Q/A column – for release August 9, 2009

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent 

  Horrible Hoppers, Worm Damage, and Nibblin’ deer:

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Hoping to End the Hopping

I noticed my dogs were in the back yard trying to play with some large creatures in the bushes.  I’m glad they were not Pythons, but discovered what the neighbor called Cane Toads.  I’ve heard these are harmful – what can I do to get rid of them? ~Vicki

Cane toads are also known as Marine or Bufo toads, Bufo marinus.  While they won’t grow to the 17 foot length of that recently found Python snake, they can get big enough to fill a Great Dane’s food bowl. The problem with this invasive creature is that it produces a very poisonous secretion that can seriously harm a dog, cat or kid that gets the toxin on their skin or in their eyes.

The best defense is not to leave pet food outside in bowls where the toad will find it.  If you have these horrible hoppers around, ask your neighbors about how they feed their pets.  It may take some area-wide changes in pet feeding methods to eliminate then for your area. To get rid of these creatures, first be sure you've identified this toad correctly before euthanizing it.  A similar native species, the Southern toad (Bufo terrestris), looks a lot like the Marine toad but is actually harmless to pets and wildlife.   Request our bulletin for more details, and share it with your neighbors.

I’d suggest putting on a good pair of thick rubber gloves and some safety goggles.  Pick up the toad and place it in a heavy duty plastic bag.  Tie it off and put that bag in a second bag, again tying it off to prevent escape.  Place the whole thing it in a freezer (not the refrigerator) for three or more days.   This is the recommended, humane way to euthanize this pest.  Then bury the frozen dead pest deep in the ground or add it to the trash can. 

 

Caterpillar Recovery

I am trying to find information on a caterpillar that has eaten one of my Snow on the mountain bushes.  They also did a good job on a friend’s plants a couple of houses down from us.  I see that it turns into a white-tipped black moth.  But what I really want to know is - will the now leaf-less bush come back or die? I do not use poison in or anywhere near our home or garden.  I have used soapy water on some plants to get rid of insects but I really don't have a problem with most things in the garden.  I just wanted to know what to expect? Felicia (a natural gardener)

Felicia!

If your Snowbushes are well established and in good health before spanworms find them, they should recover with new growth.  The concern would be that the pupa will be resting in and around your plants and could come back again to take off all the leaves.  Constant feeding by these caterpillars may slowly kill your plants.

Soap works well on sucking insects like aphids, but has limited effect on caterpillars.  Consider using a bacterial based insecticide with Bacillus thuringiensis, a.k.a. “B.t.”.  This bacterium causes the caterpillars that feed on treated leaves to get a bad case of diarrhea, and they die.  B.t.s are approved in certified organic farms that produce food crops.  Don’t get it on other plants that are feeding any desirable caterpillars that create butterflies.  And, if you need to add some spreader sticker to the spray mix, don’t use soaps with “anti-bacterial” agents – you would be “shooting blanks”.  Some trade names for BT products include Dipel, Thuricide, and Safer’s Caterpillar Killer there are many other trade names for this material.

 

A very Deer problem

We live in the Fort Drum area.  A visitor wanted to repay our hospitality and planted a number of citrus trees in our yard.  They were doing fine until recently, when deer came out of the woods and had them for lunch.  Fencing is not an option where we live.   Do you have any suggestions on how to discourage these four legged predators? ~Martha

Martha - thank your for your question.  Fencing is the best alternative for keeping these grazing goblins from consuming your crops, but if this is not possible, UF Extension Wildlife Specialists suggest there are a few kinds of repellants that might help.  Repellents are described as "contact" or "area."  Contact repellents, applied directly to the plants, repel by taste.  Area repellents are applied near the plants to be protected and repel deer by odor alone. They are usually less effective than contact repellents but can be used in some situations where contact repellents cannot be used. 

Contact repellants can contain several ingredients such as putrescent (rotten) whole egg solids, ammonium soaps, Thiram [a fungicide that acts as a (taste) deer repellent] and pepper sprays.  Since soap sprays are good for controlling other kinds of insect pests in citrus, try using a soap spray base and adding these deer contact repellent substances to the spray tank. 

If deer continue to be a problem, be advised that some plants have been shown to be less attractive than others.  A UF Bulletin has this list of plants that are less attractive to wildlife  [http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW137]. Other alternatives like shooting and poisoning wildlife have severe restrictions and rules.  We can refer you to wildlife officers for those details if you are interested.

 

Send us your favorite garden question by fax (863-763-5901), email ( okeenews@newszap.com) or just drop it off at the Okeechobee News office at (107 SW 17th St. suite D, Okeechobee, FL 34974).  The questions for today are REAL questions that have been asked in the past few days.  To continue the column, we need YOUR real questions. Be sure to include your name and phone or email address in case we need more information

More information is available on the Okeechobee Extension web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu. If you need additional information on velvet ants, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons.  Go Gators! 

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Trade  names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida. Millie Ferrer, Interim Dean.

 References  

Brandt, Laura A  and Mazzotti, Frank J.   Marine Toads (Bufo marinus) [WEC-11].   Gainesville: UF/IFAS EXtension Service, September 2002.   http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW046 

Culbert, Dan. Caterpillars creeping up on snowbush Okeechobee: UF/IFAS Extension Service, July 6, 2005. http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/News%20columns/Snow%20Bush.htm 

Main, Martin B., Schaefer, Joe  and  Allen, Ginger M. Coping with Deer Damage in Florida (WEC135).  Gainesville: UF/IFAS EXtension Service, April 2003. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW128 

ibid. Ornamental plant susceptibility to damage by deer in Florida (WEC138).  Gainesville: UF/IFAS EXtension Service, April 2003. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW137