home sectionhome section
Tomatoes are an easy-to-grow summer vegetable that come in many shapes, sizes and colors. Although they generally grow with few problems in regions with warm summers, tomatoes can suffer from insect pests, especially the tomato hornworm, diseases and animals that like the juicy red fruit.
Numerous insects can attack tomato plants. Flea beetles and some types of aphids are typically black and can do great harm if you don't notice their presence, allowing them to feast on your big red beauties. Flea beetles create very small holes in the leaves of tomato plants, holes that are usually only 0.5 millimeter in size, or a tiny fraction of an inch, so you might miss them at first. Black aphids suck the fluids from tomato leaves and excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, which attracts ants. Natural controls can help save your tomatoes from these predators.
Fairly simple to grow, tomatoes are popular backyard vegetables with novice and experienced gardeners alike. However, the sun-loving vegetables are susceptible to pests, such as rats, that can damage the crop extensively unless prevented. Not only do the troublesome rodents contaminate vegetables, they damage property and transmit diseases to humans. Adapted to a number of living conditions, the rodents are commonly found on farms, around homes and buildings, and in gardens. Kill, frighten or bar entry to the rats so you harvest a bountiful tomato crop.
Some bugs don’t discriminate between an indoor African violet you have just purchased or a citrus tree you have been growing in your yard for years -- it’s all just food to them. Small, white and fuzzy are characteristics of four groups of insects in the order Homoptera, or true bugs. All Homoptera are plant feeders and many are serious pests to both indoor and outdoor plants.
Tomatoes are often a staple of a vegetable garden. But growing tomatoes isn't easy. In addition to ensuring proper nutrition, gardeners also have to contend with a variety of pests that will eat the succulent fruit right off the vine, some of the four-legged variety and some of the multilegged-and-creepy variety.
Most people know of the mistletoe as a plant associated with Christmas and the romantic tradition of kissing beneath it. The mistletoe plant, though, can also be a birdwatcher's dream. Mistletoe attracts many types of birds and some birdwatchers initiate the growth of mistletoe in their yards for that very purpose. In addition to birds, mistletoe also attracts different types of insects, including caterpillars and bees. Mammals, too, have been known to feast on the mistletoe plant.
Hungry squirrels can be a serious problem for any gardener. They are industrious climbers and seem to find any plant fair game when they need food. If you have a serious squirrel population around your home, you may consider planting some bulbs and flowers from which they prefer to stay away.
There are more than 30 slug species in the world. Slugs are mollusks closely related to snails and clams. Slugs are hermaphrodites, meaning that they possess both male and female sexual organs and can mate with any other slug of the same species. Most slugs are omnivores, meaning that they eat both plant and animal matter. Many slugs are considered pests because they feed on garden plants such as vegetables and ornamental flowers.
Though it is impossible for tortoises in captivity to get all of their food from natural grazing, as much of their diet as possible should come from naturally grown plants. Some people feed their pet tortoises mostly vegetables such as tomatoes. Tortoises can eat tomatoes and tomato plants, but those foods should not make up the bulk of their diet. In the wild, tortoises can take more than two weeks to digest their food, but when eating mostly vegetables, they digest their food in less than five days.
The idea that ants eat plants is a common misconception. Ants lack the ability to digest plant material, but they do use plants and their leaves for other reasons. Some species can often be seen harvesting leaves and giving the impression that they're harvesting food, but what these ants do with plants is far more complex than simply taking a meal back to the colony.
As its name suggests, the flea beetle is a diminutive pest. Small or not, it can cause a lot of damage. Several species of flea beetle are orange and black and they feed on a number of host plants. Control is possible and so is prevention. With a combination of chemical and cultural methods you should be able to get rid of this tiny pest.
Growing strawberries in your home garden can be fun. This hardy shrub thrives in a wide variety of rich, well-drained soil to produce sweet, heart-shaped berries. However, several pests, including ants and slugs, can get to the strawberries before you and ruin their flavor. If left unattended, these pests can consume and ruin entire patches of ripening strawberries. Deter ants and slugs from destroying strawberries by using preventative measures and incorporating organic controls. This will also ensure that your strawberries are insecticide-free and safe for consumption.
