Frank wrote:
....
Just as I walked into my family room a couple of winters ago, I heard a
snap trap go off in the adjacent utility room.

Getting trap and mouse, I decided to flush him rather than open the door
to the cold.

He splashed into the bowl and revived, desperately trying to escape, so
I flushed him.

He now resides in my septic system with a diet of stink bugs

funny name for turds.


songbird

Gus wrote:
....
I love to having a garden and it is not about saving money, but it is a
fair amount of work and patience, and so frustrating when squirrels take
what I planted and nurtured. Fresh garden tomatoes are the best
vegetable there is. But alas my skills are not on par with the lowly
squirrel. I surrender to the little mammal with better gardening street
skills.

rat traps and peanuts are a effective combination.
make sure the birds can't see them tho...


songbird

In article ,
songbird wrote:

Gus wrote:
...
I love to having a garden and it is not about saving money, but it is a
fair amount of work and patience, and so frustrating when squirrels take
what I planted and nurtured. Fresh garden tomatoes are the best
vegetable there is. But alas my skills are not on par with the lowly
squirrel. I surrender to the little mammal with better gardening street
skills.

rat traps and peanuts are a effective combination.
make sure the birds can't see them tho...


songbird

And then I put out nuts for the squirrels, who, when I'm lucky, come
while I'm having my morning coffee and watching the birds at the feeder.
Sometimes they go down to the ground where the pampered birds have
dropped sunflower seeds. I've never lost any fruit to a squirrel. All
they do is entertain me.
--
Palestinian Child Detained
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzSzH38jYcg

Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

In article
songbird writes:
Brooklyn1 wrote:
...
True, home vegetable gardening is a hobby... the definition of a hobby
is something one does for enjoyment but costs money, once it shows a
profit it's called a business... no way a home vegetable garden saves
money.

we save between $500-$1500/yr in food costs.

I don't think I come close to breaking even at this point, but I'm
really a recycled beginner (gardening after a break of ~15 years).
So I'm still figuring out what works for me in Ohio, which isn't
the same as what once worked for me in Virginia.

so yes, there is a way...

My grandparents did pretty well with it for about 60 years. It
didn't hurt that they were brought up on it (so they expected to
work hard). Nor did it hurt that their garden was huge with a
stream diverted to water it.

I would like to think that when retirement age comes (I'm 51 now),
I will have the cash flow reversed.

--
Drew Lawson | We were taking a vote when
| the ground came up and hit us.
| -- Cylon warrior

In article
"Gus" writes:

I love to having a garden and it is not about saving money, but it is a
fair amount of work and patience, and so frustrating when squirrels take
what I planted and nurtured. Fresh garden tomatoes are the best
vegetable there is. But alas my skills are not on par with the lowly
squirrel. I surrender to the little mammal with better gardening street
skills.

I keep reading these threads and, while greatful, I am puzzled as
to why squirrels don't give me any noticable problems. We have a
large number of gray squirrels, but as far as I can tell, all they
do in my yard is plant walnuts and spill birdseed.

(They may be who takes the fruit off the volunteer tomatoes, but I
only let those grow out of curiosity. I don't expect anything good
tasting.)

I suppose they just have to wait in line until the deer finish eating.
[grumble]

--
Drew Lawson | "Look! A big distracting thing!"
| -- Crow T. Robot.
|

Billy wrote:
....
And then I put out nuts for the squirrels, who, when I'm lucky, come
while I'm having my morning coffee and watching the birds at the feeder.
Sometimes they go down to the ground where the pampered birds have
dropped sunflower seeds. I've never lost any fruit to a squirrel. All
they do is entertain me.

this past spring i thought we were going to
have more trouble with squirrels because there
were five of them playing in the tree line to
the NE. i've only seen one wander through this
summer and they don't stay long. it's more
open than they like (hawks/eagles).

what we lack in squirrels we make up for in
ground squirrels/chipmunks.


songbird

David Hare-Scott wrote:
....
This is one of Brooklyn's little bugbears. Because he can't save money from
his veges therefore nobody else can either. In reality the outcome is most
variable. Some people pour money into it and get very little return and
some people spend little and get much. It's a matter of skill and
situation.

i've really enjoyed some recent reading in
natural farming where the author suggests getting
a wide variety of seeds and broadcasting them in
an area to "ask nature" the question of what it
can do with minimal intervention.

the challenge is to find seeds cheaply enough.
i can often pick up leftovers off the seed racks
for a few pennies.

another challenge is to protect the seeds from
birds and animals so they can have a chance if the
area is arid. he recommends coating them in clay
and various substances to discourage the critters.
not bad ideas if you have the substances or can
get them for cheap. if not, just coating with
clay alone can help enough.


songbird

"Drew Lawson" wrote in message
...
In article
"Gus" writes:

I love to having a garden and it is not about saving money, but it is
a
fair amount of work and patience, and so frustrating when squirrels
take
what I planted and nurtured. Fresh garden tomatoes are the best
vegetable there is. But alas my skills are not on par with the lowly
squirrel. I surrender to the little mammal with better gardening
street
skills.

I keep reading these threads and, while greatful, I am puzzled as
to why squirrels don't give me any noticable problems. We have a
large number of gray squirrels, but as far as I can tell, all they
do in my yard is plant walnuts and spill birdseed.

My dad never had problems with squirrels; he lived in Erie, PA. He
raised tomatoes every year for decades and had plenty of them. He had
some rabbit issues, but he put a fence and they stayed out... Oddly, I
never have any rabbit issues-- even had lettuce last couple years and
they never ate any of it. There are rabbits around here but not as
prevalent as squirrels.

On 7/30/2013 8:06 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
Just as I walked into my family room a couple of winters ago, I heard a
snap trap go off in the adjacent utility room.

