I think the biggest mistake new gardeners make is thinking that vegetable gardening consists of planting seeds, watering them once and walking away.
And that might actually work for some things, but for the most part having a successful garden depends a lot on having a really good line of defence when it comes to pests. In the past I've found a shotgun works well with neighbours, but doesn't do so well with leaf chewers.
It's amazing how a .22 can take down a full grown man but not even phase a cabbageworm. Cabbageworms are tough little shitheads.
So today I'm going to share with you 2 of my most trusted, safe for the garden, pest control measures. That don't require gunpowder or a license.
My favourite pest control to use is Safer Brand Caterpillar Killer with BT, 8 Ounce Concentrate
BTK is a a natural bacterium found in soils that does a great job of controlling (and by controlling I mean killing) pests while not harming beneficial insects.
BTK only targets leaf chewers. In other words those bugs that are eating your food before you get a chance to.
For Corn worms ... Mix 1 part BTK with 20 parts mineral or vegetable oil and apply 5 drops to corn silks when silks have *just* turned brown.
For everything else, mix ¼ tsp. of BTK in 2 cups of water and spray tops and undersides of leaves, as well as stems. Repeat after rain.
And if it's your zucchini plants you're having trouble with the problem might be that you're growing them wrong. Here's how to grow zucchini the right way.
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Use on ...
Garden Safe 93179 16-Ounce Neem Oil, Case Pack of 1
">Neem Oil is another product that works well, but takes a bit longer to produce results. The only thing I use Neem oil for is in my attempts to control squash bugs. But what really works to control squash bugs is going outside with a pair of scissors twice a day and cutting the bugs in half. It's gross. Like really gross. Yucky. Especially when you have to cut two squash bugs who are having sex in half. It's disgusting on a whole variety of levels.
But it works.
I also use the scissors to cut away the portion of the leaf that has the squash bugs eggs under it.
Mix ½ teaspoon of Neem Oil with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle and spray tops and undersides of leaves, as well as stems.
Use on ...
Between the scissors, the shotgun, BTK and Neem Oil I'm hoping to be able to eat the majority of the produce I've grown this year myself. It's not that I don't like sharing. It's that I don't like sharing my food.
Steve Weigle
Hi Karen, I have been at war with squash bugs for three years now. The little suckers are almost indestructible when they get full grown (except Seven, Seven kills everything, probably including you). But this year I won the fight by killing them before they grow up. The eggs under the leafs? Wrap duct tape around your hand, sticky side out, and lightly tap the eggs and any larvae that have hatched. Voila! they stick to the tape, the tape doesn't stick to the leaves and they have a very bad day. I also spray all the squash related plants with insecticidal soap every other day. That kills the ones the larvae and very young squash bugs with out hurting the friendly pollinators and worms. I am absolutely going to try you scissor method for any that manage to grow up next year, this year I tried dropping them in soapy water, but they mostly flew away when I tried to grab them. Thanks for the tips!
Murray Smith.
Hi Karen, as 84/y male from Melbourne, A.U., I so enjoyed reading your blog, you have a wonderful way of incorporating humor into everything!, I have at present Zucchinis growing and your advice will be used, thank you.
Karen
Hi Murray! That's great. :) I hope your zucchini do well for you and you find yourself in a position to throw them in people's car windows. If you're in Australia what happened to your "u" in colour?! ;) ~ karen!
Murray Smith.
Karen, thank you for replying!, first off!, in Australia throwing zucchini in car windows would be grounds for an assault charge, and also the waste of a very edible vegetable, both events are against my religion!, ( It must be some North American tradition, that has not penetrated, us backward types, down under?.), and yes, we still use the letter, "u", in the word "Colour.", but of course my computer wants to mark it incorrect!, bye for now, it seems I have hours of study to catch up on some of your writings and also the very entertaining comments, Murray Smith.
AaME AaME
So the lovely tomato hornworm. I do not have chickens or budding fishers. At present I pick off and drown in water.what I want to know is prevention. Any tips
?