Snails and slugs are difficult to spot in the daytime, but their destruction is evident by the damage they cause to flowers, succulents and tender plants. You can identify snail and slug damage by slimy trails and small, round holes they eat in plants. You can discourage snails from causing damage in your planters with a few home remedies.
Deer commonly plague gardens throughout North America, but in some areas, such as the Rocky Mountain states, the Great Lakes Region, Canada and Alaska, moose pose a similar threat. Moose feed on large amounts of a wide variety of plants and can quickly demolish a crop of vegetables, fruit or flowers. Employ non-toxic, humane methods of fending off moose that do not threaten the health of the moose or the environment.
Sundew plants (Drosera spp.) are a large family of carnivorous plants, many of which are native to the United States. They are so named for their distinctive nectar, which looks like dew drops glistening in the sun. Sundew plants trap and digest insects to add nutrients to their diet, as they grow in poor, mineral-deficient, boggy soil. Although relatively easy to cultivate, they can suffer from a number of problems that cause them to stop eating.
Terrapins are small marsh turtles found in coastal areas of the United States. The turtle has oval shapes around the center top of its shell and is called a diamondback. A terrapin tapestry is a woven wall hanging that depicts this type of turtle. Generally, when the words "terrapin tapestry" come up, the actual tapestry being described is a famous tapestry called the "Terrapin Tapestry." Replicas of this are widely marketed.
Garden vegetables suffer the predations of a seemingly endless procession of chewers, suckers and borers. Several bugs afflict the cucurbit family, which includes cucumbers, squashes and melons. Several of these insects target cucumbers for their dinner. Fortunately, there are strategies to fight the tide of insect herbivores and save some veggies for the gardener.
The tomato hornworm, Manduca quinquemaculata, is the most likely culprit of tomato leaf consumption. This worm is actually a caterpillar, and is the larval stage of a sphinx moth. It has a voracious appetite for the tender foliage of tomato plants, although it will also eat the leaves of eggplant, potato and pepper plants. Just one or two of these worms can cause extensive damage.
At times, deer are nuisances and pests that feed on the prized plants of home gardeners, often damaging the bark or snipping the leaves from the plants. There are a number of control methods that may help reduce the damage to your garden plants from deer feeding. Fences, barriers and repellents are just a few deterrents that may discourage deer from eating your favorite plants and flowers.
Cucumbers are warm season vegetables, which means they do not tolerate frosts or cold temperatures. Putting cucumber plants in the ground too soon in the season can result in injury. Because many gardeners want to get a jump start on the growing season, they start their plants indoors by planting seeds. When cucumber plants are old enough to be transplanted, you must first check to make sure the soil is warm enough.
Each year gardeners wearily discover intruders are eating their tomato plants. Rabbits, deer and squirrels are known to invade gardens and eat ripe, juicy tomatoes directly off the vine. Deer also trample through gardens and crush tender plants with their hooves. Allowing animals full access to tomato plants can cost gardeners their highly anticipated harvest. It's essential to take action against animals before they consume entire tomato crops. Fortunately, you can prevent animals from eating your tomatoes using humane methods.
Squirrels can chew into ripening pumpkins and eat the flesh and seeds. This ruins the pumpkins and can damage your entire patch. Prevent damage by protecting the pumpkins from squirrels. Use solutions that will deter squirrels from going into the area, or cover the pumpkins so squirrels either can't see them or don't have access to them.
The soils of temperate grasslands are the most valuable soil resource, because they are the most fertile naturally occurring soils. The main factors influencing the composition of temperate grassland soil is the amount of precipitation and the variation in temperature throughout the year. The grass plants that grow in these regions also have a strong influence on soil composition. The main locations on the earth for temperate grasslands are the veldts of South Africa, the puszta of Hungary, the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, the steppes of former Soviet Union countries and the plains of North America. These are the…
Tomatoes are the top choice of home vegetable gardeners, according to the University of Illinois. Nutritious, delicious and versatile, they can be grown in containers or in the ground and used in a number of ways. Unfortunately, they can also be plagued by insect pests. Many home gardeners are dismayed to find bugs on their tomato plants, but they also don't want to use chemicals on their plants. Luckily, an all natural remedy can be used instead.
