I remember growing up with castor bean plants in the backyard. They're cool as hell; grow up to the size of a small tree from seed in a single summer. There was a garden and an apple tree and all kinds of stuff in the yard with the castor beans and all us kids ran around everywhere and ate stuff right off the plants that we'd been told we could eat, and didn't eat a damn thing we weren't supposed to because we knew we'd get in trouble if we did. Granted, I'm not saying that discipline is all it takes, but either kids are going to do what they're told or they're not. Whether it's not eating a castor bean or not running into traffic... there's only so much that can be done. But castor bean plants themselves are not that big a deal in my opinion. Nightshade is far more dangerous and infinitely more likely to actually poison someone. I haven't ever eaten a castor bean, but based on the way the plant smells I would imagine it tastes HORRIBLE. People hear that ricin is made from the beans and they just freak. It's true, but heroin is made from poppies and they're not remotely dangerous in a garden. Kids should definitely be carefully educated and/or observed around castor bean plants. They should also be carefully educated and/or observed around rhubarb. That stuff'll kill you dead if you don't prepare it right. Electrical outlets probably kill more kids annually than castor bean plants, though.

If you can stand it, remove and crush the beetles. They leave a trail for other beetles to visit so you should look in the same places for infestation. You could carry a container with soapy water and place them in that. I've found that the catbirds and other birds eat the beetles I've crushed and left on the ground. The beetles particularly like certain plants. If those plants are grown in afternoon sun, they will attract more beetles than those growing in a shady site in afternoon when beetles are the most active. Roses, azaleas, crape myrtle, Oenothera, Gaura and some Clematis attract them here.

Hello, everyone! I am a new member, and glad to be here. This is a long post, but it's worth reading, because it is a simple, inexpensive and permanent solution to the problem of rabbits eating your flowers and vegetables. I do cannot understand why so many people pass up this infallible solution for keeping rabbits and other small critters (and maybe deer, as well) from eating their flowers and vegetables. IT WORKS, PERIOD. Put in a blender the following, none of which need to be peeled or otherwise fooled with, except for the onion, which should be cut in quarters, to facilitate blending: 2 dozen habanero peppers 1 whole head garlic 1 medium red onion 1 tablespoon peppermint oil Add enough water so that it comes to about 4 inches above ingredients.(This really means to add enough water that ingredients will get as liquefied as possible.) Blend on highest speed until it appears to you that all ingredients are thoroughly liquefied. Add enough additional water to come up to the 1 quart mark on blender. Blend again at high speed for 30 seconds or so. Strain the mixture through a nylon stocking, or better yet, a nut milk bag, if you have one. It might even be worth your while to buy a nut bag expressly for the purpose of making this recipe. (Just do a search under "Not bag" or "nut milk bag.) But a nylon stocking will work. Strain mixture over a bowl through stocking (or nut bag) till no more liquid runs through. Then squeeze as much more liquid as possible out of what is still in the stocking. WASH YOUR HANDS AND UNDER YOUR NAILS VERY WELL WITH LOTS OF SOAP AND WARM WATER AFTER HANDLING THE MIXTURE. Using a funnel, pour the strained liquid into a 1 quart spray/stream bottle. Now you are ready to spray or squirt the mixture on your plants. Rabbits will NOT eat plants on which you spray this stuff. You don't need to over spray, but don't be stingy, either. Make sure whatever you spray gets a decent dousing. It won't take long before the critters keep away just because of the smell HOWEVER, you MUST be vigilant about using this stuff. After it rains, especially after a hard rain, spray your plants again. Whether it rains or not, spray every 3 weeks. If the smell wears off sufficiently, the rabbits will be back. Also, there will be young, "unschooled" rabbits coming along throughout the season, That's it. No rabbit fences, no dogs, cats, traps, etc. The main reason this mixture works is because rabbits will not take more than a nibble of a leaf with this stuff on it before they try something else. By the way, rabbits have a "favorites" list." So if you spray this mixture on whatever is their favorite item in your garden, they will begin eating whatever is second, then third, fourth, etc. on their list. So that means you need to spray most things in your garden, except for plants you know they won't eat, like tomatoes, for instance. I read the post about rabbits eating someone's tomatoes, and I would not believe it unless I actually saw it. The reason is that tomatoes, potatoes and other nightshade family plants have a horrible tasting poison in their leaves and stems. Rabbits simply cannot to tolerate it. Try a little nibble on a leaf yourself, and you'll see... Well, that's it: Capsaicin is the end of the line for rabbit problems, as well as other small critter problems. I think this stuff also works for deer, but am not sure. It may be that a mixture for deer needs to also have "putrefied egg solids" in it. THAT is something I would buy, not make!

Re the holes in your lawn, how big are they? In my experience, squirrels don't make holes in the lawn.... my only plant damage from them is things like fruit theft and snipping off my tulip buds. :p. I've never had voles, but from what I've read I think they eat the roots of plants, not top growth. Lots of smaller holes in the lawn, along with dirt piles and ridges, is usually caused by moles.... but they wouldn't be eating/damaging your plants as described. If the holes are large, the problem could be groundhogs -- but you'd likely see them around. My sister has the occasional groundhog wander into her veg gardens and they steal/eat everything. eta, chipmunks will make holes in your lawn, but they don't do plant damage like you describe.