Welcome to Hedge Row Country
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@globaljaybird
Termites like hedge apples? …or the wood? I never leave any wood near my buildings. Wood piles make great homes for just about everything. I had a problem with cottonmouths a few years back so I cleaned up several areas where they would hide and nest. Never leave tall grass near water… never! They can be really aggressive!
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@globaljaybird
“Somehow it seems we’ve steered just a tad off subject. LOL”
Not really… I was just getting to my idea of having our post guys urinate on the goal post to mark territory! I don’t know if we’ll ever battle mice in the post, but we certainly seem to have a rat problem now and then!
That’s what we did a few years ago, and look… NO MORE ANTLERS!
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@drgnslayr-Far as I know just the wood. Could probably google it for the wiki info. They stay out of daylight except when hatching. That is the only time you’ll ever see anything but their damage.
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@globaljaybird
I’m in the woods and never had a termite problem. Most of the wood around me is hedge. I’m thinking termites probably seek out softer woods. They really take on a project if they go after hedge!
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@drgnslayr-I don’t think termites deviate much from whatever they have naturally available, but earth moving or excavations, blasting, road work, etc., may give way to spreading from a colony. Also, if you can contact the roots directly, copper sulfate crystals will kill any tree known to man. Is great for septic laterals if you’ve a distribution box to get it in the laterals. Dumping it in the tank, toilet or sinks is largely innefective to kill roots. Also it only kills what it contacts directly with very little if any residual.
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@globaljaybird I feel so left out! Jk! I’m learning lots.
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@globaljaybird
Good points!
I’m on a lake and just a few feet above the water line. I know termites need water, but maybe that’s too much water! It’s also clay soil. Harder than concrete when it freezes!
Termites are also a food source for several critters…
I’ve had more of an issue with ants nesting in my oaks. Also… a problem with scale. If anyone has good, natural ways to win these battles, please post them!
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@drgnslayr-I buy a product from Gardens Alive.com called Pyola. Is .0125 % permethrin (chrysanthemum) & 99 % canola oil for fruit tree scale & garden use. Will not use anything at all most years except natural plant deterrents. Last year never sprayed corn, beans or tomatoes even once & had good yields. Also good pears & apples, but cherries & plums all froze with a late snow. I don’t sell anything at all, as that needs to be virtually blemish free, but canola oil will actually kill any insect by suffocation. Only problem is you have to have direct contact on the insect itself, so you have to drench your plants. But on the flipside, unlike Volck or dormant oils, you can use it any time of year successfully. If I have some insect/crop damage I just live with it-is better than killing people or livestock/animals with pesticides. My biggest problem is newborn whitetail fawns emerging just as the first planting of sweetcorn ripens about mid July. They’re not afraid to come right out in the daylight & enjoy your efforts. I will not shoot them & I rarely hunt anymore except for varmints-coyotes, invasive pests (squirrels- rats with bushy tails), snapping turtles which can take a dogs’ leg off, or critters that may invade the house like coons or woodpeckers. If they’re movin’ in my place, I don’t give a hoot if they’re endangered or not. JMO. When younger I’ve eaten coon. Is good if prepared right in a pressure cooker but kinda greasy if I recall. I think GardensAlive is owned by Gurneys Nursery & Seed Co Greenburg, IN. My cuz is a 4th gen arborist with over 600 acres of pecan trees & some hickory. He’s even grafted them together to create a “hickan nut”. Some years he gets 10-12 thousand lbs of cleaned meats from his grove & some years nothing. God just doesn’t always let you have a good harvest. You have to have a damn good day job to be a small scale farmer of any kind, & even small farming costs tens of thousands in investments, equipment, etc. He has a 48" sawmill & occasionally sells some pecan lumber to some rural schools for shop classes. Still many years you get nothing but blisters & a broken back, and the ability to enjoy a lifestyle that, IMO is worth a fortune.
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@drgnslayr http://www.hutchnews.com/opinion/columnists/article_024e0e6e-ba97-5ee3-a707-a5466790a824.html?mode=jqm
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@globaljaybird There is no doubt about it. Today, you guys have made my mind up - this is the best website in the history of the universe!
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@nuleafjhawk -Thank you for the complimets-but I’ve no idea why. Makes no diff tho, thanks.
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@globaljaybird I really enjoy all the gardening and nature tips. (seriously) I’m glad we have a site where we can feel free to discuss other things than just X’s and O’s. It’s just more - diverse, fun and interesting!
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@nuleafjhawk-100 % agreed, it’s nice to have decent conversations with mature & more experienced people. There’s something new to learn every day in life & when you no longer wish to learn, you just as well cash in your chips. Plus some of these guys & gals are pretty damn funny at times, along with some extremely clever & subtle wit, & some very professional quality writings.
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@nuleafjhawk. Your 1993 Livestock Judging Championship comment cracked me up!
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This is the best thread on the best website in the history of the interweb!!!
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Wow! Thanks to everyone for helping me out!
Sorry this went off basketball…
I also grow a gigantic all-organic garden in town in my back yard. I condition the ground with my own compost… coffee grinds… etc. I always use some coffee grinds because earthworms seem to love it. They probably get a buzz on them and just dig, dig, dig! The ultimate fertilizer comes from their castings.