Many gardeners know that deer can be a pest in both flower and vegetable gardens. One of a deer's favorite plants seems to be the tomato. If the deer leave your plants long enough to produce the actual tomatoes, then they eat the tomatoes just before they are ripe enough for you to pick. Keep deer out of your vegetable garden by planting deer-resistant plants around your tomatoes.
Vinca is a plant that makes the use of scientific plant names necessary. Vinca can mean any of three related but different plants that all require different hardiness zones, growing conditions and sunlight. Vinca major and vinca minor are more closely related than their relative Catharanthus. Before planting a vinca, make sure it is right for your garden and your climate.
Several ants, including sugar ants and carpenter ants, feed on a wide variety of sweet plant secretions such as nectar, honeydew and fruits like strawberries. These ants are quite active during the summer months when they forage for food. Sugar ants and carpenter ants build colonies in the soil, in gaps between rocks and wood, and around the branches of trees and shrubs. Prevent ants from attacking strawberries by controlling them with natural measures. Avoid using pesticides, as they can contaminate the strawberries and pose a health threat to you and your family. There are several biological methods that you…
Garlic exudes a strong sulfurous, complex odor that wards off most insect and animal pests, and even threatens many microbes. It's odd to think that, with all of its natural chemical compounds designed to keep it repugnant to other creatures, that anything other than culinary-oriented humans would want anything to do with it. Hunger is a powerful drive, however, and some animals will nibble on anything available.
When you spend a lot of time and money caring for your garden, it can be disheartening for animals like deer to come along and eat your flowers and tree leaves. While deer are common to many areas of the United States, as once-wooded areas have become populated, the deer find themselves grazing in yards rather than meadows. Overpopulation of deer is also a problem in many areas. You can stop deer from eating the plants and trees in your garden.
Turtles love eating tomatoes. If you have a pet turtle that roams your yard or have noticed wild turtles eating your tomatoes, it seems like the obvious option would be to install a fence around the tomatoes. Turtles, however, are very good at digging, so fences and chicken wire barriers aren't completely foolproof. The best approach is to spray the tomatoes with a homemade hot pepper spray that will be unpalatable to the turtle and force it to stay away.
Home gardeners often find their impatiens are being damaged by root-feeding insects. The black vine weevil is a common pest of many plants and flowers including impatiens, rhododendrons, yews, hemlocks, cyclamens, asters and broadleaf evergreens. Feeding of this pest is usually noticed just after spring, when impatiens develop notches in their leaves as a result of feeding.
A terrapin is a turtle that spends time on both land and water. If a terrapin is getting into your tomatoes, it is finding them tasty. Terrapins can be omnivores and will eat whatever vegetables they want in addition to their diet of fish, crayfish, and other water creatures. You will need to provide a barrier to prevent the terrapin from reaching the tomatoes, while allowing it to continue wild forays into waterways to acquire the rest of its diet.
Cucumbers require warm days, plenty of sunshine and cool nights for best growth. They are a fast-growing crop ready for harvest in 50 to 70 days. If bugs are eating your cucumber plants, identify pests and apply the appropriate control measure to limit the damage.
The primary food source of the silkworm is the mulberry tree. Although there is manufactured alternate food, a dry silkworm preparation, the mulberry tree is important in their growth and development from larvae to adult moth. Silkworms are raised commercially in China, France, Spain, Italy and Japan for the silk cocoons.
Gardeners growing tomatoes worry about insects damaging both the plants and the fruit. Aphids are an annoying pest of many vegetables. Ants are another well-known garden enemy. Although growers don't regard either aphids or ants as beneficial insects, these critters do have an interesting interrelationship, which can include ants eating aphids. Understanding this relationship may help growers better protect their tomatoes from potential adversity.
The genus of hibiscus includes a wide range of flowering plants with variations in the characteristics of flowers, leaves and pests that love to eat them. The Chinese hibiscus, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., is a plant that springs from the tropics and thrives only in warm locales. It can grow in northern climates during the summer months but must be moved indoors as fall approaches.
Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable for the home garden in America, according to the University of Illinois. They are generally easy to grow and provide an abundant harvest of tasty red fruit until the first frost in most parts of the country. They do have some pests, though, and if these get established, they can severely limit the amount of edible fruit that can be picked from the plants. Some of the worst pests are various kinds of worms -- often actually caterpillars -- that attack the fruit, the leaves or both.
