5 Simple Tips to Deal with Pests in your Garden

[@sandralamphier9433]

I have chickens that free range. Their coop sometimes attract rats. I have tried various things but the absolute best way to get rid of rats is snakes. Around here, my best one is the yellow rat snake; they are absolutely the best ratters! Yes, they eat a few eggs as well but that is a small price to pay 👍😊

[@RevAcres01]

Thanks for addressing the pest issue a whole new adventure for me since I'm use to Northern pests like deer and rabbits.

[@NachoCheese00]

We live in the Disston Plaza area of St. Pete. . There used to be a Lot of bats in our area, and numerous bat boxes on poles. I haven't seen any for over 3 years, and I really miss watching them go in & out of roosts, and of course, we have more mosquitos now. I haven't seen an Armadillo in our yard for years either. It breaks my Heart. Thanks for all you do!!

[@halloweenlady4073]

Someone dumped a kitty in our neighborhood a few years back. I had her checked and she was fixed and not chipped so we just fixed up the shed and porch for her. She took out all the rats, mice, and moles in our yard :). I am central florida. She gets 3 meals a day but she still makes sure our yard is rodent free!

[@gidget8717]

We have a neighborhood gopher tortoise and I think its in love with our pitbull. Our yard is fenced (we have 5 dogs) and any time the tortoise is in the neighbor's yard the pitt will run to the fence and that tortoise will come to the dog. That thing moves faster than I do! 👵

[@jacquelyngardner4932]

Thanks for the information

[@alexfinucane8796]

We're in South Saint Pete between lake Maggoiore and Coquina Key, mosquitoes here are bad after a rain but we have a ton of bats, Swifts and even nightjars that seem to eat them.

[@viperxleader]

Great video thanks!

[@kristydoman3434]

I tried to make a butterfly garden. But it sort of seemed to turn into a baby bird food factory 😮

[@sandysalzman8585]

Mosquitoes breed in water. If there are containers sitting out or if there are bromiliads in the garden, dump water out ( water other plants with it) or is a biologic product called BT in granular form or compacted ( called dunks) for larger pond areas.

[@TheTrapperGuy]

In my busy season so catching up on your content. I deal with mammals and reptiles...so can't give much advice on bug pests. We do have moles in Pinellas but not a bunch...especially in mid to southern Pinellas. Very sandy soil isn't their favorite. Northern Pinellas and most of Hillsborough has them. Unfortunately there isn't any green ways to get rid of them. Limiting the bugs in soil can help but that usually requires insecticide. Great reason to go native plants because lawns are usually what suffer from mole damage. You mentioned seeing mole signs an hour north of here and I wonder if you might be confusing pocket gophers with moles. If you see large mounds of dirt coming up every ten feet or so then that is gophers. Moles just have a visible network of tunnels just under surface. Pocket Gophers are only in extreme north Pinellas and nowhere south of it. My advice on mammals like rats and raccoons in gardens is basically don't worry if you see them...only worry if they do damage. Nothing deters them but best way to get them to not love your property is to take away what they love. Ditch the bird feeders and don't throw kitchen scraps in an open mulch pile for starters. Definitely seal all holes into house and attic. I like your advice on attracting snakes. Having them around is only a plus. They are natural pest control. Also read up on how to make a Screech Owl box. Having them in your yard is natural pest control. Bat boxes are hit and miss. If you have a waterfront lot then you may get them...but usually they don't use the small ones people put up that aren't next to water.

[@jamiewhite5510]

Regarding bats, we put up a bat house and have at least 115 tiny bats living in the bat house. We have asked our mosquito control to not spray our area. We have very few mosquitoes! Bats work!

[@jubileenine]

Mosquitoes are terrible and we also have a ton of bats (Palm Harbor) but also prevalent are noseeums

[@6lu_u]

Cats and dogs for bigger pests. I’m working on building a big indoor/outdoor garden house. Bunch of fence post. Chicken wire dug in two feet deep. And pool screen around the whole thing. Then just make sure you have healthy compost with lots of worms. Everything should be pest free in theory

[@erikaerika7788]

The pine wablers eat tons of bugs here 😍😍

[@normawong123]

Thank you so much for addressing the pest pressure. I'll be paying more attention to the butterflies and moths from now on.

