Pest Control

Every gardener has to take steps to control the pests that invade any well-kept area – whether vegetable or flower. Since moving into my house, I have had an ever growing (in size) vegetable garden and each year I encountered different types of pests that would do-in my horticultural efforts. Now that I have the grass and most of the weeds under control, I find more bugs than I have encountered in years.

Today as I pulled the winter weeds, I found doodle bugs (we also call them pill bugs because of the way the wrapped up into a ball) around every weed I pulled. I have never seen this many of them in one place before. In childhood, they were fun little critters to play when we found them. I don’t know if they are damaging to my garden or not, but too many fond memories from childhood prevent me from harming them unnecessarily. 

doodleus pillus buggus (seriously people, I have no idea what they are called).

Also as I planted the peppers, tomatoes, and other plants that were pre-started, I found earthworms in every scoop of dirt I moved in the planting process. I did not just find earthworms, I found fishing worms. If I actually enjoyed catching fish, every perch in the region should be afraid. From what I read in garden blogs, it sounds like my garden is overall very healthy and as long as we continue to get rain, it should be quite productive.

My biggest challenge, though, is the four-legged kind. While white-tailed deer are a problem for many gardeners in the area, my biggest pests are my two dogs.

Last summer they ate so many of my vegetables, I thought for a while they may be vegan.

They are still less than a year old, so I know they will continue to dig and chew everything I do not want them to dig and chew.

After considering what to do about my garden, I decided the best thing I could do is build a fence to keep them out of that part of my yard. The country-boy in me relished buying the posts and wire at the hardware store as well as figuring out how to put a gate in the fence so I could get though.

I ended up building a gap (a rigged gate of the same material as the fence). The country-boy in me was running full throttle.

Now my garden is fully protected from the dogs and awaits the next challenge to come it’s way.