A Visiting Quartet

We had 4 visitors this morning!

They were on guard but not too skittish and seemed relaxed, as they slowly poked around and nibbled here and there.  They lingered for a while, then slowly worked their way out of site, over the hill -

No gardens or flowers for them to raid today; so today they were welcomed guests.

A Little Joey

I came across this young opossum the other day lying in the driveway when delivering a package.  It was still alive but in rough shape and struggling. There were a couple yellow-jacket on it and it was covered with what looked like lice or nits or something.

I still had a couple hours of deliveries ahead of me and I had nothing to put this dude in or any way of helping it at that point. Perhaps, if it looked better, and I thought it would have had a fighting chance, I may have risked taken it and tried to help it.  Instead I moved it out of the driveway to the base of a tree and laid a piece of pine bark over top, in an effort to keep the bees aways.

I scanned the area and didn't see any signs of the mother or others babies, so guessing this little fella fell off it's momma while she was out and about, or perhaps, she knew something was wrong with it and intentionally left it behind.

The circle of life...

Caught Yeah (Pics)!

Here are a few pics that Emilie took back in April of some of the critters who call my little piece of heaven their home too - 

She has a good eye with the camera!

 

It's Peach Season!

My peach tree is loaded with peaches!  So much so that the added weight have some of the branches drooping close to the ground, even though I pruned the tree to be able to walk and mow beneath said limbs without any issues.

Unfortunately, the tree has some sort of fungus, which it has had for years now and it also affects the fruit too.  Many rot and mold up on the tree, some have spot damage, etc.  However, that being said, the peaches are still delicious!

As you might imagine the local critters do not care about a blemish or bruise or mold, nope.  They are still drawn to and seem to come out of the woodwork to feast on the fruit that falls.

The deer, however, have no problems eating both the peaches while still on the tree and the tender ends of the tree limbs, see pic below, as they're the perfect height -

At the same time as the peaches are ripening, areas of my lawn and veggie gardens show signs of a skunk.  Plus I've seen it out there when I let Trixie out at night to do her business.  It takes off running when the light comes on and I step out on the back deck.

It's out there digging for grubs, so I welcome it's presence and the removal of as many grubs as it can gorge on.  However, what I do NOT like is when it digs for said grubs in my lawn because it destroys the lawn and makes a mess -

And not to mention that the darn skunk is pooping EVERYWHERE, gross -

Also, I've been watching a woodchuck sneak over from the neighbors yard, through my fence, to grab a peach and dart back over to and under the shed.  I've come to learn that peaches are a woodchucks kryptonite, so it's time to take advantage of this fact and set my traps!

Tuesday evening I bait and set my trap but instead of waking up on Wednesday morning to a trapped woodchuck, I instead woke to a trapped skunk, alas!

I didn't want to mess with the trap and skunk, so I simply propped open the traps door and the skunk eventually made it's way out, through the fence and under the neighbors shed -

I'm not dismayed and still wanting to take advantage of the peaches, so I reset my trap Wednesday afternoon around 4ish, and now we wait!

Just over an hour later when I emerge from my shower what do my wandering eyes see but Mr. woodchuck trapped - 

Being freshly showered and hungry myself I contemplated on whether to deal with it then or wait until morning.  Since woodchucks are gross - their poop anyway, I opted for an evening drive -

And YES, as you might have guessed, this SOB left me a present in my trunk, well actually 4 smelly and wet and gross present pieces, GROSS and PU!

One problem solved...

I'll Huff And I'll Puff - UPDATE

Here is an update to my previous post back on Wednesday, July 24 titled, "I'll Huff And I'll Puff" -

So, I thought it unusual that after only a couple of days the yellow jackets stopped swarming around their access hole into the wall of my living room.  The first couple of days there were oodles of them flying and buzzing around the area, then there were none.  Also, around the same time, I was no longer finding bees inside my living room. Foolishly, I thought I had won but oh contraire!

