I don't like to say it for fear it will bring bad luck, but I put the stinky pail (and I can't really smell it, put 1/4 cup or so of dishwashing liquid in it - think it's for inhibiting mosquitoes) between the two cherry trees. Maybe one or two on those which had been a problem. But no, otherwise isn't helping. Still haven't sprayed any more though, can if I decide to. It's not deterring them from certain other things they like but I keep picking them off relentlessly. I'm also hesitant to say I'm not getting the numbers I had feared if I keep picking at least 3X a day, pretty much know which plants they prefer and sun on them is a huge factor but will find them in shade as well. It could be our harsher winter than usual and also the heavy rains this year in addition to the unseasonably cool weather for many days. terryjean's morning method is probably good because I think they might spend the night underneath leaves, but I don't see many early at all. They seem to be mostly flying in now or coming down off my trees. I found that if there's a swarm doing the group thing, I have a better chance of getting all of them if I cup my hand over them and move in and tip carefully into soapy water. That seems to discourage them from trying to fly up and away but still some do get away. Then they grab onto my fingers, and I have to work them off. I use a cottage cheese container because it's easier to maneuver under plants without spooking them by disturbance than a pail. Yesterday there was a bumblebee and beetle sharing an echinacea. I got the beetle, spooked the bee but didn't get stung. Obviously in the numbers some have, spraying is the only method. I've caught a couple in flight and see them flying around, sometimes watch where they will land and into the soapy water they go, can't stand out there all day. I was digging and see a few on the ground. One I grabbed and lost it, was looking on the ground, felt a bite on my arm and startle reflex kicked in, looked down, there it was on arm by hand, got it into the soapy water. So maybe they will bite, felt different from their stickery feet but could have been that. Neighbor tried diatomaceous earth sprinkled on their hibiscus, said 15 one day and 1 the next. But I don't know if that kills them or repels, worth looking into. Gutters are bad so in front I collect runoff in pails and use to water the garden also to get the hot water out of the hose. A few beetles are in the yellow bucket (further research needed on making rotten fruit traps in yellow containers, think not this year). None in the white pail so far but set that out just the other day. Got my Grubex down just before a substantial rain, didn't get complete coverage but better than I thought I could do. The following days I see granules so I call the 800#. Those are just the carrier and will eventually break down but the rain should have gotten the active ingredient watered in. Hope so. A shower won't do, need substantial rain. We'll see. Read up on how it affects farmers and commiserated with our ag ext guy. He's reduced to using Sevin on his raspberries, concluded that gardening will be different from now on. Sevin is not popular on the forums, but there are charts on how many days beforehand it's safe to spray food crops. If you don't buy certified organic, some of what we buy in the stores has surely been treated with something. I prefer not to use it because it gets washed off in rain and is messy to deal with but have it for backup. The beetles turn soybean leaves to lace but have to be pretty bad before it affects crop yields or requires spraying, there are more potent chemicals professionals use we can't get. The corn silk, usually they attack the outer rows only on fields so far, but it's nasty to see a photo of 15 or more beetles on the silk. It it gets eaten down to 1/2 inch, and the corn hasn't pollinated yet, there will be no corn. But if it's already pollinated, doesn't seem to affect it, just nasty. No sign of a good eradication effort in my area, and may get worse due to people doing nothing and not knowing what they are. I hope the scientific community (or savvy lone experimenter) comes up with something better and more foolproof, probably not in my lifetime but I keep hoping. Decided to let my roses start setting buds again Aug 1, will see how that goes. Time to make the first sweep of the day.

Lyle I've looked at climbers and have read the following - hope others will share their experience with them. Zephyrine Drouhin (sp?) is a rose pink bourbon-type climber that is supposed to handle shade better than most roses - thought you might look into that for your south side? Supposed to have the bourbon fragrance and I've read on the rose forum here that some have had luck with it in the south. Also thought Cecile Brunner might make it in some shade based on reading recommendations. The ones I bought mail order arrived in sad shape and didn't make it. The Greensboro Arboretum has a pergola with New Dawn and Fourth of July as two of the climbers. These were in full sun. The New Dawn is amazing but it is light blush/cream color, so I bought Fourth of July to go in front of my cream house. It's true red with some thin white streaks and is gorgeous. So far it's very healthy at my house with no spraying - it is in half clay/half black cow in a raised bed with a good layer of mulch.

I read the first JBs are scouts, so they do call their friends. I wasn't thinking yesterday morning about the brand new Memorial Day that I bought Wednesday. When I got home last night the two blooms looked like harryshoe's picture. They were also eating morning glory leaves! They can eat all of them that they want, but the ones that were eating MD are now corpses in soapy water. I even dug the ones that missed the bucket out of the mulch. Only a couple got away. grrrrrr. I put up a modified beetle trap about 30 feet away and remove eaten leaves, etc so there wouldn't be left over scent.

Well, Cecily, I'm glad my trials & tribulations are SO entertaining & comical for you, meanwhile I'm shaking my fist at these damned pests! ;) I'm doing things much outside my comfort zone & I'm thoroughly enjoying it, except for certain things like hoping I didn't unknowingly smear a sawfly larva in my hair, freshly plucked from a leaf, when I wiped the sweat from my brow, or the sinking feeling of "wait, is that a spider mite web I feel across my face or is that just a single strand of my own hair that I'm feeling?! Oh God, what if I have spider mites IN MY MOUTH?!" Yes, it may not sound like when I'm posting every little new critter I come across, but I really am having fun with these roses! It's relaxing (believe it or not) and quite fulfilling (already) & I'm super stoked I can share my experiences with like-minded people who give me advice & input, because I really think my husband is getting tired of hearing me talk about roses already...