WEBVTT 00:01.134 --> 00:03.303 - Hi, thanks for joining us for "The Family Plot: 00:03.303 --> 00:04.605 Gardening in the Mid-South". 00:04.605 --> 00:06.039 I'm Chris Cooper. 00:06.039 --> 00:08.775 Today, we're going to answer a lot of viewer questions 00:08.775 --> 00:13.046 on tomatoes, watermelons, bees, birds, and more. 00:13.046 --> 00:14.715 That's just ahead on "The Family Plot: 00:14.715 --> 00:16.316 Gardening in the Mid-South". 00:16.316 --> 00:19.353 - [Voiceover] Production funding for "The Family Plot: 00:19.353 --> 00:21.889 Gardening in the Mid-South" is provided by: 00:21.889 --> 00:24.791 Good Winds Landscape and Garden Center 00:24.791 --> 00:28.462 in Germantown since 1943, and continuing to offer 00:28.462 --> 00:30.497 its plants for successful gardening 00:30.497 --> 00:33.600 with seven greenhouses and three acres of plants, 00:33.600 --> 00:36.336 plus comprehensive landscape services; 00:37.304 --> 00:41.041 International Paper Foundation; 00:41.041 --> 00:45.779 the WKNO Production Fund; the WKNO Endowment Fund; 00:45.779 --> 00:47.981 and by viewers like you. 00:47.981 --> 00:49.249 Thank you. 00:49.249 --> 00:54.254 (pleasant banjo music) 00:58.358 --> 01:01.461 - Welcome to "The Family Plot". I'm Chris Cooper. 01:01.461 --> 01:04.431 This week, we're going to answer lots of viewer questions 01:04.431 --> 01:06.533 we have received over the past few months. 01:06.533 --> 01:09.836 We're dividing the questions into two categories. 01:09.836 --> 01:13.340 In a few minutes, we will talk about insects and animals. 01:13.340 --> 01:16.677 But first, here's some questions we've gotten about plants. 01:19.346 --> 01:21.782 The tree in my backyard is dripping a sticky 01:21.782 --> 01:23.550 sap-like mess everywhere 01:23.550 --> 01:26.753 which causes everything to be sticky. 01:26.753 --> 01:30.490 What in the tree is causing that? 01:30.490 --> 01:32.926 - Well you know what? It'd be good to know 01:32.926 --> 01:34.361 what kind of tree that was. 01:34.361 --> 01:35.862 - It would be good to know what kind of tree that was. 01:35.862 --> 01:39.533 - I'll bet it's either a pecan or maybe a maple. 01:40.133 --> 01:45.005 But if it's aphids, and that tree are secreting a substance 01:45.005 --> 01:48.842 called honeydew, and the leaves are probably shining. 01:48.842 --> 01:53.146 It's a very common situation, I wouldn't worry about it. 01:53.146 --> 01:56.516 Aphids normally, when they build up to very high levels, 01:56.516 --> 01:59.720 predators will come in and feed on them and also 01:59.720 --> 02:02.422 there are diseases that take aphids out. 02:02.422 --> 02:04.725 So I wouldn't worry a whole lot about that. 02:04.725 --> 02:07.694 The sticky substance that drops on everything, pretty soon, 02:07.694 --> 02:09.930 another substance is going to start growing 02:09.930 --> 02:12.866 on that sticky substance called "sooty mold" 02:12.866 --> 02:17.638 and it will turn black, so it would be a good idea, 02:17.638 --> 02:21.441 especially if it's your car under there, to wash it. 02:21.441 --> 02:25.178 Wash everything that the sticky stuff is falling on. 02:25.178 --> 02:27.347 Wash it off, and you could use detergent. 02:27.347 --> 02:30.250 Regular detergent can take it off and maybe prevent 02:30.250 --> 02:31.885 the sooty mold from taking over. 02:31.885 --> 02:34.321 - Alright so it's honeydew. - Honeydew. 02:34.321 --> 02:36.289 - So the next time you walking under a tree 02:36.289 --> 02:38.725 and it's not raining, it could be... 02:38.725 --> 02:41.094 - Honeydew. And that's a very, very nice way of saying 02:41.094 --> 02:42.729 "aphid poo-poo". 02:42.729 --> 02:44.664 (laughter) 02:44.664 --> 02:45.699 - That's what it could be. 02:45.699 --> 02:48.702 (pleasant banjo music) 02:48.702 --> 02:53.273 My tomatoes have rotted on the vine while still green. 02:53.273 --> 02:54.641 Why is that, doc? 02:54.641 --> 02:57.044 - Oh, gee, I don't know. That one, really, 02:57.044 --> 03:01.048 a picture would have been really good because 03:01.048 --> 03:04.051 rotting to me may not be exactly 03:04.051 --> 03:05.852 what he thinks is rotting, or she. 03:05.852 --> 03:08.822 So, we talked about this a little bit, Chris, 03:08.822 --> 03:13.226 and you think...and I think this is probably right, 03:13.226 --> 03:16.163 that if it's the bottom or the blossom end of the fruit 03:16.163 --> 03:18.532 that's rotting, that's blossom end rot. 03:18.532 --> 03:22.769 But if it's rotting in other parts of the fruit, that's just 03:22.769 --> 03:24.571 some kind of disease, you know... 03:24.571 --> 03:26.373 - [Chris] Some kind of blight or something. 