In my area, (central New York), the critter that lays the eggs on the zukes, stops laying eggs after June 17th, (or so I've read). I plant my zuke seeds around June 10th and don't seem to have this problem anymore. Ummm, I don't know about that... I killed two SVB moths last week... and a third one flew off after being blasted by a hard stream from the pump sprayer... all 3 were within about 15 minutes timeframe. If I sit in a chair in front of my garage, maybe 10ft from my pumpkin plant, I usually see one land somewhere between noon and 2pm. I have the pump sprayer ready. I sneak up on them, getting as closer as I can, blast them, they fly off to another leaf, blast them, try to knock them out, then find a way thru all the 2ft tall leaves & vines and look for them before they gain their senses and step on them and grind them into the ground...phew, sorry for being so violently decriptive! lol. ...but I've had some still moving after stepping on them in grass & weeds... you really need to give that "firmly planted ball of the foot twisting motion", 3 or 4 times! lol. You can also whack them with a flyswatter, but be prepared to do it more than once! Mark

Hey Marie - what's the name of the granite farm in Lynnfield? Sounds pretty interesting. In June I posted some pics of our new front walkway and yard. I then spent almost every free minute this hot dry summer planting! Totally crazy but I'm too busy with work in the spring and fall so summer it was. A lot of folks here were really helpful in thinking about what to plant. We ended up with a lot of hostas (an old love), a lot of hydrangeas (a new love), a pagoda dogwood (some folks here suggested), some fragrant azaleas, ferns, daphnes, rhodies, and assorted other things. We have lots of shade, though a little more sun than in the backyard so I got a little more adventurous. My question posted here was about what to plant in the bed center stage in front of our house. We never really "decided" but it kind of evolved. We saw a small red weeping Japanese Maple that we had to have (Tamukeyama). Tagged one at Weston's for the fall, but then found one on sale at Stonegate in Lincoln and bought that. That went in the front of the bed to hopefully someday weep over the big rocks along the walkway. I also wanted a green one to weep over the side wall - bought a very small A J Green Cascade. Not sure how long it will take till they're big enough to really see! Finally we were out in the Berkshires and we saw an older (10 years?) PG hydrangea at one of our favorite nurseries that we totally fell in love with. We had no way of getting it back here, so they're holding it until it goes dormant. Hopefully we can then somehow get it into the back of the Subaru! I'll post when we get everything in, though by that time it might not look like much so may wait until the spring. Today I finally finished planting - moved a couple of things from the backyard. Hurray!!!! We've also been trying to get the thousands of acorns up before they're lost in leaves. I spent most of last spring pulling up baby oak trees. I had the landscaper rake a lot of the leaves into the beds, and he raked the acorns in too. This year I think we're doing it ourselves. What do you all do about acorns? We also tried to move our old kayaks into the back yard. Turned one over and out popped a very frightened chipmunk...

Sounds like the gum trees we have as street trees here in Epping - Angophora costata I think they are. White flowers in summer? Trunks clear of branches for about 2m? Don't shed a great deal of bark or leaves? Tall and quite narrow dense canopy when compared with the spreading canaopies of other gum trees?

Hi lizgleeson. I had hoped someone with high expertise in this sort of thing might have responded by now. In that person's absence, here are my thoughts but keep in mind I'm a long way from being an expert in Eucalyptus dieback. The natural range of Angophora costata is a long way from south western Queensland where you live so your trees are being subjected to quite different conditions from what they would normally experience. It's quite possible that your trees aren't coping with these unnatural conditions (different soil, temperatures, climate, rainfall) & this is stressing them no end. In fact, the photos you provided remind me of Tuart Gums Eucalyptus gomphocephala planted in SA where I live. After a few years they become quite stressed & open to borer attack to which they readily succumb. Have you noticed any grubs in holes in the trunk or branches? From my limited reading on Eucalyptus dieback fungi seem to be a major cause of cankers in Eucalypts. Have your trees been subjected to consistent humidity? (Unlikely in south western Queensland, I guess). Have you been spray irrigating them? (Again, unlikely in s.w. Queensland but might depend on water availability). Another cause of dieback is reported to be defoliation of the canopy, presumably by bugs or larvae. How this works I don't know but the canopy in the last photo looks severely ragged (no offence!). Have you noticed small leaf-eating critters in the trees' canopies? If so, the most effective remedy is to encourage their predators (often native birds) by planting &/or encouraging the regeneration of local tree & shrub species near your Angophoras. However, this will take some time & it may be too late for your trees. Your trees could be severely cut back & may, repeat, may become reinvigorated & shoot afresh. You could try chopping them off near the base to see if they send up new shoots. My preference is to plant trees which are local to where you live. They've survived for many thousands of years where you live & are adapted to your local soil & climate so if your Angophora costata don't survive you could replace them with local species. You'll find that local species are more likely to attract local birdlife so this could be a bonus for you. If my thoughts are way off beam then let me know but I must admit my curiosity about your problem is high. Hopefully, we'll hear from an expert soon.