The Home and Garden Education Center is an informational resource for the residents of Connecticut. The Center is designed to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated audience by providing accurate, thorough and timely information on a wide variety of issues.
Connecticut residents can call us toll-free at (877) 486-6271 with all their home and garden questions. They will be answered by our horticulturists or directed to the appropriate University of Connecticut department. All others can visit www.ladybug.uconn.edu to discover the resources we have available or for contact information.
January 6, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Hello, I am trying to keep some hibiscus plants alive through the winter. There are aphids on the plants, especially the buds. Can you recommend a solution to this problem? Thanks, Jan
January 7, 2009 at 2:46 am
Hi,
Hibiscus plants are great with their large, cheerful blooms but they are quite attractive to aphids. Often they get aphids either after being outdoors during warmer weather or upon exposure to other plants that have aphids. If you can pick up the plant and pot I find just bringing it to the sink and washing off the aphids with a moderately forceful spray of water works well. You may have to do this 2 or 3 times. If the plant is very large and needs to stay put you could use an insecticidal soap. Because you would spray the aphids directly with the insecticidal soap, some drops might fall to the floor. I’m not sure if it would stain carpets or wood floors so you might need to put down some old towels or something to absorb any excess. Insecticidal soap is quite safe to use. Going up a step in toxicity would be a pyrethrum based insecticide. I think many name brand houseplant insecticides have this as an active ingredient. The good thing about aphids is that they are relatively easy to kill with a little persistance unlike scale and mealy bugs which are much more problematic. DP
February 22, 2009 at 3:14 pm
I’m beginning to think about spring pruning of shrubs. What pruning resources do you recommend (books, websites, etc.)? Thank you.
February 23, 2009 at 9:18 pm
As a general rule, prune spring flowering shrubs right after they bloom. All others should be pruned while in a dormant state which is in winter and very early spring. Late summer and fall pruning encourages new tissue growth that may not harden off before freezing weather arrives, effectively killing that new growth. See factsheet from Virginia Cooperative Extension System on pruning.
May 31, 2009 at 8:29 pm
What are your suggestions to eliminate voles from my lawn areas?
June 1, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Hello Nancy,
Voles are Vegetarian eating plant roots.
Moles are insectivores that eat Meaty insects like grubs and earthworms.
Controlling the grub population in lawns will reduce the food source of moles but will nothing to deter voles. Reducing the earthworm population is not recommended.
Control can be had for both with traps and poisons.
Various traps are available commercially. Regular mouse snap traps set right nest to a hole and covered with an upside down bucket will work for whatever made the hole.
Other traps are placed inside the tunnel after you remove the top of a tunnel. Replace the sod after circular trap is placed inside the tunnel. Plunger type traps stab the animal as it runs through the tunnel.
Poisons are available to place down holes and in tunnels.
Commercially prepared and sold repellents, mostly containing castor oil, are used to spray on areas to repell, not kill rodents.
A good hungry cat patrolling the area will reduce numbers significantly.
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/homegrnd/htms/12mice.htm
-Carol