Getting trap and mouse, I decided to flush him rather than open the door
to the cold.

He splashed into the bowl and revived, desperately trying to escape, so
I flushed him.

He now resides in my septic system with a diet of stink bugs

funny name for turds.


songbird


Haven't the stink bugs made it to your area yet?
If not, you're in for a real treat.

On 7/30/2013 6:53 PM, Gus wrote:
"Frank" wrote in message
...
Just as I walked into my family room a couple of winters ago, I heard
a snap trap go off in the adjacent utility room.

Getting trap and mouse, I decided to flush him rather than open the
door to the cold.

He splashed into the bowl and revived, desperately trying to escape,
so I flushed him.

He now resides in my septic system with a diet of stink bugs


I wonder how long a mouse can survive? I had one in a trap in a brown
paper bag once in the morning and assumed it was dead, but was running
late for work and so decided to deal with it after work... When I got
home, the trap was empty.

I prefer snap traps. I caught one in a holding trap that I had not checked
for a while and just got a stinking carcass. Poison inside the house
can also lead to stink. Glue traps are torture. I've seen them gnaw
off a leg to try to escape. As I discovered, the snap traps may not
just break their neck but suffocate them. Still preferred to suffering
in other traps.

I believe life span of mice and rats is about 3 years and most that
don't suffer predation, expire of cancer. Mice are used to test
chemical toxicity as they do not have a throw-up mechanism. The
chemicals are injected down their throats with a blunt syringe.

Frank writes:

On 7/30/2013 8:06 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
Just as I walked into my family room a couple of winters ago, I heard a
snap trap go off in the adjacent utility room.

Getting trap and mouse, I decided to flush him rather than open the door
to the cold.

He splashed into the bowl and revived, desperately trying to escape, so
I flushed him.

He now resides in my septic system with a diet of stink bugs

funny name for turds.

Haven't the stink bugs made it to your area yet?
If not, you're in for a real treat.

We have them here in central NJ.

I don't mind them at all, but my only contact with them
is that I find 3 or 4 a year inside the house,
especially in the winter.

I pick them up and put them outside but don't crush them.

I've read that the problem is that you can see a LOT of them.
I haven't experienced that.

--
Dan Espen

Frank wrote:
....
Haven't the stink bugs made it to your area yet?
If not, you're in for a real treat.

i'm not sure. do you have a good picture
reference for them?

i was just making a bit of a joke. good
earthy humor is never far away around here.


songbird

On 7/31/2013 2:17 PM, songbird wrote:
Frank wrote:
...
Haven't the stink bugs made it to your area yet?
If not, you're in for a real treat.

i'm not sure. do you have a good picture
reference for them?

i was just making a bit of a joke. good
earthy humor is never far away around here.


songbird


I see they first showed up in Allentown, Pa in 1998:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_marmorated_stink_bug

I quit growing peppers a couple of years ago as they were mottling the
peppers and they were small.

Hopefully a natural predator will set in and keep them in check.

They are funny coming into the house when fall sets in and leaving in
the spring.

Frank wrote:
....
I see they first showed up in Allentown, Pa in 1998:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_marmorated_stink_bug

i've not seen too many of those here. we
have something a bit longer and skinny (similar
otherwise) that we call a squash bug, but perhaps
it is the same bug.


I quit growing peppers a couple of years ago as they were mottling the
peppers and they were small.

i've never seen the type of damage to peppers as
described in the wiki article. we don't grow fruits
other than strawberries.


Hopefully a natural predator will set in and keep them in check.

plenty of them around in the spring and fall, but
the rest of the summer i don't see them much at all.


They are funny coming into the house when fall sets in and leaving in
the spring.

that is what these do too.

they stink like green apples when overly disturbed.

i'll have to capture one and get a good picture
to compare.


songbird

On 7/31/2013 7:03 PM, Derald wrote:
Frank wrote:

I see they first showed up in Allentown, Pa in 1998:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_marmorated_stink_bug

I quit growing peppers a couple of years ago as they were mottling the
peppers and they were small.

Hopefully a natural predator will set in and keep them in check.

They are funny coming into the house when fall sets in and leaving in
the spring.
I've been reading about those on the W3 for some time, now. As far
as I can determine, they've not yet made it down to Florida but it seems
inevitable. And when they do, they're certain to find it the same bug
Nirvana as has a host of other imports.
We do have a wide variety of green and brown "shield" bugs and of
the related "leaf footed" bugs. One or two varieties of shield bugs are
"bugiverous"; unfortunately it is virtually impossible to identify them
without first killing them.
In addition to transmitting viruses (virii ?) all of the
plant-feeding species do immediate and lasting damage to leaves as well
as to fruit. They are particularly debilitating to tomatoes, peppers,
eggplant and beans.
I know of no effective control except, perhaps, for carbaryl
("Sevin"), which is too extreme for me to consider. Also, surrounded as
I am by a broad expanse of native habitat, control efforts are futile.
A wide array of commercial and of DIY stink bug traps, including
one developed by University of Florida, exists but, as far as I can
determine, they all trap too many innocent bystanders to suit me so I
just live with the bugs, accepting the damage they do as sort of an
"interloper's tax". However, I do believe I'd try to devise some method
of screening the target plants from their attacks before ceasing
cultivation entirely.
I suppose that if I were gardening for the market, my attitude
might be a little different but for now I'm content just to skoosh the
adults and to drown the nymphs in soapy water. Nymphs are easy to spot
because of their bright color and are easy to catch due to their habit
of releasing and dropping to the ground when disturbed. Gratifying but
of no net benefit in controlling their number.


Don't know what's going on with the wasp they were looking at for control:

http://www.delawareonline.com/VideoN...ill-stink-bugs