Insects And Animals | Walter Reeves: The Georgia Gardener

Deer Resistant Vegetables and Herbs

Deer Resistant Vegetables and Herbs taken from NW Farms and Food If you want to minimize deer damage in an open garden, its best to start with plants that deer don’t like. Deer will “browse” on most anything when wild...

UGA Insect Publications

Following are useful publications from UGA concerning insects: 2011 Southeastern Peach, Nectarine and Plum Pest Management and Culture Guide A Parent’s Guide to the ‘Nitty-Gritty’ about Head Lice A School’s Guide to the ‘Nitty-Gritty’ about Head Lice Africanized Honey Bees...

UGA Wildlife Control Publications

Following are good wildlife control publications from UGA WDS-05-01 Using Milorganite to temporarily repel white-tailed deer from food plots WDS-05-02 Using Milorganite to repel white-tailed deer from ornamental plantings WDS-05-03 Evaluation of attractants for live-trapping nine-banded armadillos WDS-07-04 Nutria (Myocastor coypus) WDS-07-05 Moles WDS-07-06 Feral Swine...

Animal, Reptile, Bird and Insect – Books for Identification

I love getting emailed photos of plants and creatures that need identifying. Although I may not be able to ID them at first glance, I can usually find something interesting in one of my reference books. One of my favorite...

Roadrunner (bird) – Killing Hummingbird

When I posted photos of a kingsnake killing a copperhead, I had no idea how many responses I would get. From Scott W., here’s one of the most unusual! I really enjoyed the story of the Kingsnake but I have...

Kingsnake – Killing a Copperhead

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a description of a kingsnake eating another one. Now I’ve been sent something even more fascinating: a kingsnake killing a copperhead! I’ll let the gardener tell her story: The way the story unfolded...

Porch – Painting Blue for Insect Control

Arty Schronce, Director of Public Affairs for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, was recently asked if painting a porch blue would help control insects. I agree with his response: “This is a common belief, but there is no scientific evidence...

Periodical Cicada – 2011 Results

GEORGIA’S CITIZEN SCIENTISTS SURVEY STATE’S SPRING CICADAS Nancy C. Hinkle, Ph.D. Dept. of Entomology University of Georgia Athens GA 30602 In Spring 2011, billions of 13-year cicadas emerged in Georgia – the first time they had been seen since 1998...

Kudzu Bug – Control in Garden (Beans and Peas)

When kudzu bugs first appeared in 2009, crop scientists predicted they would eventually become a problem but they weren’t sure where or how. They are still evaluating damage to soybeans and peanuts but gardeners have found two plants kudzu bugs...

Periodical Cicada – 2011

Periodical cicada hatched by the millions in 2011. UGA’s Nancy Hinkle mapped the emergence of this insect in Georgia. She received e-mails from over 500 people and had cicadas reported from 50 counties. In general, these cicadas seem to do...

Kudzu Bug – On Wisteria

The kudzu bug, Megacopta cribraria, has quickly become a nuisance in Georgia. While it seems to lightly damage kudzu, the creatures wander into homes by the dozens (if not hundreds) in fall and spring. Now they have been caught damaging...

Africanized Honeybees Now in Georgia – What to Do

The Georgia Department of Agriculture announced in Oct, 2010 that Africanized honeybees had definitely been identified in Georgia (near Albany, in Dougherty County). This means that it is even more important to support local beekeepers. Basically, the more European (domesticated...

Imidacloprid will not control spider mites

Imidacloprid will not control spider mites. Why not? The fact that an effective insecticide will usually not harm a mite seems counter intuitive. After all they are both Arthropods i.e. small creatures with exoskeletons and jointed appendages. Although following this...

Bedbugs – Control

On a recent trip to New York, we were very aware of the possibility of bedbugs being present in our hotel room. Our luggage went into the bathroom as soon as we entered. We thoroughly inspected the mattresses, box springs...

The Bugs Above Us

When I see a bee or beetle in my garden, I rarely think deeply about how they got there. They just flew in from my neighbor’s garden or from another spot in my yard, right? They never got higher than...

Poison Caterpillars – Identification

Yowsa! Fall is stinging caterpillar season…watch where you put your fingers as you work in the garden. Although the welt is painful, few are dangerous unless you are especially sensitive. Keep an eye out for these critters on the leaves...

Army Worms – Control

“An army travels by its stomach” according to military lore. When a homeowner discovers an army of caterpillars marching across his lawn, devouring the bermuda grass, this aphorism is proved true for the insect world as well! Armyworm caterpillars are...