Steve Weigle
AaME, you are doing the right thing already. Drowning them is the least gross way to kill them. The evil horn worm is a product of a moth, that lays the eggs. The horn worms overwinter in the ground near your tomato plant. So the best thing is insecticidal soap BEFORE the eggs hatch, and when you see the dark brownish moths. At the end of the season clean up around your tomato plants, even turn the soil over. Then do not plant tomatoes or any other nightshade in that soil for two years If you don't have any other place to grow your 'mators dig up the soil and replace it with sterile bagged garden soil in the spring, use the dug up soil in pots for flowers or other not nightshade plants.
Lynn Pope
Where do you get the need oil? I can’t find it on Amazon.ca
Hypatia's Daughter
It's called "Neem Oil"
I have found it in Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart & Amazon.
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Garden-Safe-Neem-Oil-Extract-Concentrate-3-In-1-16-Ounces/38754824?wl13=4144&selectedSellerId=0
(The Amazon link is too long to post here! LOL
ThatAnnoyingBeggar
I've heard of BT, but when BTK came up, I suddenly had doubts about Our Karen and her state of psychological being.
Pop culture such as it is, has become an earworm.
For a bit there, I was concerned that you had Dennis Rader out on work release, cleaning up your squash plants.
I am sure he would get the job done with no qualms about the little squishy bodies involved, but definitely not anyone's first choice as a garden helper....
Merely checking in on the newest news and this story popped up next.
You need a second and possibly a third woodstove.
Not enough to keep you busy, seems like.
Gina Rice
Karen, can I just say how terrific your posts are, I don't think I've read one that didn't leave me laughing out loud - I swear, damn near everything you say is entertaining. Somethings I probably shouldn't laugh at, but I have a wickedly weird sense of humor. So, I am attempting a winter garden this year. Summer one was somewhat successful, dis learn, by accident, that all broccoli does not grow in nice heads like in the grocery store. That's another story. Summer squash, they started out beautifully, then seemingly overnight this horrible white moldy looking crap took over. I trashed my squash plants. I tried neem oil, might have been too far gone. Anything you recommend? I live in North Florida! Oh, and if you want disgusting bugs, try dealing with these freaking monster Lubber Grasshoppers, they eat EVERYTHING and seem to double in number overnight. I say this because every other one I seem to find is copulating. I cut them in half with hedge trimmers, partly because they are so HUGE and mostly because they are scary and I'd have to get to close to cut them with a scissor. Apparently, they are pretty much immune to any pesticide. My Jack Russell Terrier, Cooper, likes them, as a snack. Immediately after, he vomits everywhere. Which is twice as disgusting as cutting them in half! I try to catch him and take it away, but have you ever tried to catch a Jack Russell Terrier? Keep up the good fight and thanks for making me laugh out loud, especially in this nightmare known as 2020.
Karen
Hi Gina! The summer squash probably got powdery mildew. At least that's what it sounds like. Do this: https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/dealing-powdery-mildew/ I do not, in fact, want any more disgusting bugs, lol. ~ karen!
Leslie Russell
My Jack Russell pointed them out to me by growling at them. They're as long as my thumb! I pull them off with those little velcro feet making that icky sucking sound and feed them to my chickens. It's creepy how soft they are. This is a quote from some website: "They can rear up their front half to look menacing while holding on with those prolegs (rear)". Ewwwww.
Karen
Yeah, they're gross. Some might say horrifying. ~ karen!
Kerstin
Hi Karen, great article. But you do not mention the ugly tomato worm. What helps with those?
Karen
Ah. The tomato hornworm. SO gross!! I don't use anything specifically I just keep a careful eye on my tomato leaves and if I see signs of hornworm (like half the leaves have been eaten overnight) I SCOUR the plants until I find it and then just remove it by hand. ~ karen!
nicole
I use a spray bottle with water and doterra peppermint oil and spray the leaves of my plants... it REALLY helps keep ants and aphids and other pests from killing my garden. I spray after rain, or every week or two, and it works GREAT!