[@conniecrites5148]

I have two big dogs that pretty much kept most things out of the back yard. Squirrels love to dig little holes in my raised bed but really don't do much damage. My garden is doing so much better this fall then it did this summer. Thanks for all your great ideas.

[@oneleaftogrow]

I have the same issue. I have a hard time growing carrots because of this.

[@oreopaksun2512]

Waiting for iguanas to drop out of trees so I can fill my freezer...lmao. Will that excuse work for wild turkey, hogs, deer and Mr. Bunny? I guess like weeds, what makes for a pest is somewhat subjective.

[@SouthernLatitudesFL]

I didn't hear five simple tips. I heard millions of great tips! Thank you for not leaving out snakes! I have a black racer that loves to hang in my back corner and we just let her. Occasionally I find the yellow rat snake going up there and hunting for rats and I let her. Also, I love to photograph the birds in my yard and I have actually seen yellow warblers eating the bugs off of the leaves.

[@rmburn9634]

Diatomaceous earth is great for young insects. I also use a great (expensive ) product called bio pesticide but only when absolutely needed. Both are organic and non toxic. I will sometimes use pyrethrin but only very limited if infestation in very early in the crop. look up the bio pesticide made here in Pine Island Florida. BioWash is produced by 1st EnviroSafety, Inc. It is proven to increase crop yields over $50 per acre

[@redleader5761]

I got absolutely devastated this fall by these little green worms on my squash plants. Pumpkins, zucchini, butternut, they even got into the corn. Just completely shredded everything. I tried to keep up with them but failed. Thank you for posting these tips, they are very relevant for me right now!

[@janstanley538]

We have a wildlife camera. We have set it up to watch my Everglades pumpkins because something is eating my pumpkins as soon as they come on. It’s raccoons! We live next to an empty lot where they live. Can’t pick them early because they are only as big as a golf ball when they eat them. I live in Port Charlotte, zone 9 b-10a. So discouraged.

[@wildflowers8966]

Get big wire buckets or cages for the pumpkins! I had to cover my pumpkin vine bases last year because (I am assuming possums or racoons) were chewing up the new vines overnight and eating the baby pumpkins - covering them with a wore basket (from the dollar store) for a couple of days did the trick. You don't have to make it fully racoon proof- just make it slightly more work to get your pumpkins than going to a neighbors yard and they will leave yours alone!

[@yesidtac7863]

Wow bn

[@lyndamello]

I don’t see too many bats in my area in South Florida. Iguanas are everywhere in South Florida. They are not native to Florida they were brought in from other countries. When I was a kid…I didn’t see any iguanas in South Florida. 😊

[@maga4u]

I love my snakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@howdyEB]

I've seen a raccoon a few times, a tortoise, and I've seen a few holes. I have no idea what makes them. There are neighborhood cats around that seem to take care of them for me😅. There are spider mites all over, but they seem to be sticking to the weeds for now. 🙏I am in love with growing different greens right now. I was worried about having to net them and such, but so far, things seem to be doing well on their own. No pests on them yet! 😍 I love living in Florida.

[@jo-annjewett198]

Just caught a rat. It ate all my green tomatoes (bagged), celery, sweet potato vines, garlic chives! I have a 5 gallon dunk bucket and a rat trap. This is the first time I don’t have an outdoor cat.

[@kristydoman3434]

I grow a fair amount of nasturtiums hoping the white butterfly caterpillars will eat them instead of my broccoli.

[@PinupPitBullMama]

Hi Jacqueline!! Love your videos. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US How do you store your harvest? Especially things like onions, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. I struggle with this in our humid environment in Florida. Thanks so much. PS just ordered a shirt for Christmas. Love the designs!

[@PennAHY]

Second this.

[@conniecrites5148]

Yes please

[@WildFloridian]

You're up tomorrow :D I actually had this question in queue for awhile. I love your persistance!

