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May 23
Peg in TN, I have had problems with raccoons digging up my flowers and when we replaced our deck they seemed to think it was a nice place to go the bathroom. We finally got rid of the problem with red pepper. Sprinkle it all over where they are digging I hope this helps, I have 6 kitties and I love them to death.
Theresa in MI.
 

April 26
This is to request Mimi's & Tootie's Pest Control. I would love to try your TNT pest control. Anything natural would be wonderful because of having a dog.
Nancy in MI

Hi Nancy and Landers, the "ladybugs" you see in swarms are actually Soy Beetles. Ladybugs do not appear in swarms, at least I've never seen more than one at at time. I recently heard on PBS, Soy Beetle is the "politically correct" name for them, not Japanese beetles. They are here because we now raise so many fields of soybeans and this is their food of choice. They do hibernate over winter in houses. In our town, for a week or ten days, in early fall, they are so thick on the sidewalks, you can't walk without crunching hundreds. It's really icky. And they swarm in every time the door is opened. They bite - well it's more like a pinch than a bite, and it can itch terribly. It's a shame they look so much like our beloved ladybug which is red with black spots, and this Soy beetle is orange with black spots. The soy beetles are said to smell terribly too, but I' seem to have lost most of my sense of smell as I've gotten older, and I've never noticed a smell. BTW, thank you so much for the info on the moth traps. I am looking for them now. I knew someone here would know. This is a great list!
Eve in WI

Newsletter 04/23/08
In reply to how to get rid of ladybugs in the house. I use my vacuum cleaner extension and suck them right up.
Connie

I also had a problem with the kitchen bugs. They come in dry food boxes, like cake mixes, as I am sure you know. I threw away every box I had, cleaned the shelves then as each new box came in I put it in a zip bag. Also, I put new bags of flour in the freezer when I first get it. Initially a lot of work and some waste but it worked.
Anita in Camarillo

Mary in NJ with the ant problem. We have a "bug-getter" service once a month, so we don't have that problem. Our service man told us to use a mixture of boric acid( local drug store variety) crystals mixed with a little bit of honey. Place little droplets along their trails. They will eat it and take it back to their nest. They will feed it to the colony. By-by colony! Hope this helps.
Jane, No. Calif.

I would love to see the list of TNT things to use for garden pests that Mimi & Tootie
referred to in the Apr 23 newsletter.
Vergie

Regarding the ladybugs
I believe they are the Asian bugs the government had imported here and they are a nuisance have not seen a real ladybug in years. I wish I knew how to get rid of these bugs! I guess they were imported here to help with aphids or something I think they ate the real ladybugs!!! My house has them all year round but just terrible now in warmer
weather.
Mary Ann upstate N Y

I have a TIP! I received an email this am that said if you're bothered by little flying bugs and/or mosquitoes to take a spray bottle and fill it with Listerine (the $ store brand works too) and spray around your doors or windows (don't spray it on the wood molding). It is supposed to get rid of them. One lady sprays it around her deck before parties and she says it works great.
Scarlett in FL

For slugs and other soft-bodied insects, go to your local garden center and buy a bag of diatomaceous earth. Sprinkle it around your plants and the tiny crystals penetrate the
body killing the pests.
Leah

For Jeane in PA those are probably not lady bugs they don't bite. They are Asian beetles. They have taken over and now lady bugs are almost gone because because these are more aggressive and they bite. We have them in Michigan too especially in the fall and
my house will be full of them. Don't know how to get rid of them though.
Sharrie in MI

April 21, 2008 Mealy Bugs.
I also had a problem with those bugs. I thought I would never get rid of them, I tried everything. Then I read where if you use Bay Leaves, they will kill them, and they did. I have not had a problem since, but I do leave a few leaves of the bay leaves on each shelf in my pantry. Pat-IL

Hello everyone...Haven't been on for awhile. Very busy since returning from our RV trip south. Now, I think we might have brought Spring home with us.

This is for Nina in Pocono Mts., PA. regarding her Lady Bugs. I just love those little creatures, they are such helpers in the garden, eating all kinds of things you don't want. In the Fall 2 years ago, they just swarmed all over the house and every time we opened the door, it was a job keeping them outside. I will not kill them, so cornered them in a sunny window so they could hibernate, but that didn't work. When we left for FL, as we got into warmer weather, the ones that had used our RV for their winter home, came out of hibernation all the way south. I put them out the door when it was really warm enough but we had them the whole trip. This year too, they decided to come out of hibernation on the way south, so they all were left in different states along the way. We were gone a month, and I think we finally got them all outside. It was so funny to see them walking across the windshield...10-12 at a time, but like I said, they all have new homes now. The cat wasn't even bothered by them!. So, Nina, if there is a way to get them corralled, let them go outside into your garden.
Jan in DE

For mealy bugs, take mint leaves and put in your flour or meal. You will get rid of the bugs and it does not make your flour taste like mint. By the way my husband goes to doctor today about his aorta. Please keep us in your prayers. This will determine what they are going to be able to do with the cancer treatment. As you know, I am believing God has reduced the size of the aorta.
Betty T. Ga.