03:26.373 --> 03:29.276 - So, you know, again with the fungicide treatment, 03:29.276 --> 03:31.745 but if it's the blossom end rot, 03:31.745 --> 03:35.148 then that is a problem with water uptake. 03:35.148 --> 03:39.486 Because of calcium not being taken up in the water. 03:39.486 --> 03:42.889 So having plenty of water, even soil moisture, 03:42.889 --> 03:46.560 checking your pH, make sure you got the available calcium, 03:46.560 --> 03:48.795 the pH is right, should take care of that. 03:48.795 --> 03:52.999 (pleasant banjo music) 03:52.999 --> 03:55.268 - [Chris] What is the best way to keep all tall plants 03:55.268 --> 03:57.604 from falling over, especially in the wind? 03:57.604 --> 03:59.606 - Becky let's let you go first. 03:59.606 --> 04:01.141 (laughter) 04:01.141 --> 04:04.744 - Okay, I would stake them some way, or put them close 04:04.744 --> 04:08.014 to the fence, so they have something to lean up against. 04:08.014 --> 04:09.549 Okay, go. 04:09.549 --> 04:12.752 - Well, the other plants can provide some support. 04:12.752 --> 04:15.989 And you can buy these expensive litle circular dudes 04:15.989 --> 04:19.493 at good gardening shops that actually the English use a lot. 04:19.493 --> 04:21.461 They're like little mini tomato cages. 04:21.461 --> 04:22.929 - [Chris] Ah, I've seen those. 04:22.929 --> 04:25.298 - That'll support it, but a cheaper way for us to do it, 04:25.298 --> 04:27.934 and more down-home for the South, is to get just a 04:27.934 --> 04:31.071 big ol' piece of what I call hog wire fence and just 04:31.071 --> 04:33.740 set that out in the garden and let them grow through it 04:33.740 --> 04:35.308 and then they'll be supported if you know 04:35.308 --> 04:36.843 it's going to be a floppy plant. 04:36.843 --> 04:38.578 - [Chris] Okay, yeah, I like that. 04:38.578 --> 04:41.548 And I've seen that, of course, at some of the garden centers 04:41.548 --> 04:43.950 where you can buy it, the little hog wire. 04:43.950 --> 04:45.752 That's a real good idea. 04:45.752 --> 04:49.689 (pleasant banjo music) 04:49.689 --> 04:53.126 Is it possible to have blossom end rot on watermelons? 04:53.126 --> 04:55.295 It kind of looks like the same thing 04:55.295 --> 04:57.998 that happened on my tomatoes. 04:57.998 --> 04:59.900 What do you think of that, Tonya? Is it possible? 04:59.900 --> 05:01.701 - [Chris] Yes it is. - [Tonya] Yes, yes it is. 05:01.701 --> 05:05.005 And I would say the first thing you need to do is soil test. 05:05.005 --> 05:09.576 It could be a problem with calcium uptake, 05:09.576 --> 05:12.379 you may need to add lime for the next growing season. 05:12.379 --> 05:16.683 And blossom end rot can be also caused by 05:16.683 --> 05:21.688 uneven moisture levels or the moisture fluctuation, so 05:22.722 --> 05:27.727 make sure that in times of drought, they're getting water. 05:28.028 --> 05:30.430 So that's what you can do in the short-term, is make sure 05:30.430 --> 05:33.400 that you water appropiately, and then for next year 05:33.400 --> 05:35.268 soil test and lime if needed. 05:35.268 --> 05:37.204 Is that what you think? 05:37.204 --> 05:38.572 - That's it. 05:38.572 --> 05:41.074 I know under real dry conditions, even if you have 05:41.074 --> 05:44.911 adequate calcium out there, under really dry conditions 05:44.911 --> 05:49.783 the plant can't take it up, so keep them watered, if your pH 05:49.783 --> 05:52.652 is right, keep them watered and you ought to be okay. 05:52.652 --> 05:56.289 - Yeah, and I always like to tell folks to mulch. 