[@PinupPitBullMama]

@@WildFloridian YAY!! Happy birthday to me. You answered on my birthday and I just got my WF shirt!! I really appreciate your help. I definitely am in the same boat. I need a canner and I use the freezer A LOT. unfortunately when Ian hit I lost so much of my harvest when the power went out for a week. canning it is from now on!! Merry Christmas!!!

[@floridafoot1357]

My favorite is the pickleworm 😕🐛

[@kathleenrant2945]

Thank you. I just bought a home in Ormond Beach . I need to find good fill for my backyard? I heard that someone got fill and it was bad contaminate

[@muriellockhoff9560]

Getting increased iguana did not have before in Englewood

[@zelavie]

Yay! Thanks for answering my (apparently very popular) question! Re: Bats - I live in an apartment complex, and if I look up in the evenings, I'll see them flying around. We seem to have a very healthy population of them. But we definitely have plenty of mosquitoes too, unfortunately. They'll just fly right into my apartment and terrorize me. There's a small lake nearby, so maybe that's a contributing factor?

[@rexmonarch2]

The army worms wreck my tomatoes every time. Everything is so perfect then suddenly like almost overnight -- totally devastated tomato plants. When I first moved here I was on the lookout for tomato horn worms so I wasn't looking for hordes of army worms.

[@deep6301]

I think a beaver stole a log in my yard next to my retention pond. Unbelievable. New Smyrna Beach.

[@leonardhedlund5134]

I live on a lake in south Lakeland. Every spring the turtles dig up my lakeside garden to nest. I have mostly African irises planted. How can I humanely and gently discourage them?

[@conniegalassi9167]

How do you get rid of yellow grasshoppers?

[@shirleyk623]

I hardly ever spray bad bugs in my garden. Sometimes I just use a hard burst of water to wash them off. If absolutely necessary and they are taking over, I will try a diluted soap spray. (Recipes on line) You can always just wipe them off with your fingers if you aren't the squeamish type. Remember like Jackie says if you do spray you might be killing the good along with the bad. Sometimes the best thing to do to avoid an infestation is to pull that plant up and throw it out (not in the compost pile). My favorite way to get rid of worms is feed them to the lizards in your yard. Sweet revenge lol🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋

[@cherylj7460]

If only the lizards were nocturnal!

[@paoladelvalle8794]

I see a single bat every night. We do hear others though. We still have a lot of huge mosquitoes.

[@frostylonewolf1700]

are some fruit trees tough to grow? cause my guava plant is dying

[@em286]

Great video thanks! My biggest problem are the small rust looking spots that get on my lemongrass and neem tree. If I don't harvest those leaves by the end of July the dog days of summer claim them. Lol. 🌿💕

[@kevinhorsch8719]

Snakes can't dig holes or make tunnels.... they don't have limbs or claws. They like looking for food or making a den in any little cave or tunnel but they can't build it themselves.

[@denniskeyes7713]

Not true. Some snakes do dig holes.

[@leonardhedlund5134]

PS not allowed to put up fencing lakeside.

[@theannecrossett7761]

🙂

[@erikaerika7788]

I am in orlando ..have every critter... my plants get eating by turkeys. Bunnies. Deer ..the dune sunflower, iron weed and frog fruit dont have a chance to grow 😪😪😪😪😪😪😪😪

[@staceyshines5637]

Does no one else deal with these Sri Lanka weevils? They are crazy here in Manatee County.

[@PlumeriaCottageFL]

I have this problem too.

[@suzette1875]

Sand fleas🤨? No see ums?

[@conniecrites5148]

Yes

[@Ladybuginthegarden]

I get dragon flies that eat the mosquitoes so I don't have a major issue

[@RobinL4715]

How do you keep your plants evenly watered? We seem to have very dry seasons where I water daily, and very wet times when my plants are drowning. Do you use irrigation like drip during the dry season? We are technically limited to “lawn irrigation” one day a week, so I hand water, but I struggle to get it right especially for squash/melon plants.

[@tuconexionlocal7516]

I had rats, got a cat, problem solved. I think the rats can smell his waste and they stay away.

[@billnaha15]

I'm in zone 9A all kind of bug

[@valmac1234]

Do you have a video on beneficial bugs vs the kind you want to deter, like fire ants. Plus the difference in wasps is one my husband needs to see.