little hole in the tunnel and use a funnel 482 00:23:53,799 --> 00:23:57,369 and pour the bait in the tunnel, so it's underground. 483 00:23:57,369 --> 00:23:59,238 That's a couple things that you can do. 484 00:23:59,238 --> 00:24:01,006 Or you can use something other than baits. 485 00:24:01,006 --> 00:24:03,876 You can use live traps to catch them, or the snap traps, 486 00:24:03,876 --> 00:24:06,745 things like that, set you up with a bait station with 487 00:24:06,745 --> 00:24:10,582 five or six of those traps and go back 488 00:24:10,582 --> 00:24:12,518 and collect voles every once in a while. 489 00:24:12,518 --> 00:24:15,587 Of course, I guess your dog can get his nose 490 00:24:15,587 --> 00:24:20,592 caught in the snap trap, too, but it won't kill him. 491 00:24:21,327 --> 00:24:24,730 You want to make sure that any rodenticide, 492 00:24:24,730 --> 00:24:29,268 that you have it in an area that pets can't get to. 493 00:24:29,268 --> 00:24:33,138 I'm not sure they would eat it, because it's not normally 494 00:24:33,138 --> 00:24:38,143 attractive to dogs or cats, but some dogs will eat anything. 495 00:24:39,611 --> 00:24:44,717 I don't know about cats, but some dogs will eat rocks. 496 00:24:44,717 --> 00:24:47,853 Some dogs aren't real smart. 497 00:24:47,853 --> 00:24:51,056 - Definitely want to be careful around your pets 498 00:24:51,056 --> 00:24:52,558 and around little kids. 499 00:24:52,558 --> 00:24:53,959 - [Woman] Yes. - [Mike] Children, mostly. 500 00:24:53,959 --> 00:24:55,594 - Definitely want to be careful around little kids. 501 00:24:55,594 --> 00:24:57,529 Don't want them getting into these baits. 502 00:24:57,529 --> 00:25:00,632 Remember, we love to hear from you. 503 00:25:00,632 --> 00:25:04,837 Send us a letter or an email with your gardening questions. 504 00:25:04,837 --> 00:25:09,775 Send your email to familyplot@wkno.org 505 00:25:09,775 --> 00:25:12,344 The mailing address is: Family Plot 506 00:25:12,344 --> 00:25:20,352 7151 Cherry Farms Road Cordova, Tennessee 38016 507 00:25:20,352 --> 00:25:22,955 That's all we have time for today. 508 00:25:22,955 --> 00:25:24,957 Hope you enjoyed all those answers. 509 00:25:24,957 --> 00:25:27,126 Thanks for watching, I'm Chris Cooper. 510 00:25:27,126 --> 00:25:29,795 Be sure to join us next time for "The Family Plot: 511 00:25:29,795 --> 00:25:31,230 Gardening in the Mid-South". 512 00:25:31,230 --> 00:25:32,931 Be safe. 513 00:25:32,931 --> 00:25:36,931 (pleasant banjo music)