05:56.289 --> 05:58.625 It helps regulate soil moisture a lot. 05:58.625 --> 06:00.860 I think that'd be a good tool as well. 06:00.860 --> 06:03.830 - Also keep in mind that little spot got on that fruit 06:03.830 --> 06:05.632 when it was small, and just because 06:05.632 --> 06:08.702 you start doing measurements, that little spot's 06:08.702 --> 06:10.170 not going to go away. 06:10.170 --> 06:11.972 As a matter of fact, if that fruit grows, that little spot's 06:11.972 --> 06:14.841 going to grow, so what you're trying to take care of 06:14.841 --> 06:17.677 are the other fruit that do not have that little spot on it. 06:17.677 --> 06:19.980 You want to keep them from getting that little spot on them. 06:19.980 --> 06:23.850 (pleasant banjo music) 06:23.850 --> 06:27.420 - Hi Chris, I think I should have you over for supper, 06:27.420 --> 06:30.423 as many questions as I ask. 06:30.423 --> 06:34.361 We need to take that idea. - [Woman] What's on the menu? 06:34.361 --> 06:36.863 - Yeah, we need to see about that one. 06:36.863 --> 06:39.232 What are these bumps on my pecan tree? 06:39.232 --> 06:43.436 These bumps are everywhere, but only on one tree. 06:43.436 --> 06:45.939 Thanks, Miss Robin, and guess what Miss Robin. 06:45.939 --> 06:51.077 We have here today, Mr. D, who knows all about pecans. 06:51.077 --> 06:52.712 So we're going to sit back and listen. 06:52.712 --> 06:54.848 - Yeah, I used to live with pecans a few years ago. 06:54.848 --> 06:57.717 Yeah, that's pecan phylloxera, very common. 06:57.717 --> 07:02.455 It's caused by an insect that basically lays an egg 07:02.455 --> 07:05.659 during budbreak, right at budbreak. 07:05.659 --> 07:10.664 We actually have a home pecan fact sheet, if I can find it. 07:13.366 --> 07:16.636 Oh, here we are. 07:16.636 --> 07:21.641 Homeowner pecan spray guide that I took out of the Red Book. 07:22.008 --> 07:25.979 You know, you might want to make you a copy of that. 07:25.979 --> 07:30.150 That tells you how to control pecan phylloxera. 07:30.150 --> 07:34.087 I'm interested in...she said she only had one tree 07:34.087 --> 07:38.358 that had it, does that mean she only has one pecan tree? 07:38.358 --> 07:40.560 It will not get on other trees. 07:40.560 --> 07:43.530 It doesn't get on oaks, or maples, or things like that. 07:43.530 --> 07:46.433 But, if you will spray, at budbreak, if the tree 07:46.433 --> 07:49.336 is small enough, if this is a small specimen pecan tree 07:49.336 --> 07:52.138 that's 10, 12 feet tall, you can spray it at budbreak 07:52.138 --> 07:57.143 with Thiomyl, Malathion, Merit 75WP, or Merit 2F. 07:57.877 --> 08:01.614 That one application will take care of phylloxera. 08:01.614 --> 08:03.650 You don't have to go down through the rest 08:03.650 --> 08:06.519 of the spray schedule to control phylloxera. 08:06.519 --> 08:09.656 That's the only one, it just shows up this time of year, 08:09.656 --> 08:13.026 and there's leaf phylloxera, there's stem phylloxera. 08:13.026 --> 08:16.096 It gets on the leaf and the stem. 08:16.096 --> 08:17.831 - Will it hurt the plant in any way? 08:17.831 --> 08:19.032 - It's not going to hurt the plant. 08:19.032 --> 08:21.434 It looks bad, it can be rather unsightly, 08:21.434 --> 08:23.436 but it's not going to kill the tree, 08:23.436 --> 08:24.938 it's not going to hurt the tree that much. 08:24.938 --> 08:28.141 If you got a 100 foot tall pecan tree, you can't do anything 08:28.141 --> 08:29.843 about it in a homeowner's situation. 08:29.843 --> 08:31.611 Commercial growers have no problem with it, 08:31.611 --> 08:33.046 because they have airblast sprayers. 08:33.046 --> 08:34.748 They go out there 08:34.748 --> 08:36.816 with their budbreak sprays and take care of it. 08:36.816 --> 08:41.388 (pleasant banjo music) 08:41.388 --> 08:44.357 - [Chris] I have a red-slash-brown large spots 08:44.357 --> 08:46.292 on our potted heuchera. 08:46.292 --> 08:48.928 What is it and how can I control it? 08:48.928 --> 08:50.830 And this is from George. 08:50.830 --> 08:53.733 I have heuchera in my own yard, in my own landscape 08:53.733 --> 08:56.469 some of the same spots, okay? 08:56.469 --> 09:00.607 It's just leaf spot. That's what it is. 09:00.607 --> 09:03.510 It's just leaf spot. Practice good sanitation. 09:03.510 --> 09:07.547 You know, make sure there's space between the plants, 09:07.547 --> 09:10.784 of course, because you want those leaves to dry off. 09:10.784 --> 09:13.553 Make sure you have well-drained soils, though. 09:13.553 --> 09:16.756 You definitely need that for your heuchera, and if you must, 09:16.756 --> 09:18.458 because that's what he's asking here, 09:18.458 --> 09:21.928 is for control, you can use a fungicide. 