Pests visit this week & fun hummingbird moth | backyard pollinator garden | Texas Gulf Coast Zone 9b

I put up a poll in the Community Tab of my KZbin channel this week asking what was the least favorite garden task you did. Over 50% of the votes were "dealing with pests (insects or animals)". Well, I had a problematic pest this week - the awful fire ant. Join me today as I talk about what I did to combat this problem. I also want to give a fun update on my Coral Honeysuckle vine. #hummingbird #butterfly #pollinators

[@jennhoff03]

Ok, this makes so much more sense. ;'D I thought that poll was from another youtube gardener I watch. And when I commented about hand-picking 32 leaf-footed bugs, and got a sweet, kind response back, I was like, "That's weird; she's normally so grumpy!" And then I started this video and realized it was YOU who posted the poll and went, "Ohhhh! That makes sense. Crystal's always nice." ;'D Anyhoo, that's so interesting about the hummingbird moth! I didn't put that together, either!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Hahahahaha ... that made me laugh! I don't think I've run across a grumpy garden KZbinr yet. 😁 And 32 leaf-footed bugs is an incredible number! (I call them "ugly bugs" - they are so gross). 🤣

[@davettayoung1495]

Hi Crystal. Your yard is beautiful 🌷My challenge is definitely the heat and pests. I decided not to plant below ground, and plant in pots only. I also wanted to plant milkweed, but I was told that might not be a good idea, with a puppy around. As you know I’m in zone 8, and this year seems to be a little different concerning the hummingbirds., haven’t seen as many. What about your way? Have you noticed a difference? And yes, I took your advice, and got The Bug Thing, and it does work! Thank you so much ❤

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Hi Renae! The heat is an absolute bugger for us in Texas. I think you have more pests to deal with than we do because it is drier up in north Texas than here. I'm glad "Bug Bite Thing" works for you. I use it so much in the summer because of fire ants and mosquitos. It seems like a joke ... manually extracting the venom, but it works like a champ! 😊

[@jennifergreene8891]

Hello neighbor 👋 Lake Jackson here 😊 I have got to get that bug bite thing!! Thanks so much for sharing that! Your garden has taken off, WOW! Every time I see it , it is more lush, growing like crazy.... Beautiful 😍 I have not had to use anything thus far out in the garden. I too would go with the DE. I use inside house in room where parrot is. We remove him and cage then carefully apply (as to not let it float in the air) on baseboards. Then we wait a bit before moving him back in. I have COPD along with many other illnesses, so when I say I, I mean hubby. Thank you again for sharing the beauty of your garden and all the great info.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Hello neighbor - thank you for your kind comment! 🥰 My garden has been growing like crazy and I love it. I find it neat that you have a parrot! I'm sorry you have to deal with COPD. (It sounds like you have a great hubby though)! 😊

[@christine_hazel]

hi jennifergreen! im closer to you i think because Im in wharton.. ! What do you guys think about all this rain were getting, its a blessing for my plants but not so much for my tall sunflowers... * sighs*

[@jennifergreene8891]

@@christine_hazel hi 👋 you are about an hour away.. Have you been getting the flooding rains and bad storms there? We have gotten some good rain, nothing super bad. We are closer to the coast here. Do you have those huge Sunflowers 🌻? Last year we grew some that were maybe 2 ft tall and tried the Teddy Bear kind which are so pretty. But, the Teddy Bears didn't do too good 😕, some bloomed but, not near what the others did.

[@christine_hazel]

@@jennifergreene8891 hi jennifer! we got some but i sure not as bad as what others in houston had thanks God... but in our area here have lots of old pecan trees....its in my videos ..just a glimpse since i lost the other clips by accident

[@ruthkeeling-holt2031]

Southeastern Texas. I use Orange Oil with water and a dash of dish soap. There is an A&M recipe online. It works for me. Love your garden

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Great tip - and thanks for sharing! (I have heard of using Orange Oil). I mentioned this to my husband.

[@cajunlady4893]

Where do you buy orange oil?

[@bredear]

Your garden is beautiful! Love the healthy look on your plants. I have a big fire ants problem, I don’t use any insecticides because I have lots of bees and lizards. I have been using a mix of orange oil, dawn soap & water on their ant hills, kill ants on contact but also damage the plants 🙁. Thanks for the tips.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you for your comment! I appreciate you sharing what works for you. Fire ants are just awful. I have had a few comments now concerning using orange oil.