Tomato plants are widely grown both commercially and residentially for the fruit they produce. This plant is frequently plagued by many pests. While some pests feed on the stems and leaves, others feed on the fruit. Some of the most common pests feeding on the fruit include the tomato fruitworm, tobacco hornworm, tomato pinworm and tobacco budworm.
Squirrels can cause havoc in any garden. Squirrels are rodents like mice and rats and they especially like garden vegetables, such as pumpkins. You can find squirrels in parks and zoos asking for treats and in forests collecting feed. However, squirrels can enter your garden and ruin your year's work by eating up vegetables, fruits and plants. This is why it is important to keep squirrels away from your garden all year-round. Fortunately, several inexpensive tools can help you scare away all squirrels from your pumpkins.
If animal pests are treating your garden or backyard landscape like an all-you-can-eat buffet, you're not without your options. Instead of resorting to manual methods of animal control, such as trapping or shooting, try animal repellent sprays that stop animals from chewing on your trees, vegetables or shrubs. Such sprays work well for some of the most common critter pests, including deer and rabbits.
Ants are found in lawns and gardens around the world. Ants are a diverse group of insects that provide many useful environmental functions in home gardens. While ants do not feed directly on vegetable foliage, they can cause some secondary problems that increase the stress and damage to vegetable plants in your garden. Managing ants in your garden can be a difficult task and treating the primary problem with your vegetable plants is the most effective way to solve ant problems in your garden, according to the University of California.
Over 200 squirrel species live throughout the world. As omnivores, squirrels have a widely varied diet -- they mainly eat vegetables, nuts and fruits, but they'll eat small animals like snakes or rodents when vegetarian food sources grow scarce. Squirrels do not actually eat tomatoes, however; they destroy them in searching for moisture. If you notice squirrels in your tomato garden, give them water in a birdbath to see if that solves the problem.
Home gardeners often find many types of insects on their tomato plants. Some insects damage tomato plants by feeding on the leaves and fruit. Flat, round, green insects are sweetpotato whitefly nymphs, a common tomato plant pest. Whiteflies carry certain viruses they can transfer to plants.
Despite being considered poisonous just a century ago, tomatoes are now considered to be the most common garden plant. They are easy to grow, and can be nurtured in a plot of ground or in a pot, in a garden or basking on a patio. But the dark green leaves and acidic fruit are also attractive to any number of pests that can destroy the plant or the fruit before harvest. Thankfully, there are various methods of removing these pests before permanent damage is done.
The simple answer is yes, deer will eat tomatoes. Deer eat just about anything when they are desperate to quell their hunger, although there are certain plants and crops that repel them. Fortunately, if deer frequent your area, you can take responsible measures to safeguard your tomato plants. Alternate preventive measures every few months, as deer eventually become accustomed to barriers.
Silkworms are the larval form of the silkworm moth and the source for silk, one of the finest natural fabrics in the world. Once a wild species, the silkworm moth has been domesticated to the point where it can no longer fly and requires the care of humans to survive. Fed on a diet of mulberry tree leaves, the worms are typically raised in large facilities for the silk industry.
Impatiens propagate readily and are a good choice for groundcover, giving an appearance of dense, lush greenery and blossoms. They are versatile, forgiving and are able to withstand a range of conditions. Impatiens blossoms are even edible, although they are not a commonly used culinary flower because they are weakly flavored, according to Gardens Ablaze.
Mulberry leaves are an integral part of the life of the silkworm, that small caterpillar that produces silk. Silkworms eat mulberry leaves and nothing else. Silkworm farmers imported the first white mulberry trees into the United States.
Places of billowing wind, large grazing beasts and endless horizons, the world's temperate grasslands cover significant acreage in North and South America as well as Eurasia. To a great extent, they are associated with a common family of soils.
Whether you intentionally introduce snails to your fish tank or they find their way in on their own, snails are frequent residents of freshwater aquariums. When properly managed, snails make an interesting and beneficial addition to home aquariums. Some species of brown snails that you find in your home garden, such as the pond snail, are easy to care for in home aquariums but can become troublesome pests in large numbers.
