HELP!!! Gophers Are Destroying My Garden
dethcheez
12 years ago
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tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agonancyjane_gardener
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Bug id please - these are destroying my garden.
Comments (10)Yeah it is hatching time for all the grubs. You may want to consider treating your yard and soil with Milky Spore to eliminate the grubs if you have a serious infestation of them. If you kill the grubs then the damage done by the beetles is markedly reduced. Organic control will be difficult once they hatch as most organic controls are directed at killing the grubs (Milky Spore and parasitic nematodes). After hatch we are left with row covers, scouting and hand picking them, Pyrethrin-based insecticides, and Neem Oil all of which are only marginally effective. Google Japanese Beetles controls for all the details. Dave...See MoreSomething is destroying my garden!
Comments (6)If you have squirrels in the area, they of course have excellent climbing ability, and one of their behaviors is to prune the tips of tree branches off, presumably in the course of feeding...which sounds similar to what is being done to your tomatos. After one particularly bad spring, my whole neighborhood was littered with branch tips thrown down by squirrels. Squirrels and chipmunks also both dig random holes here and there in the search for food, or--in the case of chipmunks--preparatory to making a nest. If you used mushroom or any other form of loose mulch, you may have imported a mouse, rat, or something else along with it, in which case it is probably living in the garden itself. Therefore, the protective screening would of course not solve the problem. Repellants might do a better job if that is the case, but if your garden is the only feasible home in the area for the critter, it will probably resist leaving. I know that chipmunks can climb up an entire sunflower stem to eat the sunflower's seeds; maybe other rodents besides squirrels also have climbing abilities. The random nipping and destruction sounds suspiciously like a groundhog (they like to take nips out of things as a sort of turf-claiming thing), but unless you have ever seen one of them around or have a mound with a rather large groundhog-sized hole, you can rule that out, especially in the city. If your mulch is from a more rural location, I would incline toward the chipmunk theory. They are also quite territorial, and used to demolish the contents of some of my plant pots-- mainly because, I think, they didn't like where I had placed them. Chipmunks like to clear certain areas so they have a clear line of sight. If your mulch was from a more rural location, a chipmunk could have made a burrow in it, and been swept up along with the mulch....See MoreHelp - GC adding footings destroyed my garden
Comments (1)We had a roof done last summer. The guys were really careful to cover the gardens and place the ladders carefully. Some damage was done to a few perennials, they came back a few weeks ago. The GC should get that dirt off now, I doubt he will be liable for damages unless it was specifically stated in the contract. Reasonable care is his extent of liability. If there is nowhere to pile the soil in a small yard he can argue reasonable care, if there was somewhere like a lawn to pile dirt, on a tarp, he is liable for replacing the plants. You must prove what was there....See MoreHelp - GC adding footings destroyed my garden
Comments (5)Seems like this situation was mostly unavoidable based on the responses above since "15 feet from the construction activity" is outside our tiny yard. The plants weren't just NEXT to the construction work, they were in the middle of it, I just didn't realize the construction work required so much digging and foundation laying, this is all new to me. The yard's a tiny NYC space, 20 feet from one side to the other and the footings take up 10 feet on the west side of the property. There's already a deck over 1/3 of the exterior in back, so they only have the other 2/3 (maybe 20'x30' to dig, store, etc.). Mixing cement etc. and containers and stuff of ours they moved is taking up most of the yard. So... oh well. I still wish the GC hadn't "yes'd" me so much when it wasn't realistic. I was very clear about what I cared about. But he's got my job, inside and outside, and other jobs, so a patch of mint and 2 gorgeous rose plants aren't going to be his top priority - and shouldn't be. (oh well)...See Moregardenmom
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agogeosprouter
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoglib
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agonancyjane_gardener
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agotishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoBelgianpup
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobluebirdie
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agochas045
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agonancyjane_gardener
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agobehlgarden
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agochas045
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoxCSx
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoEdymnion
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agonancyjane_gardener
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agochas045
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDWD2
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agowisbill
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agolovemanyplants
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoharveyhorses
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agomckenziek
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agoDiane Fanes
7 years agoChristen Genova
7 years agochas045
7 years agozeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
7 years agoblue_skink
4 years agozeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
4 years agoblue_skink
4 years agozeedman Zone 5 Wisconsin
4 years agoblue_skink
4 years agoprairiemoon2 z6b MA
4 years agoblue_skink
4 years ago
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