09:21.928 --> 09:25.131 Now I always tell folks let's use the safer fungicides, 09:25.131 --> 09:28.735 let's go with the copper soaps, sulfur is something else 09:28.735 --> 09:31.337 that's safe, if you don't want to use those, then there's 09:31.337 --> 09:33.606 the chlorothalonil, which is Daconil, 09:33.606 --> 09:35.442 you know, which is something you can use. 09:35.442 --> 09:37.744 But I always like to mention the safer, greener, 09:37.744 --> 09:40.780 products first, like the copper soaps and the sulfur. 09:40.780 --> 09:44.451 But there you have it. It's just leaf spot. 09:44.451 --> 09:47.153 And we see a lot of leaf spot this year because guess what. 09:47.153 --> 09:48.388 The weather. 09:48.388 --> 09:52.425 The weather pretty much dictates what diseases 09:52.425 --> 09:53.860 we're going to see, for the most part. 09:53.860 --> 09:55.261 - [Woman] That's true, yeah. 09:55.261 --> 09:56.696 - And these spots are right on the veins, 09:56.696 --> 09:59.265 so that leads me to believe that's leaf spot. 09:59.265 --> 10:01.167 - Yeah, that sounds like it to me, too. 10:01.167 --> 10:04.137 - And with all the rain we've had, it's hard to keep, 10:04.137 --> 10:05.939 even if you were spraying with the fungicide, 10:05.939 --> 10:08.274 it's more of a protectant, it's not a curative. 10:08.274 --> 10:10.743 So you know, the rain washes it off, 10:10.743 --> 10:12.812 you got to go back and spray it again, and it rains again. 10:12.812 --> 10:14.380 And what the rain does, is just splatter 10:14.380 --> 10:16.583 those little pathogen spores all over the place. 10:16.583 --> 10:20.019 It's hard to control, you know, leaf spots and things, 10:20.019 --> 10:21.888 when we've had a lot of rain. 10:21.888 --> 10:23.523 - And that's a good point, doc, because again, 10:23.523 --> 10:25.959 now it's not going to correct this leaf. 10:25.959 --> 10:29.062 So this leaf is gone, but it can protect some of those other 10:29.062 --> 10:32.465 leaves because fungicides are protective in nature, 10:32.465 --> 10:34.033 preventative in nature. - Exactly. 10:34.033 --> 10:37.804 I would tell them, too, if it's not a lot of leaves.. 10:37.804 --> 10:41.241 If it's just a few.. Like you said. 10:41.241 --> 10:43.576 Practice some sanitation, just remove them. 10:43.576 --> 10:46.146 Get rid of them, destroy them, and hopefully 10:46.146 --> 10:50.984 that might be a good way to control it. 10:50.984 --> 10:52.685 - [Chris] I think it would be. 10:52.685 --> 10:54.487 There are a number of gardening events 10:54.487 --> 10:57.023 going on in the next couple of weeks. 10:57.023 --> 10:59.158 Here are just a few that might interest you. 10:59.158 --> 11:03.730 (pleasant banjo music) 11:23.483 --> 11:26.986 This week, we are catching up on answering viewer questions. 11:26.986 --> 11:29.923 Here are some questions about animals and insects. 11:29.923 --> 11:33.026 We are going to start off with Japanese beetles. 11:33.026 --> 11:35.695 How do you control Japanese beetles? 11:35.695 --> 11:38.565 They are eating everything in sight in my garden. 11:38.565 --> 11:40.733 He's already shaking his head. 11:41.234 --> 11:44.003 - They've just been such a pain this year. 11:44.003 --> 11:45.204 There are so many of them. 11:45.204 --> 11:47.974 They've been here for a long time, 11:47.974 --> 11:50.209 and it looks like they're not going anywhere. 11:50.209 --> 11:53.880 They're a problem in farmer soybean fields. 11:53.880 --> 11:57.951 They don't do a lot of damage.... 11:58.885 --> 12:00.587 They actually do a lot of damage. 12:00.587 --> 12:03.156 The damage they do, they have chewing mouth parts. 12:03.156 --> 12:06.059 They have little bitty mouths, though, so they basically 12:06.059 --> 12:11.064 skeletonize leaves, and I'm thinking if we continue 12:11.698 --> 12:13.433 to have problems like this, we're going to have to 12:13.433 --> 12:17.337 start to go earlier with some of the soil products. 12:17.337 --> 12:22.508 In the Red Book, it mentions Marathon in April. 12:22.508 --> 12:25.178 Soil application, that ran you in the middle, 12:25.178 --> 12:26.512 so you may want to do that. 12:26.512 --> 12:28.881 The only problem is they're very strong flyers. 12:28.881 --> 12:32.719 And if you kill all the larvae, they're like a white, 12:32.719 --> 12:37.290 grub worm in your soil, they do damage your turf grass 12:37.290 --> 12:41.995 and other plants when they feed in the soil as larvae. 