Home gardeners in our region have many questions, and gardening expert Charlie Nardozzi is here to help answer a few.
A back porch beetle invasion
Q: We feel like we are living in a horror movie every evening if we are outside. There are swarms of brown beetles that love to harass humans on our deck. What can be done about these creatures? Nothing so far has worked. We don’t want to use toxic chemicals if we can help it. - Elizabeth in Hartland
A: The pests that are bugging you and your guests in the evening might be the Asiatic brown beetle. They are active at night and do attack plants, but also can get into your hair and clothing.
Because it's similar to the Japanese beetle, you would approach mitigation efforts in the same way: Japanese beetle traps with pheromones. Place the traps about 50 to 100 feet away from your house, so you can draw them away when they come out at night.
Another short-term solution comes from the North Carolina Extension Service: Plug in an outdoor light bulb and place a bowl filled with soapy water underneath (not touching the bulb, of course). The beetles will be attracted to the light and fall into the water and drown.
The best long-term solution, though, is to use beneficial nematodes. Nematodes attack the grub stage of these brown beetles.
Later this month, apply it by spraying around the areas where you see beetles coming out of the ground. Water it in well, and that should lower the overall beetle population.
Grasshoppers like asparagus, too
Q: I've never had a significant amount of grasshoppers at my house, but this year there are tons of them! My asparagus plants are two years old and the foliage is being eaten, leaving skeleton-like remnants of fronds instead of nice bushy fronds. Are the grasshoppers the culprit? One thing I read suggested planting wild carrot nearby because the black wasps that are a natural predator for grasshoppers like the wild carrot family. - Claudia, in West Norwich
A: It could be the grasshoppers, but they might not be the main culprit here. Grasshoppers tend not to be a perennial issue in Vermont because they like drier conditions. But if you're seeing lots of them, try mowing down any weedy areas, as that is their primary hangout.
Grasshoppers have lots of natural predators, like birds and mammals, so they can help keep the population in check.
What could be helping themselves to your asparagus is the asparagus beetle. The larvae of the asparagus beetle can defoliate asparagus plants pretty easily. They are small, gray-colored grubs that you can kill by spraying them with spinosad.
An unintentional winged sumac sanctuary
Q: A few years ago, a winged sumac appeared in my yard. It might have crept in the year I tried 'no-mow May.' Now I am overrun with them. They appear to propagate underground. I can mow over the small ones the minute they pop up, but if you miss one in they grow incredibly fast. While my wildflower book says they are native, and if one grows to produce flower the bees completely love them, but my property is turning into a winged sumac sanctuary! I’m tired of playing whack-a-mole with my mower and loppers. Is there some way to stop them from propagating? And out of curiosity, is it by rhizomes that they manage to spread? - John, via email
A: The sumac are indeed spreading by rhizomes under the ground, which means you will likely have to play "whack-a-sumac" for a while longer.
You can continue to mow them down — that will exhaust that root system and stop them from coming up. Sumac is a beneficial plant to have in the landscape for bees and birds, and we can use sumac for food and medicinal purposes.
How are pears growing on a hawthorn tree?
Q: We have a Ure pear tree, not too old, maybe 10 years. It’s covered with pears now. We have three Hawthorn trees. Kinda scraggly. We grew them from sticks years ago. They are about 20 feet tall. This year, two of the Hawthorns are producing pears?! Thoughts? So confused. - Diana, in Essex
A: There is a hawthorn tree called the "pear hawthorn," which produces pear-shaped fruits. They are quite a bit smaller than European pears, and they are edible. Birds and small mammals eat them.
And although it is always best to check with your doctor before consuming any wild edibles, just like the regular hawthorn fruits, pear hawthorn can be consumed raw or cooked, or used for medicinal purposes.
Which critter is taking just one bite?
Q: My daughter in Northern Vermont has the problem of crows attacking her tomatoes, taking a bite out of each tomato, then leaving them on the ground. What’s up and how can she save her tomatoes? - Diane, Northern Vermont
A: Larger birds like crows, blue jays and cardinals could all be helping themselves to one bite of the tomatoes. One solution is to create some protective caging using chicken wire, wire mesh or even some plastic deer fencing over the tomato plants.
If you're interested in organic pest controls, Charlie Nardozzi will provide a demonstration at Gardener's Supply in Williston on Monday, Aug. 12 from 5-6 p.m.
All Things Gardening is powered by you, our audience! Send us your toughest conundrums and join the fun. Email your question to gardening@vermontpublic.org or better yet, leave a voicemail with your gardening question so we can use your voice on the air! Call Vermont Public at 1-800-639-2192.
Listen to All Things Gardening Friday evenings at 5:44 p.m., and Sunday mornings at 9:35 a.m., and subscribe to the podcast to listen any time.