To Nina, Pocono Mts. Pa. I have the same problem with Ladybugs, but they are so helpful for our gardens, and land, that I always open a window, and whisk them outside, or let them get on my fingers and open the door. Just think how helpful these little self-renewing critters are... eating up all those aphids, and nasty bugs that get into our flowers, shrubs, and gardens. No chemicals needed! I have been helping them out every day. For the life of me though, I just can't figure out how so many of them got inside before winter!

April 22 RE: ladybugs
Are you seeing ladybugs or the Japanese beetle? Lady bugs bite only when squeezed and do not hurt or cause itching but the Japanese beetles has barbed hind legs and are painful and cause an itch. They are not a true red in color, more of a faded red.
Carolyn from Edon

This is concerning the 'lady bugs' that we see so many of nowadays. I read some time ago that they aren't really lady bugs as we know them, they are something that was transported from overseas.

I have a cousin in Pa. that got them so bad that she had to call the exterminator. I have dozens in my sunroom, and they seem to 'hide' and come out when it is sunny. Plain old insecticide seems to lessen the amount that I see.
Tennesseyanky

Regarding Lady Bugs, We have them in the South, and as beneficial as they are, they can be a real problem. In the Fall they look for a place to spend the winter and will gather on the sunny sides of a house and from there work their way through cracks, doorjams, etc. into your house looking for a warm place for the winter. I have read where they hibernate in the walls and come back out again in the spring. There are very few safe options for dealing with them, but the one I have resorted to when they were IN my house was using a vacuum cleaner to scoop them up and take them outside. They can be a REAL nuisance crawling around inside your house. If anyone has any
other suggestions, I would like to hear them.
Barbara in AL

Slugs in the garden: I buy the cheapest 6 pack of beer available ( I don't drink). Pour the beer into 2 or 3 pie pans and set them in the garden. The slugs can't get enough! Don't know if they get drunk and drown or if it just poisons them but they are just as dead either way. Repeat as needed. I kept a fairly large garden and only used a couple beers a season.
Linda in Indy

To Ella in CA, To get rid of slugs put shallow dishes of beer in the garden next to your tomato plants. The slugs like the beer and drown when they climb in the dish.
Good luck Theresa in MI

To Nina, Pocono Mts. Pa. I have the same problem with Ladybugs, but they are so helpful for our gardens, and land, that I always open a window, and whisk them outside, or let them get on my fingers and open the door. Just think how helpful these little self-renewing critters are... eating up all those aphids, and nasty bugs that get into our flowers, shrubs, and gardens. No chemicals needed! I have been helping them out every day. For the life of me though, I just can't figure out how so many of them got inside before winter!

Nancy, thanks again for including diabetic and low fat diet recipes on your site. I have used some of the recipes in helping me to lose 35 lbs. so far on my diabetic diet, and do not need to go on medication. I'll always be on the lookout for those recipes. I can't tell you how many of the "sweet" recipes I printed off, in the past. I even have been able to make some adjustments so that I can have that occasional sweet that I want. I made the Dreamsicle Cake Recipe from your site, and I'm sorry I don't know who sent it in, but it was in your "Favorites list" I took it to the Diabetes Class that I attended at the local hospital, and the instructor used it as a learning lesson to figure out the ingredient values. We could all end up having a large piece of cake, that was 1/12 of the 9 x 13 dish I baked it in! All of the class loved it and I gave them the recipe. The instructor also put it in her files for future classes. What would we all do without you!
Laurine in NNY on the border

This is concerning "mealy bugs" that someone mentioned in a past newsletter. I discovered them in my garage where I store some of my canned products and a extra flour, cake mixes, etc. What a problem. Had to throw so much out and for me that is tough as I don't like waste, but no choice. Discovered they were coming in from the bird seed my husband had stored. Went to the feed store and asked them to help. They encouraged me to purchase a paper product that makes into a tiny tent like affair with kind of a glue product inside. The website is www.saferbrand.com

It took me about 3 months to get rid of them, but now always keep one of those in my cupboard. Linda, OR

For Nina from the Pocono Mts. Pa
I don't have solution for getting rid of your lady bugs but I am hoping you get an answer on how to eliminate them. They bite me and I get red itchy areas that last 3 or 4 days.

I think we are infested with them. Maybe it is a Pa thing?
Jeane in Pa.