12:44.030 --> 12:47.834 But they can really make your ornamentals look bad, 12:47.834 --> 12:52.839 and agricultural settings we don't normally recommend. 12:53.139 --> 12:57.577 Soybeans can take a tremendous amount of leaf damage. 12:57.577 --> 12:59.345 They can tolerate a tremendous amount of leaf damage 12:59.345 --> 13:02.348 without it adversely affecting the yield, and probably 13:02.348 --> 13:05.551 our ornamentals can, too, but it just looks bad. 13:05.551 --> 13:07.620 Either you have an aesthetic threshold, 13:07.620 --> 13:11.824 everybody's aesthetic threshold is different. 13:11.824 --> 13:16.896 The other, Sevin, Tempo, Decathlon, 13:16.896 --> 13:18.998 Tempo SC Ultra, Talstar, Scimitar, 13:18.998 --> 13:22.735 June, July, and early August, spray weekly. 13:22.735 --> 13:24.070 - Weekly... - Weekly. 13:24.070 --> 13:29.008 And that's not w-e-a-k-l-y, that's w-e-e-k-l-y. 13:29.242 --> 13:30.510 - Weekly, he says. 13:30.510 --> 13:33.146 - Agressively spray weekly. There you are. 13:33.146 --> 13:35.048 - Do you have any of those problems? 13:35.048 --> 13:36.516 With Japanese beetles in your landscape? 13:36.516 --> 13:39.519 - Yeah, I do. I actually have in my hanging baskets, 13:39.519 --> 13:41.554 I have a potato vine that's coming down 13:41.554 --> 13:46.559 and I have these beautiful skeletons of potato leaves. 13:47.460 --> 13:49.095 They're beautiful. 13:49.095 --> 13:50.930 - They definitely skeletonize your leaves. 13:50.930 --> 13:52.932 And Mr. D, you want to add something else to that? 13:52.932 --> 13:54.367 - Yeah, I do. 13:54.367 --> 13:57.136 A lot of folks, including a lot of my relatives, 13:57.136 --> 14:00.006 buy these bags at lawn and garden centers 14:00.006 --> 14:01.841 that have a pheromone attractant in it, 14:01.841 --> 14:04.944 and it attracts these, and in just a matter of hours 14:04.944 --> 14:08.414 they get completely full almost, in a day or two. 14:08.414 --> 14:12.952 They completely fill up with the Japanese beetles, 14:12.952 --> 14:15.054 and there's an insecticide in there that kills them. 14:15.054 --> 14:17.924 So you've got a big bag of dead Japanese beetles, 14:17.924 --> 14:20.793 and it works, and you can get some pleasure 14:20.793 --> 14:23.096 out of seeing those dead Japanese beetles. 14:23.096 --> 14:25.498 But, the thing that folks I don't think understand, is that 14:25.498 --> 14:29.802 there's a pheromone attractant in that bag that attracts 14:29.802 --> 14:32.205 Japanese beetles, and you may think 14:32.205 --> 14:34.173 you're only getting the ones in your yard. 14:34.173 --> 14:37.944 But they're downwind, if they can smell that pheromone, 14:37.944 --> 14:41.447 the males are coming. 14:41.447 --> 14:43.416 So you may be bringing in Japanese beetles 14:43.416 --> 14:46.452 from miles away to your backyard. 14:46.452 --> 14:51.457 So you've got to kind of weigh the advantages 14:51.724 --> 14:53.092 and disadvantages of doing that. 14:53.092 --> 14:57.196 - No bags for me. 14:57.196 --> 15:01.434 (pleasant banjo music) 15:01.434 --> 15:05.638 Last year I had a problem with birds eating my blueberries. 15:05.638 --> 15:07.740 You sure you didn't send this one in, Mr. D? 15:07.740 --> 15:09.442 How do I keep them out of my bushes 15:09.442 --> 15:13.146 so they will not eat them all again? 15:13.146 --> 15:15.882 There are some things that you can try, and then 15:15.882 --> 15:18.351 something that you're probably going to have to do. 15:18.351 --> 15:23.356 The things you can try are an owl, stick you an owl up there 15:25.391 --> 15:30.396 to try to scare those birds away, or a snake, 15:30.930 --> 15:35.668 scatter you some plastic snakes around and those might 15:35.668 --> 15:40.673 give you some temporary relief. 15:41.174 --> 15:42.909 What you're probably going to have to do is put net around. 15:42.909 --> 15:45.978 Bird net. Put your structure around. 15:45.978 --> 15:48.247 Of course, you only need them on there 15:48.247 --> 15:50.149 when the blueberries are ripe, 15:50.149 --> 15:52.752 so you're talking about ten for three or four weeks. 