sorry about your grapes foxy...I can get strong vinegar.it isefective against some bugs..then I hose off the plants later..it does them no harm.but your bugs I dont know.I would suggest ID the bugs & search online for a natural solution

BerniceC: bernice,I saw your email B4 I saw this.answered it with mt snailmail address.I didnt want to post it here.just being cautious,had a stalker-girl once.

Foxy and others. Check out Neem oil. It stinks and most bugs that eat leaves that are sprayed with it will die in time. It cuts off the digestive system or something in bugs. BUT it is completely harmless to birds, animals or humans. I got it last week for my hedge and it seems to be working. The bugs ate every leaf on my hedge last year so was determined to stop them. It is a natural oil that is from the Asia Neem tree. BOY it stinks tho.. Google it to get more info. All plant stores sell it.

Rose: I have a Neem tree growing in my back yard.

The Neem seeds are used in India? for making all sorts of things . The oil is very expensive, but they also make flour, and all sorts of pastes to eat.
I have recently had a very large Neem tree in my yard die....it isnt impervious to all bugs unfortunately:(
If need be I can give pics to show you :)

LOL the soapy water is doing the trick.I took a magnifying glass out to the vine and inspected the leaves. My hubby thinks i'm nuts but i'm so proud of that grape vine.Oh Bernice the grapes are Concord i was told.

Concord? never heard of them, but no doubt being grapes they will be delicious :)
I just love grapes.
I have another whopping big bunch of bananas on my banana palm...this will be even bigger than the last one Im thinking....will get pics if I remember LOL

BerniceC: You should see my poor grapes.They were so little and now poof almost all gone.I hope to get some more before fall.I'm armed now with my soapy water bottle

BerniceC: I submitted too fast duhhhhh.Do your banana trees die after they bear fruit? My sisters in Fla do but a new one takes it's place?

Foxy Lady: yes they do die...but are very quick to shoot anew :)...I have about 4-5 at the moment with only the one with bananas on it.

My passionfruit is going beserk this year again and they are hanging like bunches of grapes hahahah....i couldnt get rid of them all last year and this year will be the same :)

concord grapes,yes I understand..sweet,delicious..but because of this,the bugs love it
but if you can keep the bugs away,concord makes fantabulous jelly & preserves.

BerniceC: I wish i could have fruit trees but with our winters forget it.

chupacabraVS2: Those bugs better begone lol.I'm spraying them everyday,it's a young vine and i want to give it a chance to grow .

I have at the moment....Grapes, Passion Fruit, Bananas, PawPaws, and in the past have grown every concievable vegie know to the aussie world. People said I couldnt do it in the tropics, but my god Ive had some fab vegies over the years:)
Dont bother too much now as Im too busy with Vern and here and work and etc etc LOLOL
Do have a great herb garden tho :)

What can you put on soil to keep cats from using it as a toilet?!

Lion poo. Seriously.

Uh, well lovely with just 2 small problems

One, we don't have any lions locally
And two, its the smell we don't like - and lion poo would still smell!

Na! It comes in pellet form - or powder.

Are you serious?!

Yep.
Silent Roar Lion Manure - Cat Repellant.

Silent Roar Cat Repellant

Found it!

Crocus


Its a bit expensive though!

Ha ha I found that page too when I was comparing prices!

harley: Why not let Lenny have the run of the garden? Then you can tell your neighbour how to stop the cat poo that has suddenly appeared in his garden.

Its not the back garden thats the problem, its the front. Right under the window, and they're doing it at night when Lenny is tucked up in his bed! Its the smell that gets me, and the more I pick up, the more appears. I think they're bringing their friends.

Just wondering, wouldn't Lenny Poo work as well? After all, its all territory marking....

I thought of that Eriisa, but its the smell! The patch they're using is right under the living room window. I'll have to clear it all up before I can even open the windows
(And its not a very nice smell for anyone coming to the front door either!)

LOL, guess I wasn't thinking of fresh poo. After its dried out, I didn't think it would smell. Its been a while since I had a dog. Now BIRD POO ......

You want me to dry out Lenny's poo?!
I guess I was hoping for a more pleasant solution, like the garlic for the bugs... I suppose cats don't mind garlic?!

have you tried moth balls? Cats cant stand that smell

Really? See I didn't know that! I knew there would be something, thanks Rose!

Oh, but how do you get a knife small enough... never mind!

LMAO leave it to you!!! The moth balls work great for me. My neighbours cat likes to do her duty in my flower beds! Now she goes off to other ppls flower beds and leaves mine alone!

Rose: Thats just what I need, thanks! It really is only a flower bed with a tiny bit of grass at the front so that should work great.

harley: space em about 6 inches apart to really cause a stink. (the more you put down the more powerful the smell) It wont harm your plants either!

Rose: Great! I'll get some later. I've grown up with cats and I didn't know that.

harley: You were raised by cats? Go figure.

Can you still get moth balls these days?

bumble: yes around here you still can Bumpy. Guess we're just an old fashioned society!

bumble: Yeah, lions.

I had a look in Tesco and they didn't have any. Guess I'll have to go further afield - but this is kind of getting off topic!

We're due a heatwave this weekend, does anyone know if pansies burn in the sun? My daughter has a pot of them, I don't know if I should put them in the shade if it gets too sunny?

Moth balls

Don't say I don't do anything for you.

Brilliant!! Thanks Bumble, you're good for something after all!!

bumble: have you even seen moth balls?I didnt know they had any.

bumble: Yes moth balls work for dogs so should for the cats.My Granmother puts the moth balls around her flower beds and her trees.Keeps the dogs away.

hehehe...you lot :)

if you had a moth ball in each hand....what have you got....











a whopping great moth LOL

sorry Foxy.

Be careful with moth balls that kids dont pick them up thinking they are lollies...very dangerous....try naphthalene flakes..safer...I use them in my garden shed to stop cockroaches and mice....it works well :)

do moth balls or the flakes work for snakes too?

BerniceC: Thats very true about watching the kiddies.I use moth balls when i pack our winter clothes.Ever see what Moths do to sweaters they look like Swiss Cheese(thats cheese with holes in it.

Eriisa: Hmmmmmmm ask Bumble Snakes we don't have ewwwwwww.

but if some of you may just not be aware of.. aren't they poisonous?? If you have small children around.. or that can access the area you are trying to maintain.. you may wish to use the smell of citrus to keep the kitties out.. Orange rinds or Lemon peels.. just squeeze the peels onto the dirt the oils will help deter the pesky kitties.. you probably could even bury the peels..

Rose: Hey, RosieRingworm - you got me into trouble and ran away!

I guess moth balls must be a bit iffy with kids around. I must get a gross.
I'm sure I read somewhere about a certain plant that keeps cats away. They hate the smell. Sort of the opposite of catnip! I'll have a look around and report back.

I didn't think of the kids, the garden is open, no fence or anything so any kid can pick things up from there. We were going to put bark down anyway, I guess a light covering of bark over them wouldn't stop the smell getting through, but it would hide them from the kids.

harley-littertray: I've just seen a site that has a few suggestions. Sprinkling pepper is one, planting marigolds is another... and Scarlet's citrus peel is another.

Stretcher

Ooh thanks for that, I didn't know pepper kept them off by burning their paws, I'm glad I didn't opt for that one! I would have thought it was the smell they didn't like.
I'll give the moth balls a go first, they should work. If theres any problems I'll try Bernices nephowotsit powder, I like the idea of keeping away cockroaches and mice as well! Not that I've seen any here, but we do get beetles that LOOK like cockroaches on first glance, they're so big!