As for the mom not taking it back, i THINK thats within its first 2 weeks of life, being as tho they dont have their fur yet. Also I'm not sure if the domesticated ones differ from the wild ones. With my babies, I was able to hold them as soon as they were born. And while we are speaking of 'pests', I seem to have a groundhog or 2 with brass balls. They have decided to make under the shed their home. We have done EVERYthing you can possibly imagine. Put lattice around the bottom. Chewed. But boards and such around. Dug under. So along the one side of the shed, theres wood piled on top of another. With an old hose coiled up. I watched him today. Saw him waddling his fat butt around. He had the nerve to sit there, standing up slightly with front paws on hose, and stare at me while I was screaming at him to get out of here. When I went to step towards him, ( I was behind a fence) He did a nosedive into the middle of the hose. Same thing happened with the 2nd groundhog! When I moved the hose..HUGE HOLE under all the wood and stuff. I dont wanna kill them, I just want them gone. Wildlife costs $260 give or take. And ammonia did nothing!

Sarah, didn't mean to sound hasty, but I was about to turn off the puter, when I noticed your thread. I was using a dishsoap with Citrus. One of the ingredients is true citrus, so they say. LOL. Used it for years, now it's like the brand is extinct. Can't find it anywhere. Ajax has a citrus scented dishsoap which is what I now add to the mixture. Acually any dish soap will work, just steer clear of Dawn. You poor thing..all those bugs!! What the heck happened? Sarah, it's strange, beneficial insects are dying/dead while the bad guys are flying around..that doesn't make sense? Why in the world do people use so many chemicals??? By doing so, they're killing off the good guys. Not to mention, spraying something that most likely causes cancer. I feel bad for people who don't use chemicals, yet because of their neighbors, have to breath in that crap. Sarah, the mix I use will kill mites and scale, but it won't touch whitefly..Before your plants are totally infested, purchase Yellow Sticky Traps..they work fantastic, and no chemicals. They're sold on Ebay and a place called Gardens Alive. Cost is more reasonable on Ebay. In Ebay's search window type in yellow sticky traps. Traps come with a little, metal holder. Traps are attached to these holders. Stick holder in soil. You'd be amazed how many whitefly they capture. About 3 or 4 yrs ago, I had the same problem..Whitefly. I found the source, a hardy Hydragea..95% of my plants were whitefly infested. Some plants worse than others, especially Hibiscus, citrus and gardenias. I bought the traps, placed one trap among a group of plants. Each trap captured hundreds of whitefly days later. That was it, they died. So, if you have whitefly, and want to use natural, non-chemical 'help,' buy the traps, ASAP. Keep us posted, Sarah and Good luck, Toni

Howdy All, Sorry I didn't see this thread. I've been busy lugging plants inside, (and other chores)..The weather was beautiful, 80's and sunny, but I believe today, 10/13/10, is unofficially autumn. Woke to lightning, thunder, hail and pouring rain. Tonight it's supposed to drop down to 40..wet soil and cold nights = problems. Especially succulents. Mike, thanks for jotting down the ingredients and dossage of my 'organic' insecticide.' Not only does this insecticide kill insects, but works as a preventative. We have to be one step ahead of plant bugs, before they attack. For years, living in IL, dealing with 'dry and stuffy rooms once heat was turned on,' was a battle. I use humidifers, run a ceiling fan on low, and even occassionally boil water..(misting and showering, too.) Although the extra humidity and air from ceiling fan helps, those little brats manage to find a way on our plants.. Since I don't use chemicals, I sat down one night, contemplating what type of home-made foods would deter plant bugs. That's how the home-made insecticide began. Year, mid 90's. The first ingredients were soap and water. Keeping leaves clean makes a big difference. Some insects hide under felled leaves. I noticed uncared for plants tend to attract mites. Also, since I don't believe/use Leaf Shines, I figured dish soap and water would leave a natural shine. Most insects don't like the smell of garlic and hot pepper. Place a piece of garlic or hot pepper near an ant mound. They ignore it, even run. Leave these foods overnight, 'for those who think ants ran because a human is standing there.' As for citrus rind, because of its tartness, I figured, like garlic and hot pepper, 'most' bugs wouldn't want to be near. I made my first batch of this insecticide in the mid-90's, when I spotted mites on my Hibiscus trees. I sprayed those suckers, twice in a week..mites went to bug heaven or he&&, wherever they go. lol From then on, I started spraying twice a week. Once a week will do, when used as a preventative. If insects are spotted, start spraying twice a week..Do this for two wks. Then spray once a wk. BTW, 'most here will shake their heads, lol.' Another item I added in the first batch...'cigarette butts.' All ingredients were kept overnight. The color was brown. I don't suggest using cig butts to others..for myself, if I found a severely infested plant, I add the butts. Yes, nicotine is harsh, however, no matter how severe cig butts are, toxcicity doesn't come close to most chemical insecticides on the market. I've mentioned this in the past..Years ago, I got hold of a tree Gardenia..w/Scale. I went to Home Depot and bought a strong, 'sorry, can't recall which insecticide,' that killed scale. I did everything the directions said, to a T..not a drop more. 2 days later, the leaves browned and the tree died. I didn't toss it right away, 'kept it isolated from other plants,' it died. I vowed never to use chemicals again..they can keep their over-priced poisons! Wonder if we eat this stuff, via fruits and veggies??? Fish Emulsion. Its true use is an organic fertilizer. I fertilizer using FE on Cactus and succulents. It's safe, won't burn roots, etc. A woman I know who owns a citrus nursery in Fl, once told me they use FE as a Scale preventative. Later that year, I ordered an Olive tree. This tree was Scaled-packed. I remembered what the nursery owner said about scale, phoned her, and got the dossage. 1 capful per gallon of water. Mix, and spray foliage. I did as she said..2-3 days later, all Scale were gone. Dead..I'd have to check the date in my journal, but this happened more than 5 yrs ago, and since, never again found scale on any plant.. Before or after plants come in for winter, they're first hosed outside, then rehosed in kitchen sink or shower for taller plants. That's when I add Fish Emulsion in the home-made mix. Every plant, including those that don't go outside, are sprayed. Yes, FE emits a fishy odor that lasts 2-3 days. But there is a odor-free type on the market, though honestly, never tried it, so can't say if it's truly odorless. The way I see it, a few days of a smelly house is worth fighting Scale all winter. Or all year. Better yet, spraying FE outdoors before bringing plants inside is best. I'll be honest..The reason I now spray plants indoors is because I'm terrified of spiders..that's why plants are double-hosed..lol..We get thick-legged, ugly, huge spiders. Yuck. I don't care if they devour plant insects or not, I'll do the job myself, thank you. lol Like I said, Fish Emulsion is a natural fertilizer. As for Scale, it's similar to most plant oils...it might smother bugs, but my question is, why and how does it 'prevent' Scale from attacking?? Unless eggs are smothered too. Do you know what I mean? So basically, FE is sprayed once in autumn along with home-made insecticide. Home-made insecticide is sprayed once a wk, afterwards. Since most of my plants do not get fertilized in winter, I consider it a last 'feeding,' whatever you want to call it, of the year. I hope, anyone who tries this spray is as successful as I've been. Cross my fingers, lol, Toni

