Grubs/nematodes ????

yosemite

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

^I really don't have anything to add - but I can't believe you have Junebugs out already! We currently have snow on the ground.


I couldn't spray or treat our yard with anything, ever. Because I keep my turtles outside I need all of those insects in my yard. They specifically love grubs. There's also the not so minor fact that I can't be around chemicals.


KittiesHasMe - Where do you find DE? I'm currently having problems with some ants and while DH was able to spray and bait their nest outside, they're still coming in. Asking for DE around here gets us looked at like we've suddenly grown two or three heads
and lead to an aisle full of chemicals. I'd prefer to use bait and DE as that won't put anything harmful in the air to make me sick. (and of course DE inside)
You should be able to get DE at plant nurseries. I had to phone around to find some. If that fails, you can easily order online.
 

yosemite

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Chris, my hubby did two applications of nematodes on our property and it seemed to work for us. Our lot is 108' x 80' with a small house so we have a fair size area to treat.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Thanks


If you don't mind, a few questions....

I'm assuming you did them yourself.

How much lawn did you have to do? Roughly how much $ did it come to?

I know price varies, have no idea where you're from, but I'm just looking for ballpark price..... I believe the box we bought $35 and I'm not sure if it was enough to do our whole yard...

I don't think we have Japanese beetles.... just June bugs... so I guess the milky spore wouldn't help.

thx.
I just asked hubby and he said it took 3 boxes for each application for the size of our property and they were about $35 for each box.
 

kittieshasme

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

^I really don't have anything to add - but I can't believe you have Junebugs out already! We currently have snow on the ground.


I couldn't spray or treat our yard with anything, ever. Because I keep my turtles outside I need all of those insects in my yard. They specifically love grubs. There's also the not so minor fact that I can't be around chemicals.


KittiesHasMe - Where do you find DE? I'm currently having problems with some ants and while DH was able to spray and bait their nest outside, they're still coming in. Asking for DE around here gets us looked at like we've suddenly grown two or three heads
and lead to an aisle full of chemicals. I'd prefer to use bait and DE as that won't put anything harmful in the air to make me sick. (and of course DE inside)
Garden centers and plant nurseries usually carry DE. If that fails, try a feed store. Some people use it around stables, chicken coops, etc. to control insect pests in those areas without harming their animals.
 
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snake_lady

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

I just asked hubby and he said it took 3 boxes for each application for the size of our property and they were about $35 for each box.
thanks Linda, approx. what sized property were you treating? Do you or hubby happen to remember how many sq/ft a box does?
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by KittiesHasMe

Garden centers and plant nurseries usually carry DE. If that fails, try a feed store. Some people use it around stables, chicken coops, etc. to control insect pests in those areas without harming their animals.
Maybe in central they do?
Not out here, if it couldn't potentially kill you it seems that the stores won't carry it. Some of the stuff they carry and try to talk a person into buy is scary...

(If you wonder where I'm at - have you ever been out west, to Elk City? If so you drove through the town/small city I live in on I-44 (route 66). )

I'll probably just have to order online. One of the problems of living in a rural area!



Snake_Lady - I don't mind the Junebugs in my hair so much, they go straight to a turtle pen when that happens. DH has a fit, though, which makes it worth it.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Maybe in central they do?
Not out here, if it couldn't potentially kill you it seems that the stores won't carry it. Some of the stuff they carry and try to talk a person into buy is scary...

(If you wonder where I'm at - have you ever been out west, to Elk City? If so you drove through the town/small city I live in. )

I'll probably just have to order online. One of the problems of living in a rural area!



Snake_Lady - I don't mind the Junebugs in my hair so much, they go straight to a turtle pen when that happens. DH has a fit, though, which makes it worth it.
I'm surprised actually. Usually the rural areas are the best places to get it since some farmers put some on their feed to kill internal parasites in their stock.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

I'm surprised actually. Usually the rural areas are the best places to get it since some farmers put some on their feed to kill internal parasites in their stock.
The stores push ivermectin here. The local farm supply store must have at least a dozen different brands of it.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

Chris, my hubby did two applications of nematodes on our property and it seemed to work for us. Our lot is 108' x 80' with a small house so we have a fair size area to treat.
Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

thanks Linda, approx. what sized property were you treating? Do you or hubby happen to remember how many sq/ft a box does?
Just know he used 3 boxes each time (he did it 2 times).
 
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snake_lady

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Maybe in central they do?
Not out here, if it couldn't potentially kill you it seems that the stores won't carry it. Some of the stuff they carry and try to talk a person into buy is scary...

(If you wonder where I'm at - have you ever been out west, to Elk City? If so you drove through the town/small city I live in on I-44 (route 66). )

I'll probably just have to order online. One of the problems of living in a rural area!



Snake_Lady - I don't mind the Junebugs in my hair so much, they go straight to a turtle pen when that happens. DH has a fit, though, which makes it worth it.
re: DE....from what I've read, they have 2 types, food grade and non-food grade.... I'm "assuming" that would limit availability in certain areas.

re: JuneBugs..... do the turtles eat them?

The Snake Lady is not afraid of getting bit by reptiles, but despises the feel of crunchy big flying bugs on her LMAO. I'll take getting a good bite from my largest boa, over a dozen June bugs in my hair. LOL
 
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snake_lady

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

Just know he used 3 boxes each time (he did it 2 times).
doh
I missed the first post with the size of your lot.