While doing some grilling out on my deck this past Saturday I once again spied bees coming and going from the side of my chimney!  However, THIS time they were doing so on the deck side of the chimney, which is the exact opposite side of where their original access hole was!

Those sons-of-bitches found another way in AND out, UGH!

The good news is I have easy peasy access to this new spot with plenty of room to run if necessary 😉.

This time around, I chose to grab my Craftsman shop-vac and using the extension pieces I was able to stand at a safe distance while holding the hose end just below their access hole.  Let me tell you, it was the funniest things to see the returning yellow jackets flying towards the hole AND WOOSH down the hose and into the shop-vac they went!  I stood there for a while, in the hot sun, holding that hose and counting each bee that got sucked up!  I stopped and moved on when I hit 40!

Later that evening, after dark, I performed the same steps I had on the original hole and stuffed cotton balls soaked in bee spray into the holes, then blocked them to prevent access.

There are two holes in the below pic that they were using -

In the pic below, the red left arrow shows where the original hole was and the blue right arrow, opposite, is where their new holes were -

This first video below shows the bees coming and going into and out of the new holes - 

Yellow Jackets entering and exiting

And this video below is poor Trixie limping along after being stung in her left paw, the poor thing!  She was minding her own business, napping next in her bed when all of a sudden she sprung up and ran towards me.  She didn't yelp or cry or whine, not a peep but I knew immediately what just happened and saw her holding her paw up, which still had the bee attached!  Since a single yellow jacket is able to keep stinging and stinging and stinging, I don't know if she was stung more than once but flicked the dude off and squashed it.  I don't think Trixie knew what happened but she was hobbled for most of the afternoon.

Trixie limping after being stung in paw

Although, like the first time, the bee activity has but ended.  There has been a couple outside still trying to get in and I'm still finding one or two here and there inside the house but hopeful I eliminated them this go around, time will tell...

Insect Damage!

Here are some examples of the damage being done to plants in my yard this summer by critters, which I alluded to in an earlier post.

My Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) and in this example you can see the flower pedals have been eaten on almost all the blooms - 

My Monarda (Bee Balm), the leaves on most of these plants have been destroyed -

My Sunflowers, the lower leaves have been eaten away -

My Clerodendrum Trichotomum (Harlequin Glorybower) leaves are riddled with holes and their edges destroyed -

My tomato plants -

My pepper plants - 

The above examples are all being done by insects, e.g. Japanese beetles, tomato hornworms, slugs, etc.  I don't recall this much damage in years past.  This year has been unique.  I do my pest to manage these pests without the need for chemicals.  It's a battle for sure but also a part of the process.

Since we're on the subject, it's worth mentioning again that the wild rabbits and deer are also causing damage to various plants in my yard and gardens, ALAS...

I'll Huff And I'll Puff...

Eating dinner on my back deck the other evening I noticed the comings and goings of bees from the opposite side of the chimney from where I was sitting, so I investigated.

Sure enough the bees or in this case, Vespula vidua, known generally as yellowjackets, had made their way into the wall of my house where the chimney meets the clapboard, which put them approximately just over and to the right of the fireplace mantle from an inside perspective.

This is not the first time this has happened either!  Several years ago, same issue and in the same general area.  I thought I had caulked the holes sufficiently but perhaps time and persistence finally paid off for these pests.  Part of the challenge is the location of their entryway, which is about 25' to 30'  up from the ground, see pic below (the red square shows where one of those grey paper wasp nests was being built.  Using the garden hose, I was able to spray that apart months ago and drove them off!) -

Just like the previous time, when you placed your ear against the drywall, in the general area of where I assumed they were, sure enough the wall was A BUZZ!  Yuppers, you could hear the humming and buzzing clear as day!  

Good news, if there is good news, I had relatively easy access to their entry hole via the window, see above.  Bad news is that I'm dealing with flying yellowjackets that are known for being very aggressive!  So, I waited until dark and made my move.  I presoaked several cotton balls with bee\hornet spray, which I then pushed into their entry hole before using one last piece to block access in or out, easy peasy.  I was hoping the fumes from the presoaked cotton balls would work to kill the bees trapped inside - I believe this worked to some level.