15:52.752 --> 15:55.922 These rabbiteye type blueberries, 15:55.922 --> 15:59.959 they only get 20 feet tall in our area, 15:59.959 --> 16:02.662 so you only have to go 25 feet tall 16:02.662 --> 16:04.797 unless you prune them down to a smaller size. 16:04.797 --> 16:06.599 And you can, you can bring them down. 16:06.599 --> 16:08.100 You can control the height a little 16:08.100 --> 16:09.535 so that you only have to build 16:09.535 --> 16:13.239 a 10 or 12 foot tall structure around them. 16:13.239 --> 16:17.376 But that's the only way I know of, and there's certainly 16:17.376 --> 16:19.378 nothing you can spray to keep the birds out. 16:19.378 --> 16:20.613 - No, there's nothing you can do. 16:20.613 --> 16:23.516 - But I would try the frightening agents. 16:23.516 --> 16:28.521 I don't know if the noisemakers will help a lot. 16:28.921 --> 16:31.924 But I've seen owls and I've seen snakes 16:31.924 --> 16:36.729 work for a little while, but birds are pretty smart. 16:36.729 --> 16:38.631 They figure those things out pretty quick. 16:38.631 --> 16:42.101 (pleasant banjo music) 16:42.101 --> 16:45.738 - Red wasps are in every nook and cranny outside my home. 16:45.738 --> 16:47.240 Is there any way to keep wasps 16:47.240 --> 16:49.775 from making their home at my home? 16:49.775 --> 16:52.078 This from Miss Liz. I like that. 16:52.078 --> 16:57.250 Wasps, so when I think of wasps, they like to be in areas 16:57.250 --> 16:58.885 where there's like open containers, 16:58.885 --> 17:01.921 where there's food around, so trash. 17:01.921 --> 17:04.056 Bins, and things like that, so make sure you don't have any 17:04.056 --> 17:08.427 spoiled fruit or anything like that lying around your area. 17:08.427 --> 17:10.529 Second thing is this, I actually do this at home, 17:10.529 --> 17:14.600 they make their homes, but their homes start out real small. 17:14.600 --> 17:16.802 If you can spot them in time enough, 17:16.802 --> 17:18.070 I'd knock them down with a broom. 17:18.070 --> 17:19.305 - [Woman] With a paper wasp? Yeah. 17:19.305 --> 17:20.673 - Yeah, I just knock them off with a broom. 17:20.673 --> 17:21.908 And try to discourage them 17:21.908 --> 17:24.243 from coming back in that area again. 17:24.243 --> 17:27.580 And then thirdly, hey, you got nooks and crannies? 17:27.580 --> 17:31.083 I'd try to seal those up, you know, any little holes, 17:31.083 --> 17:34.086 or anything like that, I would seal that up, and hopefully 17:34.086 --> 17:35.888 that would discourage them from coming in as well. 17:35.888 --> 17:38.457 - Oh, and they hurt, too, when they sting you. 17:38.457 --> 17:40.326 And some people are allergic, which is kind of 17:40.326 --> 17:43.229 a real serious situation for some people. 17:43.229 --> 17:45.865 So they can be bad. 17:45.865 --> 17:48.768 And they'll want to get right under your porch. 17:48.768 --> 17:50.636 - Right under. 17:50.636 --> 17:53.039 - Or we had one, one time, that we had like a picnic table 17:53.039 --> 17:55.608 like this, and we had benches. 17:55.608 --> 17:58.811 You sat down, and there were wasps under the bench. 17:58.811 --> 18:00.346 And they'd come out and sting you right in the 18:00.346 --> 18:02.415 fatty part of your leg. 18:02.415 --> 18:05.084 Boy, you would just about flip the end 18:05.084 --> 18:07.253 of the picnic bench over, because oh those things... 18:07.253 --> 18:08.988 Just like getting hit with a hammer. 18:08.988 --> 18:13.192 So they can be in sort of scary places, so not a good thing. 18:13.192 --> 18:15.061 - Not a good thing, but if you can do those things 18:15.061 --> 18:16.596 that I just mentioned, I mean that would help 18:16.596 --> 18:19.799 to discourage them from coming around. 18:19.799 --> 18:20.967 - Alright Miss Liz, 18:20.967 --> 18:22.101 you be careful out there with those wasps. 18:22.101 --> 18:25.371 (pleasant banjo music) 18:25.371 --> 18:30.142 Can you have Mr. D talk about controlling possums? 18:30.142 --> 18:32.611 I live in rural Shelby County and they are 18:32.611 --> 18:34.947 wearing my place out. 18:34.947 --> 18:37.650 Mr. D, can you help us? 18:37.650 --> 18:40.886 - Well fortunately, since you live in a rural area, 18:40.886 --> 18:44.757 then you can use my number one control method 18:44.757 --> 18:46.325 for controlling possums. - I know what that method is. 18:46.325 --> 18:48.627 - It's a 12-year-old with a 20 gauge shotgun. 18:48.627 --> 18:49.829 (laughter) 18:49.829 --> 18:53.132 And number six shot or larger. 