There's a lot of information out there on what will and will not work on psyllids, and Neem is one that's been mentioned time and time again, however there are conflicting reports on its effectiveness. I've seen several instances where people have said it's basically ineffective, and what little it does requires it to be sprayed at too-frequent intervals, and others where people seem to think it's doing something ("Sprays containing an extract of neem oil [Greenlight Neem Concentrate] help control a variety of garden pests and may also work on tomato psyllid," according to the Ventura County Master Gardeners). I also came across an article about neem granules, but I've never seen them sold before, and they supposedly need to be put into the planting hole, so that's out at this point. As far as the scaley nymphs go, they don't come off all that easily. They're not like aphids or whiteflies in that regard. And the eggs are even harder to get off. I've rubbed them, pinched at them, sprayed them... they do not come off. I guess I could take a magnifying glass and an expensive pair of slant-tipped tweezers to squish them all, but that would take me years to get them all. Different methods of control work with varying degrees of success, but after doing battle with these guys last year and having them take out my entire tomato crop, I want to use whatever's going to make them die the fastest, provided it doesn't also make my household pets die. I'm not overthinking anything, really. I'm going on what I've read from various sources, and that's all I can do, since it seems that there are no experts on tomato psyllids roaming around doling out advice on what's guaranteed to kill them all off. Even the commercial growers haven't figured out the best way to stop their crop loss with all of the crazy insecticides they have access to, last I read, and I'd imagine if anyone was going to try everything under the sun and come up with a solution, it'd be those with money to lose, so I'm doing the best I can with what I have. Oh and Ray, as far as the Sevin goes, I've come across several recommendations against it. It kills off everything, including any bugs that could be beneficial in eating the psyllids. And the only thing I've read about being proactive against them is the one weird article I came across talking about the neem granules that seemed more like an advertisement than anything scientific. If they want to eat your plants, it doesn't sound like there's must to deter them, but if you find something, let me know.

Thanks for the tips, The earwigs have been targeting my squash plants. All the squash plants I sowed directly in the garden never got beyond their first true leaves before the earwigs totally destroyed them. The one squash I planted out from my mini greenhouse is barely hanging on. I could use all the tips I can get. For some reason the earwigs seem to be fixated mainly on my squash seedlings, as most of my other vegetables are not being decimated. I will come out at night and find them munching on the leaves in groups. Will try the beer trap ideas and maybe the petroleum jelly.

I have been dealing with raccoon problems in my backyard and swimming pool recently. After a lot of online research, I cam across a few posts which got my attention. page. On one particular page, several people were discussing the merits of keeping raccoons as pets. I thought this was kind of bizarre, considering the experiences I have had with these creatures. Some people just don't realize that raccoons are wild animals. They belong in the Wild. And when they are living these apart from humans, they are great creatures. However, they are clearly not pets. Also, raccoons carry rabies. Problems develop when people live in urban inhabited by raccoons. In these instances, there is potential for a lot of problems. Raccoons regularly invade backyards looking for food, shelter, etc. Raccoons search garbage cans and dig up lawns looking for grubs. Grubs are these insects which live under your lawn and eat your grass. Raccoons feed on grubs and other insects. Raccoons also love swimming pools. They drink the water from pools.They also like to swim in the pools and play water games, just like humans. I was reading about this guy who had a problem with raccoons in his yard and pool. The raccoons were taking a crap in his pool almost every night. (They are nocturnal creatures. If you encounter them in the day, stay far away, they could have rabies.) These raccoons were using this pool as a toilet. I have seen others who were having this same problem as well. I found this particular post quite interesting. I thought I would share it: Wondering How to Get Rid of Raccoons from Your Backyard? That post, http://www.solveraccoonproblems.com How to Get Rid of Raccoons with A Motion Activated Sprinkler (My Review)[/url], is a very good read. It is also quite informative about raccoons and their behavior in environments where humans live. Almost all people who live in areas frequented by these creatures report having problems with them. What I like about that particular article is that it offered a way to get rid of raccoons from your backyard in a very humane way. It's worth checking out.

Ok we are back to the feral cats. What will eat the mice, rats, squirrels, and other things when the cats are gone. I believe I have read that cyotes are becoming a problem in many cities. We have resident bobcats, cougars, skunks, and lots of racoons in this area. I do not feed cats outside but am aware that in areas that have removed the cats others will move in to eat the expanding food supply. I would rather have the cats than some of the others. The catch and release programs have helped reduce the population of feral cats by neutering them. Something that the original owners did not do. If you have heard of a person releasing or dumping a cat normally with kittens have you spoke up? If not you are a major part of the problem. If more people spoke up the next time someone wants to show the joy of birth to their children with out a thought of what to do will the kittens less cats would be dumped. Even no kill shelters must cull the older and less healthy cats to make room for more. When you see a cat with the tip of it's ear cut off this is a sign that it was caught, given shots, fixed then released. To reduce the number of feral cats and give all cats a good chance at life humans need to become more active and vocal. I have wondered if a poll was done what animal's would people pick to replace the outdoor cats. Since removing the cats would create a vacuum and nature does not like a vacuum what would the posters like to replace the cats? I would like never to have homeless cat but know without outdoor cats we could go back to the middle ages when mice and rats were everywhere because people did not like cats and thought they were bad luck.