You aren't the only one with your eye on the tender vegetables growing in your garden: Insect pests also want to make them their next meal. While finding holes in plant leaves may seem less devastating than finding holes chewed in your tomatoes and peppers, leaf damage impedes the plant's ability to make energy for growing vegetables. If it progresses too far, such damage can kill the plant. Bringing any pest problem in your garden under control requires correct identification and the use of safe, less-toxic control methods whenever possible.
If it's good enough for your body, it's good enough for your garden. Eco-conscious gardeners who don't want to introduce chemicals into the garden can keep away tomato plant pests with mouthwash.
The Chinese lantern plant is a 2-foot-tall perennial that bears flowers that become balloonlike husks holding small, bright red fruits. The plant is generally easy to grow, but is susceptible to various pests, including slugs.
Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is native to the northern hemisphere. This spring to fall blooming woody vine forms trumpet shaped flowers in the colors of yellow and red. This Caprifolia plant family is a host for many caterpillars.
The tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) is the larval stage of a sphinx moth. It mostly consumes tomato plant leaves, but has also been known to attack eggplant, pepper and potato plants.
Hostas are perennial landscaping plants known for their attractive foliage. Sometimes hosta leaves fall victim to insects and small pests. According to the University of Minnesota Extension, slugs are the most common hosta leaf chompers. Earwigs (long bodied insects with pincers), cutworms (small caterpillars that curl up), leaf beetles and grasshoppers also chew holes in hosta leaves. Foliar nematodes cannot be seen with the naked eye, but they may reek havoc on your hosta leaves, leaving yellow or tan vertical stripes in between the leaf veins, resulting in foliar death. Several methods exist for preventing and getting rid of these…
Residential neighborhoods in the American Southwest can be magnets for local desert animals. The grasses and other flora homeowners plant for decoration can also feed the region's fauna. Not all desert animals are carnivores. Those that are may resort to grazing on vegetation when prey cannot be found. Predators may wander into residential neighborhoods looking for animals that prefer to eat plants.
The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant which captures, kills and digests its food. The plant normally lives in poor soil, so the insects and other creatures that the flytrap eats provide most of the nutrients that it needs to live.
Infestations of bugs on indoor and outdoor plants threatens the health of the plant, and in many cases, the plant's life depends on a pest-free environment. Common garden pests include aphids, sawflies and gnats. Other pests include leafminers, caterpillars and whiteflies. Pesticides and companion plants may reduce or eliminate common plant pests if used properly. If only a small number of plants are infected, destroying those plants is also effective.
Nothing is more discouraging than finding out that something is eating your tomato plants. The beet armyworm eats leaves while the cutworm only eats young plants, but the most undiscriminating pests of all are deer, which eat everything.
Ants do not typically seek out tomato plants as a food but if the opportunity arises, they will avail themselves of it. Ants actually provide both benefits and disadvantages to tomato plants.
Silkworms are the larvae of the domesticated silk moth, the source of silk thread. According to the University of Arizona, this creature is extremely rare to extinct in the wild and exists almost entirely under human care. Silkworms have adapted to eat almost exclusively mulberry leaves.
Deer are stately creatures that have been the subject of artwork, film and literature, but they also are voracious eaters who will nibble your hibiscus plants when you aren't looking. Deer definitely have their place in nature, but it's not around your hibiscus. You can use several methods to keep the deer from eating your hibiscus and other garden plants.
Termites live in colonies that consist of workers, soldiers and reproductive insects. While reproductive termites produce offspring and soldiers defend the colony, workers forage for food and water, and conduct maintenance tasks. They feed on materials that contain cellulose.
Four hundred species of holly exist the world over. They grow in a variety of shapes and sizes, from 1 to 50 feet tall and from round shrubs to columns. Most of them are easy to care for and thrive with the addition of fertilizer.
Vinca is a plant that goes well in any garden, whether you're planting it in containers, window boxes or as an edging plant in a border. This plant requires little maintenance and is a winner for areas that have some drought in the summer. Not to be confused with its cousins, Vinca major and Vinca minor, which are ground covers that love shady areas, Vinca catharanthus loves heat and full sun, flowering from late spring through the first frost in late fall. While vinca is an appropriate choice if you're in a deer-infested area -- deer loathe vinca -- it…
Well-chosen plants can make any lawn less inviting to voles, mouselike herbivores with smaller tails and partially hidden ears that burrow through lawns. Voles are browsers, not grazers, so they are not picky eaters. They chew on woody plants, tree bark, crops, shrubs, flowers and grassy plants. Regional differences and unforeseen shifts in weather conditions like drought can make voles unpredictably adapt their diet.
