Since we're changing topics, I learned this summer that malaria was a problem in the American Revolutionary War. Who knew that? Thank God for DDT! At least DDT and Rachel Carson's reply to it (The Silent Spring) woke everyone up to environmental problems. Was the liberal use of DDT a good thing for the world? I think it probably was. Some people and animals have suffered but so much good came from it. You do what you can with the tools you have at the time. It is a badge of honor that I have not used insecticide on my lawn since 1991 and I have had a nice lawn every year. I know this comes as a surprise to many readers, but it's true. You usually don't need it.

It they are leafhoppers: From ehow.com ----- "Chemical control is usually only employed with new lawns, or established lawns with particularly heavy damage. Broad spectrum insecticides should not be used, as they will harm beneficial insects. Chemicals used to control grass leafhoppers include acephate, bifenthrin, carbaryl and deltamethrin." The article did not discuss "beneficial insects." One insecticide containing carbaryl is Sevin and is probably found at most stores.

Blazeaglory, the point was to have a closed bin that would avoid fruit flies without paying $500 dollars. Also it is round which is better then square and not completely closed as it drains to into the ground. That is a good plus. The other point was to not be so dependent on the whim of Starbucks having coffee ground for me. I can't get heat at all without the coffee grounds. Lately I have had a bad run of trying get the grounds. But, now I don't really have to get them as this bin is making heat without coffee grounds. I don't have waste time driving over to Starbucks when I don't have any reason to go to Starbucks. Gas is very expensive. Heat is very positive as it speeds up the compost and makes better compost. Cold composting takes a long time. If you cold compost you need more bins because you have to store that stuff for six months instead of using it right away and clearing out the bin space and moving on and making more compost. The more compost you make at a faster rate the better the improvement to the soil. I can now dump food scraps in there and forgot about them without having to bury the food and check the pile to make sure it's hot. Compost is very time consuming if you get into it seriously. Composting is an addiction as one always tries to improve. I do add the bagged browns Kelloggs Amend also when I add the food. If the food just sits in void, it become a sort of slime and fails to turn into good compost. I could put in the food scraps greens and throw in a hand full of browns Amend to balance them. So far it works yesterday, I have to take the temp today as it will be sunny to see how hot I can get it.

Whiteflies are one of the many insect pests that have developed immunities to many of the synthetic pesticides out there so an understanding of their life cycle helps with control. Yellow sticky traps can be used, even though they are most often used to determine the presence of some pests every one caught on that trap is one less adult to mate or lay eggs. The link below provides access to a good article, free to cownload as a .pdf file which requires Adobe Reader or to read as an HTML but costs to print out. Here is a link that might be useful: Whitefly control