There were also a number of questions that came up recently both on the web and at Canada Blooms (most likely as a result of the seminar given by Gwin Brundrett, one of our Master Gardeners) about the Lily beetle that has moved into our area. Gwin suggested leaving Wasps alone as they are a natural predator of the beetle. But the suggestion that you hear most frequently, is simply to pick them off and squish them. Gwin says that they are fast little devils though and fly away if you are not fast enough.
On the Master Gardener list, there were a number of suggestions recently that centered around the use of coffee grounds. In addition to helping keep some rodents away from your flower beds, coffee grounds apparently help to reduce the lily beetle population. They also seem to protect your Hostas from slugs.
Now if you don't drink coffee yourself, you could try hitting up coffee drinking family members and friends for their grounds. I understand that at some Starbucks locations, it is possible to get some of their castoffs.
You would likely have to use a lot of coffee grounds to make an appreciable difference to the pH of your soil. In any case, coffee grounds may be something to consider in your battle with this threat to our lillies.
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Use crushed eggshells to deter slugs. I save all my egg shells for the year in a tight lid container. In March I take them all out and put in slow oven 250 degrees for about an hour until crisp. Put all shells in a large plastic bag and crush with rolling pin until granular. Sprinkle in area where you have perennials. Bushes like it too....
ReplyDeleteSince I started doing this, slugs have left my garden.