Characterized by expansive tracts of grasses and low-growing forage, the temperate grasslands of the world are home to the richest diversity of herbivorous animals of any ecosystem. The ample array of naturally occurring pasturelands and wide open spaces gave rise to numerous antelope and deer species, each evolved to thrive in the climatic conditions particular to their environment.
Controlling rabbits in your garden can become frustrating. Rabbits often hide out in tall grassy areas and they will stay in areas where they know they can feed off plants and vegetables. If rabbits are constantly eating and destroying your plants, you can deter them without spending a lot of money. Once the rabbits realize that they can no longer feed from your plants, they will find a new location to nest.
Foxes are medium-sized mammals characterized by their dog-like appearance and fluffy tails. While found in the wild, foxes also make appearances in urban areas. Their diet includes both plants and animals.
Snails can be damaging pests to your garden. They feed on plants and can chew through leaves and fruit. While they mostly prefer leaves and flowers, snails can also be a problem for tomatoes, artichokes and strawberries, according to the University of California.
Squirrels like to eat the tomato buds, and finding ways to keep them away from tomato plants can be challenging. You can put chicken wire or some other close netted wire around the tomatoes, but this will also keep you from reaching in easily and picking a tomato when it's ripe. Fortunately, there are several other methods to keep visiting squirrels from leaving you with non-producing plants.
Tomato plants are prone to a variety of bacterial and viral diseases as well as different pests. The plants are likely to be infected with insects such as aphids, flea beetles and leafminers from the early stages of growth until the time of harvest. If the pests of tomato plants are not controlled in time, they not only cause severe damage to the plants and the fruit but also spread to other plants in the garden.
Hibiscus plants, with their attractive flowers, are popular in many gardens and landscaping designs. Unfortunately, the flowers and foliage are also appealing to other creatures (both domesticated and wild). When these animals take a nibble out of your beloved plants, it can really damage the health and beauty of your garden.
Many varieties of tomatoes and cucumbers are grown in backyard gardens across North America. Tomato and cucumber plants are easy to grow and reward the gardener with an abundance of fruit that is ready to pick shortly after pollination. Tomatoes and cucumbers are hardy but susceptible to a few blights and pests. Once you determine what these garden pests are, employ organic solutions and natural deterrents to deal with them.
Nothing frustrates a vegetable gardener more than to wake up and find that all his tomato plants have been chomped on. A plausible suspect is the adorable, yet pesky, deer. There are a number of ways to keep deer away from your tomatoes, starting with items found around the house. But, if the animals continue to persist, you may need to switch to a new intervention technique; when deers are hungry, they quickly become accustomed to previous control measures. Each step provides another preventative measure to employ if the previous eventually fails.
An insect infestation in your garden may lead to damaged plants. A damaged plant will bear less edible fruit than a healthy plant. A few of the common bugs that will attack tomato plants are slugs, nematodes and caterpillars. These insects will eat through the leaves and fruit of the tomato plant. Spraying the plant with a hot pepper wax will repel these insects, but it will not kill them. Hot pepper wax can be made at home using common household ingredients. The natural ingredients used to make this spray are safe for you and your tomato plants.
When ants eat on plants, it is an annoying problem. It can also be a sign that your plants have aphids on them. Ants herd aphids because of the honeydew that the aphids produce. Some ants like to eat the sweet things growing in your garden. There is nothing worse than picking a strawberry only to discover that the ants are eating on the other side. You can stop the ants from eating on your plants in the first place by removing them from the plants and keeping them away.
Tomato plants are the favorite treat for a whole host of pests. They are at risk for turning into a meal from the time they sprout till harvest. Bugs, like the vegetable leafminer and tomato pinworm, bore holes into the fruit. Flea beetles and cabbage loopers create holes in the leaves. Likewise, aphids and stink bugs suck sap that leads to discoloration of the leaves and stems.