18:53.132 --> 18:56.035 That'll do the trick, and I'm reading this right here 18:56.035 --> 19:01.107 from my prevention and control of wildlife damage 19:01.107 --> 19:04.710 publication, and right down here, it says... 19:04.710 --> 19:06.645 Well, it doesn't say a 12-year-old, but it does say, 19:06.645 --> 19:09.915 "Shooting can be effective where firearms are permitted." 19:09.915 --> 19:13.152 And fortunately in rural areas, firearms are permitted. 19:13.152 --> 19:16.956 "Use a shot gun with number six shot or 22 caliber rifle." 19:16.956 --> 19:20.526 Another good thing about possums, 19:20.526 --> 19:25.531 they're really intelligent. They are intelligent critters. 19:25.731 --> 19:30.069 But they don't act intelligent, and they're not 19:30.069 --> 19:35.141 wary of people, they will easily go into traps. 19:35.141 --> 19:39.678 You can use the baits that you can use for live trap. 19:39.678 --> 19:43.482 Vegetables, apple slices, sardines, scrap meat, 19:43.482 --> 19:48.487 canned dog food, chicken entrails, fish, table scraps, 19:49.555 --> 19:53.759 any of those things will attract a possum. 19:53.759 --> 19:55.027 - [Chris] Pretty easy. 19:55.027 --> 19:59.665 - So trapping them, they are nocturnal primarily. 20:00.766 --> 20:05.104 If you see one running around in the daytime, 20:05.104 --> 20:07.940 be very careful because they can carry rabies. 20:07.940 --> 20:12.078 Not as common as raccoons, but they can carry rabies. 20:12.078 --> 20:13.979 But they are primarily nocturnal, 20:13.979 --> 20:15.414 you got a problem with them? 20:15.414 --> 20:17.950 Go out every once in a while with a good, high-powered 20:17.950 --> 20:20.886 light, spot light, and shine it around your property 20:20.886 --> 20:23.155 and blast them. 20:23.155 --> 20:27.493 I don't know of any better method to control them, 20:27.493 --> 20:28.761 really I don't. 20:28.761 --> 20:31.664 Maybe if you let your Jack Russell run free 20:31.664 --> 20:33.766 out in your yard all the time at night 20:33.766 --> 20:35.367 that would probably take care of it, too. 20:35.367 --> 20:38.070 - Alright. When in rural Shelby County... 20:38.070 --> 20:41.774 - A 12-year-old and a 20 gauge shotgun, hard to beat. 20:41.774 --> 20:43.542 - Hard to beat. Alright. 20:43.542 --> 20:46.712 (pleasant banjo music) 20:46.712 --> 20:49.682 What is the best way to get rid of ground bees? 20:49.682 --> 20:54.687 They have taken over my yard. Ground bees. 20:56.455 --> 21:01.160 - You know, most the time, when I've seen heavy infestations 21:01.160 --> 21:02.895 of ground bees, it's been in areas 21:02.895 --> 21:05.631 where the grass is kind of thin, have you noticed that? 21:05.631 --> 21:07.032 - [Chris] I have. 21:07.032 --> 21:08.968 - So that kind of goes along with what you mentioned 21:08.968 --> 21:12.505 earlier, about some of the other problems we have, 21:12.505 --> 21:13.906 some of the weed problems. 21:13.906 --> 21:17.943 If you do a good job soil testing and make sure 21:17.943 --> 21:20.846 you try to get your turf as thick as you can get it, 21:20.846 --> 21:23.382 and fertilize it correctly, water it correctly, 21:23.382 --> 21:26.152 mow it correctly and all that, you may have fewer problems 21:26.152 --> 21:29.188 with these ground bees, because ground bees... 21:29.188 --> 21:31.290 I'm not seeing any university that recommends 21:31.290 --> 21:33.225 spraying insecticides to kill them. 21:33.225 --> 21:36.896 They're solitary bees, they're not going to sting you. 21:36.896 --> 21:40.166 They're looking for a place to burrow down in the ground, 21:40.166 --> 21:44.503 lay eggs, lay an egg, and you know, 21:44.503 --> 21:48.641 continue propagating their species. 21:51.243 --> 21:56.248 They like generally dry soil, so that may indicate 21:57.249 --> 21:59.185 that you need to irrigate a little bit more 21:59.185 --> 22:01.654 where these ground bees are. 22:01.654 --> 22:04.957 But they're really not a problem, they're just kind of 22:04.957 --> 22:07.760 unsightly, and they may irritate you a little bit. 22:07.760 --> 22:12.765 I would look at initially putting a little water on them, 22:15.835 --> 22:18.804 chasing them out that way, and then trying to get 22:18.804 --> 22:21.207 the grass thicker, where they're a problem. 