Need help! Bugs ate garden last year

[Beekissed]

I use a combination of methods to reduce bug predation. I used companion planting and it does work! I also mulch plenty to retain moisture but have found out to not mulch potatoes.....the potato bugs love to breed and live in the mulch.

I also am very vigilant and make an inspection of all garden plants twiced a day. I plant sacrificial plants that the bugs would rather eat next to my veggies and some of my companion plants repel bugs.

Soapy water sprayed directly on bugs can kill them by dissolving the oils on their skin. Some folks actually make a tea from the dead bugs of a particular pest and spray this on the plants....says it deters anymore of that particular pest.

Some bugs are hand picked each evening.

This year I hope to get a few ducks to patrol the garden also.

I wouldn't use Sevin, as it also kills pollinators and some bugs that prey on your nuisance bugs.

 

[freemotion]

That's exactly what I wanted to hear!! I hope/plan to get guineas this spring. My organic squash and cukes are progressively worsening every year with bug infestations. Cukes until frost! Awesome!

Here's my question: Do you fence them in? Do you need to supplement their feed?

Fence them in? HA!

Oh, and

I started them with some chicks, in a brooder, then in a brooding pen covered with netting to keep chicks in and hawks out. Then into the pasture and coop with the rest of the flock, fenced with four foot horse fencing topped with electric tape. Flight feathers on one side clipped short when first introduced.

You could pluck those suckers bald and they would still make it into the rafters and onto the neighbor's roof.

Fortunately, my three guineas were able to completely patrol 4-5 yards and spent time in my gardens every day. They left the pasture mostly to the chickens and sleep mostly in the rafters above the goats.

Because of their wandering ways, I am down to one now, the other two succumbed to predators while outside my fence. One female was setting eggs and I could not find her nest. The other was patrolling for bugs with her mate in my neighbor's yard a week or so ago and a loose dog ate her.

I feed them with the chickens.....they come in at breakfast and supper to hoover up whole grains with everyone else. They choose bugs first, though, so their grain consumption is very low when the bugs are out. They barely scratch, unlike chickens. But they will scratch a little, especially if the ground is bare and the soil is loose.

Harvey Ussery uses electronet to control his, there is an article on his site, I think it is www.themodernhomestead.us

 

[freemotion]

Here is the mention of guinea fowl: http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Organic-Gardening-More-Strategies.html

 

[me&thegals]

The fencing is ALSO what I wanted to hear I'm a lazy gardener (or really just getting too huge in my gardened area) to mess around with fencing. My friend raises guineas, so I guess I wouldn't be too devastated to lose a few here and there.

The chickens are 3/4 mile away, but I could dump some scratch on the ground in areas I want worked up to feed them each day, set out some water.... Wonder if a dog house would work for night?


As for bugs, OP, I do a lot of handpicking. I pay my kids a penny per bug and any other kid who happens onto our property

Any infested foliage gets burned. Bug-resistant varietes get planted over and over again (Thelma Sander's Sweet Potato squash is an excellent one!). Baking soda sprinkled over my brassicas seemed to stop a moth/caterpillar infestation.

I sprinkled BT all over the place this year, a natural organism, to slow and eventually stop our Japanese beetle problem, plus we lure 1000s to their deaths in hormone traps.

We have bat houses up to lure more bats, but they are not populated yet. They should be great for a lot of pests!

I also have a slurry mixed up of pureed tomato leaves and liquid to spray all over the place. It lures in predator wasps. Creating habitat for predator insects is another way to go. I think yarrow and Queen Anne's lace are hosts to a fair amount of predator insects.

In general, diversity and crop rotation seem to help a bit. My only recurring problem is with Japanese beetles, which eat EVERYthing, and the squash bugs, for which I hope to get guinea hens next year. Good luck!

 

[FarmerChick]

maf8009, what bugs in particular?

I use a bunch of different stuff. Food grade DE, a sprayed solution of garlic, dish soap, milk & water is a great repellent. I plant marigolds & pyrethrum & tansy around, (Tansy smells so bad it even repels me!)

For potato bugs I pick off the adults and (yes, this is gross) I smash the young red blobs right on the leaves & leave the 'remains' there.
Twice a week for two weeks, no more to be seen.

I had slug stomping rock around the garden or I carry a pair of clipper and snip them in half.

It's amazing what lengths I will go if my precious crops are threatened.

can we be eating those slugs instead of wasting them?

 

[freemotion]

Me&, I haven't seen a Japanese Beetle on my property since getting guinea fowl....

The doghouse is a great idea but won't work. They like to be up high and will resist all your attempts to make an attractive house for them. If you have any trees nearby, they will happily roost in them. They will wander quite far from home and come back to roost. If they survive. If not, get more!

 

[me&thegals]

Me&, I haven't seen a Japanese Beetle on my property since getting guinea fowl....

The doghouse is a great idea but won't work. They like to be up high and will resist all your attempts to make an attractive house for them. If you have any trees nearby, they will happily roost in them. They will wander quite far from home and come back to roost. If they survive. If not, get more!

This keeps sounding better and better! We are bordered by woods, so roosting shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully they won't choose the railings on the deck and front porch.

I don't mind losing a few here and there to support the local coyote population and can pretty easily get more from my friend/neighbor. I can't wait!!!

I'm also excited about the alarm-bird aspect, as we live at the end of a very long driveway. Our house is so much more airtight than our old one that I can never hear people coming until they're staring in the front door. It still spooks me!

 

[freemotion]

They like to be higher than railings, so will likely choose the trees....or the roof! Their poo is VERY stinky, since they eat mainly bugs, so hopefully they will find the trees attractive.

As for alarm.....do an online video search so you can hear their call if you haven't already. It can drive you insane and can be deafening at times. My three had a fit when a friend came to see my baby goat....she has big curly hair and wore a hat and they shrieked so loudly that we couldn't hear ourselves think! Made us laugh, though. And they would do this if I wore an unusual coat, like when they saw me in my raincoat and hat for the first time. They also use the alarm to locate each other if one gets separated.....so find nests if you can and collect those eggs, because they will call for a nesting hen all day long. Mine did, anyways.

One thing that helped a lot was when I started giving them a handful of sunflower seeds every day and calling "guinea-guinea-guinea" softly as they ate. They started greeting me in the morning, trying to come into the garage where the seed was kept, and I could often call them home from three yards over to get their seed. This helped later when they didn't recognize me in different clothing.....I could make my call and they'd go, oh, it's just you!

I will poll the effected neighbors in the spring and if they agree, I will get a couple more. I hope they say yes, but with the houses so close, I will respect them if they say no.