Tomato plants are generally easy to grow and well worth the effort. Tomatoes are very susceptible to many types of bug infestations, ranging from aphids to worms with voracious appetites. Protecting your tomato plants from bugs and insects will help you achieve a large crop of tomatoes for salads, sauces and soups. There are several organic methods of controlling bugs that eat tomato plants.
Insects and wildlife are hazards in any garden. Whether the gardener is growing flowers or vegetables and fruit, there is always an insect or animal willing to relieve the gardener of the fruit of his hard labor. Protect crops and flowers with inexpensive and green techniques that repel bugs and wildlife without damaging the plants or making them hazardous to the environment.
Humans aren't the only ones who enjoy a nice, juicy tomato. A host of insects and insect larvae prey upon the tropical plants. Bugs can attack almost any part of the tomato, from stems to fruit. Treating an infestation can involve a combination of natural predators such as ladybugs and preying mantis, along with dusting of diatomaceous earth, physical removal of larger bugs or treatment with sulfur powder.
If you have spent your day dreaming of a tomato and cheese sandwich, only to find your tomato plants ravaged, you may want to consider a deer deterrent. A deer deterrent works by either scaring or discouraging hungry deer. Try one or a combination of methods to discover which deer deterrents work best in your neck of the woods.
There are 100 species of the sundew plant. They are part of the Drosera genus and are known for their carnivorous appetite. Specialized structures allow the sundew to eat insects.
Protecting a garden from unwanted animals is probably the most important and most difficult part of gardening. So many animals want nothing more than to consume the results of a gardener's hard work. Tomato gardeners might think they are free from concern. After all, squirrels and birds focus on stealing seeds, and rabbits go after the lettuce and sprouts. Terrapins, a kind of turtle, however, absolutely love tomatoes, so they can be troublesome for any tomato gardener. Fortunately, terrapins only grow to about eight inches high, so keeping them out of your garden is relatively easy. All a tomato gardener…
If you step outside in the morning to find your beautiful mound or row of impatiens sheared off, bud and leaf, find a way to save them fast. Determining what is eating your impatiens will help you decide how to deter any repeat visits and allow your flowers to grow in peace.
The tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) is a common predator of tomato plants in the northern United States. In home gardens, the best remedy is to remove the caterpillars by hand and rely on natural predators to get rid of the caterpillars.
Hostas are perennial plants, usually grown for the color their textured leaves add to a shady garden. Although hostas are easy to grow, several species of wildlife eat the leaves or roots of the plants.
Hosta plants, also known as plantain lily or funkia, are popular garden plants. They come in wide variety of colors and shapes, and are hardy and easy to grow. Hosta are a member of the Liliaceae family. According to the ASPCA, these beautiful plants are poisonous, and potentially toxic, if ingested by cats and dogs. Do not allow your pets to eat hosta plants.
The common garden slug, Arion distinctus, is actually a member of the mollusk family. Any gardener who lives in a moist climate knows these creatures can be a menace to any garden. Slugs and snails reproduce quickly and can devour hosta plants overnight, reducing your lush garden to yellowed and dying plants. However, with some persistence, slugs and snails can be deterred from your hostas without affecting the surrounding vegetation and the hostas themselves.
While watering your plants, you notice holes in your prized tomato plants or the strawberry leaves. Some sort of pest is attacking your flowers or vegetables. Determine what it is, then you can work to get rid of it and save your plants.
Growing your own garden can be a rewarding and relaxing experience. But anyone whose plants have fallen prey to birds knows how frustrating it is for all your hard work to go, well, to the birds! Here are some suggestions for keeping the birds out of your garden and off your tomato plants.
It may have started with the strange finding of partially-eaten ripe tomatoes in your yard. Most likely, you had your eye on the most beautiful tomato in your garden, waiting for the moment of perfection to pick it. And then it was gone, and you find its remains in your yard. Neighbor kids? You're puzzled, until you happen to glance out a window and see a squirrel with a tomato in hand, having a snack. There are a number of things to try, but be prepared for a frustrating battle. Squirrels are tenacious and often clever.
Hungry birds are real little devils when you are trying to cultivate certain types of seeds. The taste of the newly emerging seedling is irresistible. When a seed germinates, it converts the starch stored in the seed to sugar. Here are several ways you can protect your new seedlings until they become established.