[@wesleyhackney]

Here in NW Florida Gulf Breeze I hate end of season and winter brings us short spells of below 32 degree weather. Have to get the sensitive plants in or covered & I add frost cloth around my banana plants

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I believe where you are at in the FL Panhandle and where I am south of Houston / Gulf Coast area, we have similar growing conditions and climate. I do what you do for freezing temps.

[@HoustonKeith72]

Well I think you did the right thing. I also try to not use sprays or pesticides. Which can be challenging with roses! I haven’t had fire ants but I often get ant infestations in my potted plants. I’ve used that same product when it became clear the plant was suffering. You do so much good with your garden that I think you did what you had to do to save the yarrow and it was an isolated temporary treatment. ❤

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

How kind of a comment to share with me - thank you! 🥰 I felt bad (as you could tell), but it was decision time: 1. lose the plant 2. lose the fire ants (along with beneficials on the yarrow). Thank goodness the fire ants left after I put it down. When they were gone I hosed down the area and yarrow thoroughly so there wasn't any active DE. You must be the rose whisperer, because even though I don't have roses, I do know they can get bugs (thrips?) and fungus easily. Do you treat with targeted beneficial insects? I haven't done that yet.

[@HoustonKeith72]

@@ButterfliesNBirds Oh by no means am I a rose whisperer. ha! I actually just started this year. I've avoided them all my life because of their reputation. But I have a friend at work with 2 acres who has hundreds, many of them the old garden roses, many through Antique Rose Emporium. She has very few issues, some grow wild on her property, because they have long adapted to our climate. That made me brave enough to try. I've tried to select varieties that are more resistant to disease, and I'm happy to discover breeders have been working on developing hardier varieties. I don't spray or treat with insecticide unless I have an infestation like you mention. Part of what led me to your channel is my research into attracting beneficial insects to help control pests naturally. I do also have a strong interest in helping pollinators where possible, even in my little yard. From you and others I've learned native plants are their own wonderful world!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

My mother grew roses for years and they are so beautiful. My hats off to you! And you are so right about native plants and ecosystems in our own yards. I was shocked to see how quickly a transformation takes place ... native bees find these plants easily. I saw bees I had never seen before in my life now regularly visiting my yard. And of course all the other creatures. They also go to the non-native plants that provide what they need like nectar, pollen, fruits, berries, etc. I am trying to add native plants as much as possible, but I am still a sucker for color and texture! 😁 I do try to only add plants that will benefit butterflies, hummingbirds, birds, and pollinators though.

[@wendy5006]

My problem has been white fly on my salvia! I've cut back and water sprayed the remains of plants but I still saw the small white bugs flying around. I really don't want to completely loose all my salvias and at a loss as to what to do. I've also sprayed what is left with Insecticidal soap. I now realize the mottled leaves last year on my salvias must have also been white fly. I'm hoping continual water sprays will take care of this and the new growth will stay green, otherwise I'll have to give up on keeping salvia in my garden.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I am sorry you are having to deal with white flies on your salvia! Have you tried using soapy water yet on them? Also spray underneath the leaves.

[@msroro3127]

I love your garden. I’m also in your area on the Northside. I use orange oil & water mixture on ants as suggested to me from the local garden center. The orange oil worked immediately. Now I have a caterpillar web on my redbud tree.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! 😊 I have heard of using orange oil - I appreciate you taking the time to comment to let me know how it worked for you. As far as the web, can you cut out only the affected area and dispose of it, or is it too widespread?

[@slr4172]

my experience with orange oil is that it only repels them which means they will move somewhere else but not necessarily off your property.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Good to know - thank you! 😊

[@allgood4729]

My challenge is this excessive heat index. LOL. My banana plant and oak leaf hydrangea leaves droop terribly and it puts me in a droopy mood too. LOL. Oh well what to do, good with the bad. Hope you permanently get rid of those pesky fire ants. Thanks for the heads up on the bug bite thing. Blessings. ❤

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you for your comment! I hope your heat index reduces soon ... that is very brutal on plants, animals, and humans!

[@wendy5006]

I've been told the heat index does not affect plants only us. Plants only are affected by the actual ambient temps. It seems all the talk about heat index has made us more sensitive to the air temps around us. Humidity levels are also thrown at us. In reality it's the "dew point" combined with humidity levels that can really affect us and give us that sticky icky feeling. Dew points exceeding 60 degrees and higher creates the proverbial "bad hair day"! I'm a native of the area and when I was younger (I'm 75) we never heard about heat indexes, we only knew it was 92 to 95 degrees and hot most summers on avg. and that the hottest months are July/August. So far the weather is about like then with the exception of last summer. I never remember one like that and hoping we're not setting up for another one.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

That makes sense - thanks for sharing! 😊 I have lived here for 39 years, and I agree with you ... last summer was an exception that I hope we don't repeat anytime soon.