However, and which amazes me because it happened the last time I went through this, with their access hole blocked some of these dudes began getting into the living room!  I must have killed 20 to 30 that made their way in, see pic below, UGH! Why had I not been seeing bees in the house long before hand?

Anyway, my approach seems to have worked and I've successfully destroyed the hive!  It's been several days now and I've not found any more inside, nor do I see any flying around and trying to get in, YAY!  Seems I have some more caulking work to do to prevent this from happening again but I'll wait until cooler weather...

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the above picture?!

This summer I've noticed quite a bit more of the plant leaves in and around my yard, and in my veggie gardens, being eaten.  Plants from my peppers above to my sunflowers, basil, broccoli, hostas, butterfly bushes, harlequin glorybower, etc.

I've been finding more critters than in the past on the above plants. Critters like; Japanese beetles, cabbage moths, aphids, slugs, and others too.  They've all been very destructive too, alas!

I am not a fan of using pesticides and chemicals in general, instead I try other methods like sprinkling Diatomaceous Earth around the base of the plants, beer in saucers, sprinkling spicy\hot spices on leaves, spray plants with warm water with Dawn dish soap, etc.  Some of these work, some not so much, however, the one that never fails in squashing those I can get a hold of between my fingers!

The tomato hornworm caterpillar youngster below, the critter dining on my peppers, was small compared to the size it would have become had I not found it and it was left to continue gorging.  In the past I would feed these dudes to my chickens who would gobble them up.  I would do the same when skimming my pool, too offer the insects to the chickens!  This time of year the pool is a magnet for beetles, oodles of them in there all the time, which takes time to skim, stop and squash each one but that's what I do.  It's a war!

Ah, the joys of gardening!

“What's up, doc?"

There are scads of wild rabbits this year here in New England!  I don't recall ever seeing SO many.  Guessing it might have something to do with the mild winters we've had the last couple of years.

As many folks view these rabbits as cute, I find them a nuisance in general but more so when you're having to battle with them to keep them destroying your flower and vegetable gardens.

There are about a half dozen of these vermin in my backyard alone.  They disappear during the day but come out in the evenings and early mornings when it's cooler and do constant damage, GRRR

This Rose Campion is one example, where they eat parts of it snapping the flowering stems off -

They like to give themselves dirt baths, so any bare spots are attractive to them.  They'll get in those spots, dig and roll around making a mess, especially if in one of my veggie gardens.  Smaller, up and coming plants like my carrots and beans don't stand a chance.

If they survive that onslaught, well then its the taste that attracts them.  I even installed a separate fence around my raised beds specifically to keep these vermin out but they still find a way in, and once in they make short work of eating plants to the ground.  You can see what they've done to my bean plants - 

But fear not for my persistence has paid off, GOTCHA!

This trapped pest was the one who had an acquired taste for my bean and carrot plants, which proved to be his downfall!

One down and SO many more to go and like Carl Spackler said in Caddyshack (just replace "gophers" with "rabbits") - 

"Licensed to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. A man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit - ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote."

Irresistible!

I picked up a couple Rescue disposable fly traps from TSC weeks ago and immediately set one out when I got home.

Not sure if this is a good thing, as like the Japanese beetle bag traps, I feel putting these traps out actually attracts the pests to your yard.  Regardless, it did a remarkable job and trapped more flies than I would have guessed were out there.

 

I took this pic on June 4 and as you can see there are about ~2" of dead flies in there! When I took it down 20-days later it was loaded with dead flies, about half the bag FULL, I kid you not!

One take way, do NOT hang this trap close to the house or anywhere folks will pass by or sit near, as it STINKS something awful!  Live and learn, as I hung it under my deck, next to the back door, PHEW.  

I'll be hanging the other trap out this weekend but away from the house and hopefully down wind.

The Cupboards Are Bare...

Caught this 5AM Thanksgiving day visitor on my surveillance camera.

There are three I see all the time and at all times of the night and day.

