My secret? Chickens. They love grubs! I think turning it often,putting a dark tarp to heat it up and adding DE would eliminate most of the bugs. I'm too lazy myself. The chickens love grubs so I just hand em over. Rats and mice! UG! Never had rats/mice in my whole life before!!! They were living under the sheds when I arrived. Most of my neighbors have them too. We're fairly near stores and restaurants. The compost drew them out and the dogs got rid of them. The thing I've noticed that attracts rats/mice isn't compost at all. Birdseed does. My neighbor across the street LOVES to attract and feed birds. She had a terrible rat problem despite trying to be very tidy. She finally gave in and got a dog. PJ

Never saw a hornworm in 26 years growing tomatoes, that is until year 27. Didn't even know what one looked like and had never heard of them before either. Year 27 was last year and anyone who wonders how quickly they can destroy a tomato plant, trust me, it doesn't take very long. This was a tiny tim on Monday. 14 inches tall. It rained all day Tuesday, so was not outside to check anything or even see anything that was going on. Same tiny tim 9AM Wednesday morning. There was nothing but a few stems left and a couple of tomatoes. Luckily though, there was enough left in the season, half of August and all of Sept. for regrowth and toms before the frost set in. regrowing tiny tim This was on the other side of the yard, so none of the other tomato plants where affected, but trust me, i was going through those plants with a flashlight several times a day looking for any sign of them and found none. By the way, those hornworms measured 4 inches long and there where 2 of them on that poor little plant. So far this year no sign of them. A question though. My grandparents had a summer veggie and flower farm and my grandfather always swore by companion planting of marigolds and tomato plants. He always had marigolds surrounding his tom plants. and he had at least 150 tomato plants. I've always done the same thing when I plant them in the ground and when I use pots for the toms, I always plant a small growing marigold in the pot, right at the edge of the plant. I've never had an insect problem before in now 28 years of growing my toms, until last year. That one tiny tim didn't have a marigold in the pot with it, all the others had marigolds surrounding them and in pots with them and they never got any hornworms. Does anyone think that the marigolds help to keep the hornworm away or was last year just a coincidence and I've just been lucky all these years? Fran

I know it is the squirrels. There are lots of little squirrels this season because the crows came to this area and crows chase away the hawks, who used to keep the squirrel population in check. So bad on the crows. I have used bird netting, but not over the plants. I put it low and bunched up so any small creatures approaching the toms have to walk on it or through it. It is a tangle. Then I put CDs hanging off strings attached to each end of a small pole that fits through a hole drilled in a 2X2. They teeter and catch light in the wind. Spooked me a couple times. I also have started using the pee. Collect it in a bucket and toss it on the perimeter. I believe that it is only 1 or 2 squirrels that have developed this "taste" for my tomatoes. I've got an air rifle, but I live in a city and I'm not sure I want the police wondering what I'm doing taking potshots. The damage so far has been annoying though, no doubt about it.

I've had toads here for years long before there was a liner type pond next door. They prefer larger bugs, especially june bugs and they favor being near a light, such as a porch light to catch anything that walks by or that isn't more than 3 or 4 inches above the ground which is as high as they can hop, usually its a beetle, something walking or something landing, The biggest bug I've seen them eat are tree locusts, which takes a while and the wings stick out the sides of their mouths as their eyes roll back. Each toad hunts in the same spot every night. Ours hatch out where the water keeps the ground wet by the air conditioner, I always see lots of teeny tiny babies under there each summer but I've seen tadpoles swimming in puddles within a day or so of rain. They like rocks and places to hide, often just a hole in the ground is good or at the base of a plant, I often run into them and dig one up sleeping in winter when working on my soil. Toads spend their life on the ground not in trees, all they want is a cool place to dig into during the day, trees aren't necessary. They also love to nestle in flower pots with damp potting soil if its in the shade and often uproot small plants doing that.