[@christine_hazel]

hi there! thanks for sharing im from houston and ants are a problem and since i l ive out in wharton *hmm* my garden right now is full of web worms! yikes

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Hello neighbor! You know the scourge of fire ants! 🤮 What do you do for web worms? (I'm lucky I don't have to deal with that).

[@christine_hazel]

@@ButterfliesNBirds oh my gosh, because where i am is in wharton outside rosenberg.. you know where wharton is? im here and its bad here, and I don't know what to do with it.. I need to move to houston again.. my mother is in southwest houston where chimney rock is. nice to meet you crystal!

[@elizabethcanales7170]

The garden is just beautiful!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Awww, thank you! 😊

[@daniellegrows2498]

I’m in northern Alabama and I use diatomaceous earth on ants!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

It does deter them doesn't it? Fire ants are the worst.

[@baerbelbegnaud5802]

Were did you find this product for the fire ants

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Diatomaceous earth is generally not good for killing fire ants. Some will die that come into contact with it, but they will usually move on. That is what I wanted them to do to get out of my yarrow plant. You can get it at a store like Home Depot or Lowe's.

[@Pierceb2]

I believe you described the Azur Blue Butterfly as a white butterfly but it is characterized as a blue butterfly as in its name because in flight or when sunning you see the Upper Wings Azur Blue color. ( top side ) In a prior post you asked what butterflies I have in my Butterfly Garden. Over 30 years I have recorded over 50 species. Below are my most common or regular visitors. Mourning Cloak Eastern Tailed Blue Azur Blue Painted Lady American Painted Lady Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Spice bush Swallowtail Black Swallowtail Red Spotted Purple Red Admiral Baltimore Checkerspot Eastern Comma Question Mark Common Sulphur Clouded Sulphur Monarch Coral Hairstreak Grey Hairstreak Hickory Hairstreak White M Hairstreak Buckeye Cabbage White ( yuck ) Juniper Hairstreak Cedar Hairstreak Great Spangled Fritillary Harris Checkerspot Silver Spotted Skipper Brazilian Skipper Many types of small skippers Wood Nymph Rare/ Uncommon: Pipevine Swallowtail Giant Swallowtail Silver Bordered Fritillary Moths: Luna Cecropia Polyphemus Hummingbird Hawk Moth Ruby Throated Hummingbirds

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I absolutely LOVE your list - thank you so much for sharing! I keep track of all the butterflies I see in my garden, and my list is a shorter list than yours. Some butterflies and moths are region specific, so you will see some that I won't see and vice versa. Some of the ones on my list (that I didn't list in an earlier post) not on your list are: - Hackberry Emperor - Funereal Duskywing - Horace’s Duskywing - American Snout - Pearl Crescent - Orange-barred Sulphur - Queen - White-tipped Black Melanchroia chephise (moth) - Waved Sphinx Moth The Pipevine swallowtail and giant Swallowtails are common for me as we have the pipevine host plants and citrus trees for the Giants are two houses down. Two butterflies I am hopeful to get are the Zebra Swallowtail and the Red-spotted Purple (this one is on your list). Thank you again for sharing! 😊💖

[@Pierceb2]

Great to get your reply. I have the two Dusky Wings that you get and the Pearl Crescent Spot too. For the Red Spotted Purple, Queston Marks, Commas and Tortoise Shells put out a butterfly mash or ripe fruits. You can put this in a hanger using an old hummingbird feeders or brush it on your tree bark. I find it works in the shade as well as in open sunlight

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I replied to you on another comment about my experience with overripe fruits. 😲 I now am reluctant to try again. That means I might not get a Red-spotted purple. 😥

[@goldengirl65]

Make sure your diatamaceous earth is food grade to keep your dog safe. The other is toxic to pets. Also don't let your doggie breathe it in. I don't use anything in my garden. I just try to companion plant to bring bugs that will get rid of the ones you don't want but I haven't had your fire ants. Shame they built so close to the plant because if it was in the grass you could just use boiling water.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I am like you ... I don't use anything either. I haven't had ants ever build their nest in the structure of a plant ... but this is the first year I have planted a Yarrow, and it has a very dense structure.