They're hanging out at the wrong house if they hope to find plants to eat.  All my fall clean up and flower bed clean up has been completed, and everything has been put to bed for the winter.  I have plenty of neighbors who do little to no fall clean up and can only image there is plenty to eat in their beds.  Just wish these tick carrying pests would move on.

Here's The Proof!

As if there was any doubt I had embolden deer visiting my yard and gardens quite often...

I took these pics the other evening, as the three were making their way towards my gardens.  Looks like the whole family was dinning out, UGH!

They're a beautiful animal, no question about it but would prefer to see them in someone else's yard.

Truth be told, now that the season is coming to an end, I welcome the deer's help in eating back the majority of plants, so long as they stay away from my vegetables.  The more they eat, the less I need to cut back and cart off.

* Disregard the date stamps on the pictures, they are incorrect.

Just Call Me Mr. McGregor

We're overrun with wild rabbits and they're doing a number on my plants.  I chase them off when I can but that does nothing, as they simply come back.

So, in an effort to try and get a handle on these pests, I've set my Hav-a-heart traps.  Unfortunately, this curious young opossum got itself trapped instead.  I had to wake the dude up and coax him out but once out he scurried off.  Hoping he sticks around, as opossums are great at insect control, especially ticks.

Actually, you can even see the damage the rabbits are doing in the second picture above.  Those plant stems just ahead of the opossum are balloon flowers and should be full of leaves and much taller but seems the rabbits find these tasty and are constantly eating them, even when new leaves appear they don't last long, UGH!

 Rabbits are a bit more cautious and more difficult to trap but I'm patient, and eventually my patients will pay off.  In the meantime, I wait.

Twins!

They keep coming, UGH! Well, not these two, just mice in general.

I've trapped approximately a dozen or more mice over the last 2-2.5 months, no lie.

I set these Victory traps all fall and winter long in my pool shed for just this reason.  These dudes might be cute, well again not these two hehehe, but the damage they can do if left unchecked is surprising and destructive, so I don't take a chance.

Shoo! Go Away! Scram!

It's that time of year, which I believe I've posted about before, where the stink bugs, boxelder bugs and ladybugs swarm and amass on my house. Here are a couple pics, which really doesn't do justice to how many of these darn things there are -

They get up under the cracks of the clapboards -

Part of the problem is doing this is they poop all over, which of course is showing and staining the clapboards, gross!  I've killed thousands, from when they first started to appear when youngsters, to now where they can fly.  However, from the looks you wouldn't guess I killed any.  They come out and cover the house on the nice sunny and warm days, otherwise they're hidden and somewhat dormant.

It's been this way every fall since I moved into the house.

Peaches Equal Kryptonite!

FINALLY!

I finally caught one of the adults.  It's hard to tell by the pic but this dude was BIG and really filled the trap.

My peach tree is dropping peaches and all sorts of critters are enjoying them, from chipmunks to rabbits to the deer!  So, I baited the trap with a couple delicious peaches and in short order, as I watched while grilling my dinner from the deck, this dude brazenly came through the fence and marched straight into the trap, TADA!

The following morning, after resetting the trap the night before, I caught the below adult rabbit -

 

Both of these vermin did a number on my echinacea and balloon flower plants this year, eating them right to the ground.

Hoping, for now anyway, that issue has been resolved...

Berry Or Bug?!

Would anyone care for some delicious Black Raspberries, hmmm?!?!

The insects pictured below are Boxelder bugs.  They're harmless but a SUPER nuisance!  They cover the south side and rear of the house come Fall, looking for a place to over winter.  Seems they find holes and gaps in the clapboards and crawl on in.  Come spring they make their way out and recongregate, this time to mate.  The pics below show the various stages as they grow. 

These and the dreaded stink bugs will soon be converging on my house, UGH! 

Deer Deer Deer

Oodles and oodles of deer this summer!  I'm seeing them in my backyard, on my walks and when driving.  Emilie and I almost hit one the other evening, that on the side of the road, too close for comfort.