I'm thinking one box would prolly do our lot
So $70 or so is reasonable to me (I know you have to do it 2x, once at the beginning of the season and once at the end)

i'm glad to hear of people having success with them. We will definately give it a shot.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

re: DE....from what I've read, they have 2 types, food grade and non-food grade.... I'm "assuming" that would limit availability in certain areas.

re: JuneBugs..... do the turtles eat them?

The Snake Lady is not afraid of getting bit by reptiles, but despises the feel of crunchy big flying bugs on her LMAO. I'll take getting a good bite from my largest boa, over a dozen June bugs in my hair. LOL
I think it's just prevailing attitudes of farmers - and just think, the people that happy grab those strong chemicals are the ones growing the food you eat!

My turtles love them, it's a crunchy treat that few insect eating animals can resist (Junebugs are nearly blind, making for an easy meal). Several times when out catching them I'll have toads hop up for a share.
You go ahead and prefer that bite, btw, ouch! I'll pass.

There is one thing that is bad about getting them in your hair. During the time of the year there's tons of them flying around, they're breeding. Thus releasing pheromones. Get that in your hair and you probably look pretty attractive to a bunch of Junebugs.


Good luck on your yard! Hopefully it's just a few spots that have grubs - since the rest of it looks pretty good anyways.
 
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snake_lady

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

My turtles love them, it's a crunchy treat that few insect eating animals can resist (Junebugs are nearly blind, making for an easy meal). Several times when out catching them I'll have toads hop up for a share.
You go ahead and prefer that bite, btw, ouch! I'll pass.

There is one thing that is bad about getting them in your hair. During the time of the year there's tons of them flying around, they're breeding. Thus releasing pheromones. Get that in your hair and you probably look pretty attractive to a bunch of Junebugs.


Good luck on your yard! Hopefully it's just a few spots that have grubs - since the rest of it looks pretty good anyways.
Ok, here I am being all girly.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

But at least now I understand why if I get a couple in my hair, that the rest seem to swarm.

As well, I didn't know they were near blind...that explains why the "ping" off the house so noisily.

Thanx for the well wishes, I think we will try them and see. It's more of a preventative, as opposed to them already causing damage....hopefully I can avoid the damage part if I nail em with nematodes.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Snake_Lady

Ok, here I am being all girly.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

But at least now I understand why if I get a couple in my hair, that the rest seem to swarm.

As well, I didn't know they were near blind...that explains why the "ping" off the house so noisily.

Thanx for the well wishes, I think we will try them and see. It's more of a preventative, as opposed to them already causing damage....hopefully I can avoid the damage part if I nail em with nematodes.
That's nothing, you should see a turtle eat a cicada.... even I get a little grossed out and prefer not to watch it.
Next time you tug one out of your hair, look at it's "face" the eyes on a typical brown Junebug are extremely tiny. They're nocturnal so all those eyes really do is tell light from dark. It varies with type though - the bright green ones can see better as they're also diurnal. And some types of the species have varying sight depending on how their face plate is - the ones with more ornate "faces" including horns tend not to see as well. (Ah, the strange useless information I can pull out of my head
)
More useless info - the green ones stink.


And it could be worse, I always seem to get wasps in my hair.

I've noticed it varies from year to year - sometimes I can find lots of grubs and sometimes I'm lucky if I can even find one. Since your's are out so early you'll probably have plenty.
They'll also sit in your trees and bushes and buzz (wafting those pheromones around) while looking for mates. The more places you give them to hang out, the more of a problem you may have.
 

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Originally Posted by KittiesHasMe

Garden centers and plant nurseries usually carry DE. If that fails, try a feed store. Some people use it around stables, chicken coops, etc. to control insect pests in those areas without harming their animals.
feed store is where i found mine, too.
 

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Because of DE being envoirnmentally safe and I don't want fleas in the yard I was thinking about getting some but I'm not sure I'd want to be throwing it around the yard myself.
I found this on their website:
You do need to be cautious with your use of DE. It can cause lung problems. (It's a fine dust.) It's OK to eat, but don't breathe it. Use a mask when applying DE.
I heard you can mix it with water as a spray but it doesn't dissolve well and could clog up the sprayer.
 

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If you want to spray it you might want to add a surfactant to help it bind to the water a bit-like a few drops of dish soap!. But it also loses its effectiveness if it gets wet.

Also make sure you buy the DE intended for insects vs the DE used in swimming pool filters as this is not effective on garden pests!!

Also just an FYI you might want these books for references, both by Jeff Gilman.
The truth about Garden Remedies and The truth about Organic Gardening. Both I feel are great reference books.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by GailC

If you want to spray it you might want to add a surfactant to help it bind to the water a bit-like a few drops of dish soap!. But it also loses its effectiveness if it gets wet.

Also make sure you buy the DE intended for insects vs the DE used in swimming pool filters as this is not effective on garden pests!!

Also just an FYI you might want these books for references, both by Jeff Gilman.
The truth about Garden Remedies and The truth about Organic Gardening. Both I feel are great reference books.
They suggest you not breathe in the DE dust because it can irritate your lungs. When I put it around I just hold a cloth over my face.

The DE used in swimming pools is the industrial grade and as has been said, it is important you get human/food grade. The industrial grade is also dangerous around pets.
 
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