Here’s how to protect your tomato plants from tomato hornworm and other pests for tomatoes. Tomatoes are a beloved crop for many home gardeners, prized for their juicy fruits and culinary versatility. In fact, tomatoes are the number one most popular plant in backyard vegetable gardens. Growing tomatoes can be extremely rewarding. That’s because a homegrown, vine-ripened tomato is delicious and nutritious. Unfortunately, growing tomato plants can be challenging due to a variety of pests that threaten the health of the plants and the quality of the fruits. Enemy number one for tomato plant damage is the dreaded tomato hornworm. A tomato hornworm is actually the caterpillar stage of a hawk moth (Manduca quinquemaculata), which is also known as a sphinx moth or a hummingbird moth. Tomato hornworms are voracious eaters of tomato plant foliage. A hungry tomato hornworm can strip the leaves from a small tomato plant overnight. (They are most active from dusk until dawn.) So, … [Read more...] about Tomato Hornworm and Other Pests for Tomatoes
Summit
Prevent Tick Borne Diseases While Outdoors
Here are some easy tips to prevent tick-borne diseases while enjoying your favorite activities outdoors. You’ve grabbed your water bottle, sunscreen, and hat for a hike in the woods or some gardening in the backyard. But add a bit of tick protection when you head out the door for an outdoor adventure, to garden, or play. That's because disease-carrying ticks can now be found in all of the 48 continental states in the US. It’s healthy to enjoy the fresh air in the great outdoors. But ensure your safety by enlisting a variety of strategies to limit your risk of exposure to ticks. Doing so will help prevent tick-borne diseases including Lyme disease rash and tick bite rash. Here are just a few of the ways to increase your safety and enjoyment. Prevent Tick-Borne Diseases To help prevent tick borne diseases, wear light colored clothing to more easily spot a tick before it moves onto your skin. Wear long pants and tuck them into your socks and tuck your shirt into your pants. … [Read more...] about Prevent Tick Borne Diseases While Outdoors
How to Get Rid of Ticks
The question is how to get rid of ticks. But you could call it a tick-ing time bomb. In backyards, forests and fields across America, the population of disease-carrying ticks is increasing. Homeowners and homesteaders alike are wondering how to get rid of ticks on their properties. If that wasn't bad enough, a new species of tick not normally found in the Western Hemisphere has now invaded the United States. As a result, many health and insect control experts are predicting this summer to be another bad season for ticks and their disease-carrying bites. How to Get Rid of Ticks: Lyme Disease Ticks are best known for transmitting Lyme Disease, which can cause a rash, fatigue, fever, chills, and headaches. Lyme Disease can also cause aches in muscles and joints. If left untreated, Lyme Disease can cause arthritis, severe joint pain and swelling. So it's no wonder that summer outdoor activities make us think about how to get rid of ticks and control tick populations. Every … [Read more...] about How to Get Rid of Ticks
How Do Mosquito Dunks Work?
You have probably heard of Mosquito Dunks. But how do Mosquito Dunks work? The answer is simple—even though it involves some science. Summit Mosquito Dunks kill mosquito larvae, before the larvae can develop into adult mosquitoes. I will explain exactly how Mosquito Dunks kill mosquito larvae in just a moment. But first it’s helpful to learn a little bit about mosquitoes. How Do Mosquito Dunks Work: Fast Facts About Mosquitoes It has been said that, ounce for ounce, mosquitoes are the deadliest creatures on planet Earth. An adult female mosquito weighs just 1/15,000 of an ounce (that’s about 2.0 milligrams). But despite mosquitoes’ tiny size, mosquito bites kill an estimated 1 million people worldwide each year. That’s because mosquitoes transmit some of the planet’s most deadly diseases including malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and West Nile virus. Only female mosquitoes bite—and they bite people, animals, and birds. (Male mosquitoes feed solely on flower nectar.) When a … [Read more...] about How Do Mosquito Dunks Work?
Homestead Living Ideas
When it comes to homestead living ideas, it's all about a more sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyle. Use organic practices on the landscape and in the gardens. Make and use homemade compost in the family vegetable garden. Pay attention to energy efficiency in the design of buildings. And select appliances based on their efficient use of resources. The homestead and ranch life can also include raising chickens for a steady supply of fresh eggs. (This is true for large acreage properties and even in some suburban homes.) On larger ranch and homesteads, becoming more self-sufficient means drilling wells and installing backup water pumps. Here are some great products and homestead living ideas that make the ranch, homestead and self-sufficient lifestyle easier. For information about planting fruit trees on your homestead property, read Top Five Fruit Trees for some great advice. Also read How to Build an Instant Rusted Corrugated Metal Fence. Deep Well Hand Pump Keeps … [Read more...] about Homestead Living Ideas
