Official Poll: What is the #1 pest/problem in your garden?

[Ridgerunner]

Tony, from just across the border. I had a huge number of Japanese beetles a few years back, but after those two hot dry years we had, I've hardly seen any. I think the grubs got cooked in the ground before they could emerge so the life cycle was broken. I did see a few last year so maybe they are on the way back.

I had june bugs really bad last summer. They did a serious number on my grapes an apples. These things seem to go in cycles.

 

[Just-Moxie]

I guess I voted already I'd have to say peacocks ....they try to eat everything!!

 

[Tony O]

Tony, from just across the border. I had a huge number of Japanese beetles a few years back, but after those two hot dry years we had, I've hardly seen any. I think the grubs got cooked in the ground before they could emerge so the life cycle was broken. I did see a few last year so maybe they are on the way back.

I had june bugs really bad last summer. They did a serious number on my grapes an apples. These things seem to go in cycles.

Cool & wet (most of) this summer, but didn't see more than a few. Maybe last winter helped rid us of some too. I've still got a trap ready if needed.

Edited to add . . . Now if they would just come up with a June bug trap.

 

[Smart Red]

Hey, there! Welcome to TEG, @Tony O!

I know, you've been a member long enough to make me feel like a newbie, but we've just met so I wanted to recognize your participation. I also want to let you know I am pleased to make your acquaintance and glad you have found your way home to your friends here at TEG. Hate those Japanese Beetles, too!

 

[misfitmorgan]

Goats...

 

[Prairie Rose]

Bindweed for me

 

[7651]

I’ve only ever had one garden, but my two main problems were thistles (couldn’t ever get those dang things to stop growing and eventually had to forego an entire ode of my greenhouse to stop the jungle from growing<took my machete to them and put weed cloth over the bed to kill them>) and my raspberry plants growing EVERYWHERE.

 

[flowerbug]

the thistles here i dig out of the clay, it takes some work to get all the roots but once you do that they won't come back unless someone drops new seeds or you've missed some. if i miss some i just get the shovel out again and dig out whatever roots i can find.

we have several kinds of thistles here that i would be very nice to not have to get after but the roadside ditches are disturbed enough that new thistles get established and then their seeds are dispersed by the tweetybirds.

horsetail is also a tough one to completely eradicate if you can't get all the roots out. i'm still fighting it in one garden in spots years after i excavated the area, but because i can't lift the entire mulched and covered areas the roots that have gone out under those can find ways back in to try to start new plants again. smothering for several years about five more feet in would do it, but i can't... so instead i have to keep an eye on things and scrape whatever i can find and try to dig out anything else that tries to come up. just part of the normal routine now. just keep at it.

after digging stuff out get it planted with something else to make sure new weeds don't have an easy go of it to invade.

this is all a long way of saying that "other people" are the pests that bother me the most. heeheehee... if they weren't all disturbing so much space and leaving so much bare dirt around we'd not have so many of the opportunistic weeds floating around or trying to nonchalantly trying to say, "Hey we can take over here when this guy is over there trying to do something else..."

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Honestly I think if it can go wrong it has. Deer eat it, disease kills it, bugs eat it. To much rain now we have a drought. Somehow most of it does survive though.