Happy Sunday.. The weather is perfect..high 90's, 95% humidity, breezy, and the sun is shining.. Plants are in heaven..:) So, am I... Consentida..You're welcome.. I too need to repot my tree Gardenia. The problem is, I want to use a bigger, plastic growing pot..nothing fancy. Got to look for one..never toss pots..whenever we buy a perrenial that comes in large container, I save them. Large, growing pots are expensive. Especially 12" and up. My gardenias are potted in a combo of soil and soil-less mediums..since gardenias prefer acidic soil, Peat or Spaghnum Peat is added..Black, rich house plant soil, too. When HD sold decent sand like Mike's talking about, it too was added..the finish is Perlite and small stones. I think that's it..After repotting, soil gets a hearty drink with a few drops of Superthrive. Con, regarding hoyas, do you know its type and what size pot it's in? Hoyas start flowering when roots fill container..light is important. Some people grow hoyas under artificial light, but lights must be on 14+ hours per day.. People on the Hoya forum have beautiful specimens..Wow. They fertilize quite often..Years ago, when I got 'hooked' on plants, I read, slow-growing plants should get little fertilizer. 2-3 times per year. Hoyas are slow-growing, so, they'd get little fertilizer..after talking to ppl on the hoya forum, I learned they fertilize every other week, etc, and their hoyas are just gorgeous. If you feel your hoya is overpotted, perhaps you should downsize its container??? Mike, it's tempting, but an 800? mile drive is a bit far..lol...Although, I always wanted to visit the east, especially New England states..it's impossible going anywhere, no vacations, not with the pets..2 dogs, 4 birds and an iguana..lol.. The last time we left IL was for a funeral. I had a friend come over to feed the birds, (we didnt have the iguana) and at the time we had one dog..we put the dog in a kennel which ended up turning into a disaster. Umm, chocolate-scented-flowers..I had a chocolate scented Geranuium..it smelled delicious..lol. I've never seen pics of your hoya..What type do you have? I got to get outside and snap pics..plus repot fand fert a few more plants..I'll get to it soon..gotta eat something first, my last meal was yesterday..lol Cereal and a banana..ummm..lol. Ponderosas are the prettiest. A local conservatory has a huge, tree-shaped Ponderosa..The first time seeing it, I thought the fruits were grapefruits..the lemons are huge. It's different growing citrus in a green house year round, opposed to a house. I think, not sure, theirs is planted in dirt, not a container..We used to visit the conservatory several times a year..Despite the season, their Ponderosa was in bloom and fruiting. After seeing their tree for the first time, the following day, I contacted Briteleaf Nursery and ordered a ponderosa..lol. Mike do you bring all plants outside? Does your house look empty? lol..it's so easy buying plants when a room is barren..then come fall, one thinks, where did this and that plant go??? lol. Happy Sunday..hope you're weather is beautiful..Toni