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@drgnslayr-Dairy manure is really well balanced & mild, slow to burn fertilizer, but chicken doo is great for tomatoes. Also one of the best things for a garden, believe it or not, is plain black & white, shredded newspaper without color dyes that tend to be non-biodegradable. Newsprint has about 90% trace elements of the tree still intact. Also a great cover crop with extremely high nitrogen is clover, which attracts bees & unfortunately deer & rabbits-I guess they were here first so they have seniority. I always plant tons of garlic cloves every where possible and like to cook with it fresh, but I always hit it with the tillers & allow it to spread freely to discourage critters, especially around the blackberries. Just buy really cheap bulbs (which are alive but dormant) at the market & plant the cloves roots down & it takes virtually no maintenance. Other natural furry pest deterrents would be Jonquils, Daffodil, Surprise lilies, Iris, & chives. These are all perennials & many naturalize profusely. Even deer hate Daffodils. Also at least 8 mo of the year I’ll have onions or hot peppers in the ground if I can. Can be a challenge in harsh Kansas weather, but most years that works also.
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@globaljaybird Don’t forget lead poisoning for varmit control.
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@drgnslayr Hmmmm - We don’t have to worry about it today,but maybe we should have a separate category for things like this after games like Texas and K-State…
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This is so funny. Checked into the site and recent posts and saw this one was still at the top so had to see what had been added. From D-Day to garlic in the garden. Well listen, anybody know anything about old JD tractors. lol jk
globaljaybird…interesting note on garlic. Last spring I got the garden all cleaned up (nothing big since just me and wife), planted and wasn’t long before I had nice 4" plants of beans, carrots, brocolli, and others. Went out one morning and there was nothing but deer prints. I mean it was all gone. After battling infestations of stink bugs destroying tomatoes and other pests the past couple of years I called it quits. I think I may go ahead and stuff some garlic in the ground now and then try a fall garden or wait til next spring. (beer)
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@brooksmd -One last thing about Hedge & deer. The edge of a hedge row or heavy plum thicket leading up perpendicular to a road is a very natural place for deer to emerge from & cross front of you, especially during the rut. Also if you google deer repellant some people swear by Irish Spring soap-go figure. I used citronella torches, a motion flood & a boom box last summer & still have about a dozen bags of sweet corn in the freezer. My closest neighbor is a quarter mile so no one complained but the wife. Drive careful…I’ll be quiet now. LOL
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@globaljaybird Well unfortunately down here in Louisiana we don’t have much in the way of hedgerows. In fact, my 2.5 acres is in what used to be a huge tung farm. However those trees were all cleared out years ago leaving pines and water oaks. Thanks to Katrina I lost all but 1 of my oaks and a half dozen pines. All very mature trees. Luckily none on the house.
I have a friend who uses an electrified fence which didn’t really stop the deer until he started coating the insulators with peanut butter. I had considered a motion flood with a barking dog but I was just so po’d at the time. So I may go ahead and start with the garlic and pickup the rest of the stuff and go with a fall garden.
BTW, haven’t read anything since your post about you and Woodrow enjoying the game the other night. How’s he doing?
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@brooksmd-Thanks for asking. He’s holding up pretty well. Has lymphoma in his esophagus about the Adams apple. Is difficult for him to swallow anything but soft foods & is drinking quarts of water daily, antibiotics, prednisone & has dropped a few lbs. But his spirits are still great & we’re plugging away a day at a time. The Dr had to give him a heavy tranquilizer to do the barium swallow x-ray, & he didn’t recover from that at all for about 36 hrs. Must have been the edge of hell for him-sure was for us. He wouldn’t drink, eat, pee, nothing until I forced him to drink from a medicine syringe after about 20 hours. I got 2 bath room cups of water down him about 4 in the morning-was afraid his kidneys would shut down. Sometimes older dogs don’t pull out of sedation & I was just sick that he was fading away. He would clench his teeth to prevent me from putting food in his mouth & would only stand if I would lift him to his feet. Poor guy finally came around when Mom asked him if he’d like to take a truck ride about 8 o’clock the 2nd night. Stood up, shook off the fur, walked to the door & off we went. She & I had not eaten at all that day, just stayed with him constantly, so we hit a drive thru for a burger & fries & that was like magic to him. He then started begging & carefully eating small pieces of food & finally turned the corner for another day. Doc says he may have only weeks, we just don’t know. But as long as he can still have a decent quality of life, we’ll do everything to give him what he’s given us. He’s about 10.5 yrs old now & that’s way up there for a boxer. Many of his siblings have already been gone for several years. A nice middle aged girl who works at my Vet’s office bought one of Woody’s brothers from us & he’s been gone for two years now. His Mother had 10 pups in her first & only litter then lived 11 good years. I don’t look forward to coming home to an empty house but someday that will happen. Am just so thankful it’s not today brooks, you know just what I mean. Tomorrow is promised to none of us, all we have is now. Again, it’s very kind of you to ask.
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Global, Nice to hear the drive through trick and subsequent turnaround. Something I’ll remember.
My old mutt “wonderdog” was pushing 15 and winding down a few years back. After losing 4 dogs in my youth including one hit by a car in front of my eyes (my poor mother made the mistake of no leash that day) I made a counter move and got a second dog to help the transition. I had the kids pick her out and name her.
When the mutt’s time was up our pup sure was a blessing to make up the void. Turns out, she is the best dog I’ve ever had.
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I can’t believe the response on the subject of green!
Maybe we should have an ongoing thread that is for everything outside of basketball.
I definitely appreciate all the great advice in here… looking forward to spring so I can try out some of these great ideas!