22:21.207 --> 22:22.608 - I would definitely recommend that as well. 22:22.608 --> 22:25.110 - I have seen them in lawns, though, a few years ago 22:25.110 --> 22:28.047 in the Bartlett area outside one lawn that I've never seen 22:28.047 --> 22:30.082 so many ground bee burrows in my life. 22:30.082 --> 22:33.886 They were all over the place, and that can be irritating. 22:33.886 --> 22:35.621 That can be scary, until you realize 22:35.621 --> 22:37.189 they're not going to sting you. 22:37.189 --> 22:39.825 - I recently went to a homeowner's site 22:39.825 --> 22:43.996 and she had ground bees, but the lawn was thinned. 22:43.996 --> 22:48.300 She was trying to grow the wrong grass type 22:48.300 --> 22:51.203 under a lot of shade, so it just thinned out her lawn. 22:51.203 --> 22:53.772 Ground bees were all over the place. 22:53.772 --> 22:56.408 And it scared her, because when I drove up I could see 22:56.408 --> 22:59.311 the ground bees very visibly, 22:59.311 --> 23:01.347 they were just flying all over the place. 23:01.347 --> 23:02.948 I said wow, how about that? 23:02.948 --> 23:05.417 - Probably don't need to aerate. 23:05.417 --> 23:07.219 - No, because they're doing that for you. 23:07.219 --> 23:08.587 - Free aeration. 23:08.587 --> 23:09.722 - Yeah, they leave small, little round holes. 23:09.722 --> 23:11.557 They sure do. - Wow, how 'bout that. 23:11.557 --> 23:15.194 - They're good questions, and these are things that we see 23:15.194 --> 23:16.528 out in our landscapes all the time. 23:16.528 --> 23:20.432 (pleasant banjo music) 23:20.432 --> 23:24.069 Can you use vole bait around dogs? 23:24.069 --> 23:27.773 What would happen if my dog ate some of the bait? 23:27.773 --> 23:29.208 It's a legit question. 23:29.208 --> 23:31.443 - Yeah, that's not a good thing. Not a good thing. 23:31.443 --> 23:36.515 Most of the rodenticides are toxic to cats and dogs, 23:36.515 --> 23:41.520 so it's a good idea to put your baits in either a closed 23:42.154 --> 23:45.991 bait station that only the vole can get into, 23:45.991 --> 23:49.495 or, unless your dog is a heck of a digger, 23:49.495 --> 23:53.799 you can make a little hole in the tunnel and use a funnel 23:53.799 --> 23:57.369 and pour the bait in the tunnel, so it's underground. 23:57.369 --> 23:59.238 That's a couple things that you can do. 23:59.238 --> 24:01.006 Or you can use something other than baits. 24:01.006 --> 24:03.876 You can use live traps to catch them, or the snap traps, 24:03.876 --> 24:06.745 things like that, set you up with a bait station with 24:06.745 --> 24:10.582 five or six of those traps and go back 24:10.582 --> 24:12.518 and collect voles every once in a while. 24:12.518 --> 24:15.587 Of course, I guess your dog can get his nose 24:15.587 --> 24:20.592 caught in the snap trap, too, but it won't kill him. 24:21.327 --> 24:24.730 You want to make sure that any rodenticide, 24:24.730 --> 24:29.268 that you have it in an area that pets can't get to. 24:29.268 --> 24:33.138 I'm not sure they would eat it, because it's not normally 24:33.138 --> 24:38.143 attractive to dogs or cats, but some dogs will eat anything. 24:39.611 --> 24:44.717 I don't know about cats, but some dogs will eat rocks. 24:44.717 --> 24:47.853 Some dogs aren't real smart. 24:47.853 --> 24:51.056 - Definitely want to be careful around your pets 24:51.056 --> 24:52.558 and around little kids. 24:52.558 --> 24:53.959 - [Woman] Yes. - [Mike] Children, mostly. 24:53.959 --> 24:55.594 - Definitely want to be careful around little kids. 24:55.594 --> 24:57.529 Don't want them getting into these baits. 24:57.529 --> 25:00.632 Remember, we love to hear from you. 25:00.632 --> 25:04.837 Send us a letter or an email with your gardening questions. 25:04.837 --> 25:09.775 Send your email to familyplot@wkno.org 25:09.775 --> 25:12.344 The mailing address is: Family Plot 25:12.344 --> 25:20.352 7151 Cherry Farms Road Cordova, Tennessee 38016 25:20.352 --> 25:22.955 That's all we have time for today. 25:22.955 --> 25:24.957 Hope you enjoyed all those answers. 25:24.957 --> 25:27.126 Thanks for watching, I'm Chris Cooper. 25:27.126 --> 25:29.795 Be sure to join us next time for "The Family Plot: 25:29.795 --> 25:31.230 Gardening in the Mid-South". 25:31.230 --> 25:32.931 Be safe. 25:32.931 --> 25:36.931 (pleasant banjo music)