Cutworms, ants, and spiders. Oh my! - Gardening & Landscaping

Margarita · #1 (**permalink**) 04-11-2006, 03:38 PM

We've got bugs.

Cutworms: Does anyone know how to get rid of these little buggers? I was digging up some flowers that I hated last year and found a bunch of them. My mom said they can get in the lawn and attack the roots.

Ants: Again, how do we get rid of them for good? I sprayed them with Ortho Bug B Gone this weekend, but I'm not sure how well that will work. They still seem to be working away in the same area. They're in the rocks that surround our bushes and flower bed but only at the edge next to the sidewalk.

Spiders: Last year, our grass was teeming with spiders. I have no idea what kind, but they were pretty much all the same. Seconds after laying the hose out, it would be covered. I know that spiders can be good for keeping other bugs in control, but I would think THAT many is not so good. Ideas?

Please help! I want our yard to be healthy and comfortable for our daughter to play in.

Mommytotwo · #2 (**permalink**) 04-11-2006, 06:19 PM

I would either go to a garden center and ask a professional for advice, or call a person who gets rid of bugs and know what they are doing to do it for you.

heather6773 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-14-2006, 07:29 AM

I agree with Mommy...go to Lowes or Home Depot...I have good luck with them.

Margarita · #4 (**permalink**) 06-02-2006, 05:42 PM

Heather, you must be luckier than I am. The guy at Home Depot said he wouldn't treat the ants at all. Um, they're pulling the dirt out from under my front porch, which will eventually cause it to crumble, and then we'll have to replace it. So, we called Orkin and now have a year's contract with them. I'm hoping that takes care of it because it was a bundle of money. I've never done anything like this before.

The spiders don't seem to be as abundant this year. Orkin told me ants eat spiders, so that could be why.

As for the blasted cutworms, they got into our grass. We had to dig out a couple of good-sized places and treat the whole yard. I still need to call Home Depot and see if they can suggest when we should re-treat. We want to make sure to get them good.

heather6773 · #5 (**permalink**) 06-03-2006, 08:01 PM

I hope this is helpful for you MArgs....Naomi needs to play outside and not be carried away by buggies!!!

Margarita · #6 (**permalink**) 06-03-2006, 08:22 PM

LOL! Thanks Heather! Believe it or not, my oh-so-neat daughter actually touched worms! As we were pulling up the grass, she kept wanting us to find more of them. They had to be the right ones, though. She didn't like the grubs (most abundant, of course), and it had to be the right size of worm. Silly. We found an earthworm, and she touched that, too.

I just swept a bunch of ant carcasses off the sidewalk, so maybe it's working.

heather6773 · #7 (**permalink**) 06-19-2006, 06:12 AM

Margs....we are having an Ant problem...how's the Orkin treatment going? Did it help at all?

meliz · #8 (**permalink**) 06-19-2006, 06:24 AM

Whatever they spray, Margs, I'd be sure to get an opinion (or two) re: kids playing on the grass. Friends of ours recently sprayed something for buggies-- they were told by the lawn centre from whom they purchased it (surprise surprise) that it was "perfectly safe" for kids within a day or two. So they did it. Now they are being told by another lawn expert not to let their kids play on the sprayed lawn FOR THE REST OF THE SUMMER! Boy are they peeved, but they are taking it seriously. Personally, I'd avoid all pesticides at all costs wherever N will be playing. There are lots of natural things going tho-- I don't know what, but some of our neighbours are using them,and have posted signs stating they are not using toxins and that kids are welcomed to play on the grass.

Turtleheadfred · #9 (**permalink**) 06-22-2006, 08:32 PM

I don't know if this will help - and I've been REALLY BAD about keeping up with my gardenining last year and this - but I just put some sevin granuals out for the cutworms (or grub worms) as I recall and it really helped. THe other thing I did was dig up a lot of the bulbs and roots that multiply by themselves (crocus, iris, etc.) and throw away the old rotted part because that's what the cut worms like to eat on so that may have helped too.

I've never had problems with spiders, but I have lizards and they eat spiders - which REALLY WORKS for me!!! And our bug man (not Orkin... they were too expensive) comes twice a year for general spraying around and under the house so that seems to do the job.

I will definitely say that with the winters being milder in recent years - critters just aren't being KILLED OFF because it's not staying cold long enough to do any good - so each summer is getting buggier and buggier!!! ICK!!!

Margarita · #10 (**permalink**) 06-30-2006, 09:45 PM

I don't really know yet, Heather. It seems to have helped some, but we still see ants in different places now. I think it's because they didn't put anything down in those spots. They just came again this week and re-treat every two months after that.

Meliz, that's scary! I might have to call a few other places to see what they say.

THF, we've been using triazicide (sp?) for the cutworms which is the same as sevin, I think. It appears to be helping.