June 10, 2025 • 42 mins
Summer gardening should be about sunshine and fresh veggies, not swatting and scratching. So, this week on Just Grow Something we dig into the science and strategy behind controlling two of the most irritating garden pests that go after the gardeners, not our plants: ticks and mosquitoes. Learn which ones are in your region, understand the risks they carry, and implement practical, research-backed solutions to protect yourself and your family while in the garden.
From landscape tweaks to personal protection hacks and a game-changing DIY mosquito trap, this episode has everything you need to enjoy your garden bite-free.
We cover:
- Common tick species by region and associated diseases
- Mosquito types and their disease vectors
- Natural vs. chemical repellent options
- Landscaping tips to deter pests
- How to build a “Bucket of Doom” mosquito trap
Let's dig in!
References and Resources:
Save 20% on your new own-root rose plant atHeirloomRoses.com with code JUSTGROW https://heirloomroses.com
https://homegrownnationalpark.org/mosquito-bucket-challenge/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alpha-gal-syndrome/in-depth/tick-species/art-20546861?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://extension.psu.edu/using-insect-and-tick-repellents-safely
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/summer_safety_part_3_mosquitoes_and_ticks
https://cals.cornell.edu/integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/whats-bugging-you/ticks/managing-ticks-landscape
https://hawxpestcontrol.com/how-to-treat-standing-water-to-prevent-mosquitoes-in-your-yard
https://extension.sdstate.edu/how-avoid-being-dinner-preventing-tick-and-mosquito-bites
https://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PicaridinGen.html
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-deet-bad-for-you-and-your-kids
https://ticksafety.com/about-ticks/seed-ticks-tick-bombs/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
For most of us, summer gardeningcan be an absolute joy until the
buzzing and the biting begins. There are two pests in the
garden that seem to be pretty much universal no matter where
you are. And I'm not talking about pests
for your plants, I'm talking about pests for your people,
ticks and mosquitoes. Around here we call this is it
(00:22):
freckle or tick season? And we've had so much rain
lately that the mosquitoes seem to be coming out all day every
day and no matter where I'm standing I hear them buzzing in
my ear. We are constantly spraying
ourselves down with all kinds ofbug sprays.
So today on Just Grow Something,we are going to explore some
science backed strategies to reduce tick and mosquito
(00:45):
populations in and around our gardens.
From landscaping adjustments to personal protection measures, by
the end you will be well equipped with practical tips to
enhance your outdoor enjoyment while reducing disease and itch
and overall irritation. Let's dig in.
Hey, I'm Karen and what started as a small backyard garden 20
(01:07):
years ago turned into a lifelongpassion for growing food.
Now as a market farmer and horticulturist, I want to help
you do the same. On this podcast, I am your
friend in the garden, teaching evidence based techniques to
help you grow your favorites andbuild confidence in your own
garden space. So grab your garden journal and
a cup of coffee and get ready tojust grow something.
(01:31):
So it may come as no surprise toyou that I was in the Girl
Scouts. I'm definitely always been an
outdoor kind of kid, and I used to love going camping when we
were little. And when we lived in Colorado,
that meant camping up in the mountains.
We were aware of like ticks and mosquitoes and stuff, but we
were fairly young. It wasn't until I was in the
Girl Scouts in Virginia and we started doing a lot of those
(01:54):
sort of group camping trips intothe wooded areas that were sort
of along the Potomac that we were sort of, I don't know,
indoctrinated, ingrained, I guess it was ingrained in us
about being so super aware of ticks and to the point where it
was almost a phobia. For a while, we were told, you
(02:17):
know, the ticks would jump out of the trees and they would get
into our hair. And so we always had to wear
bandanas on our heads, which, bythe way, that's a myth.
They don't actually jump out of the trees and land on you.
But you know, it was so ingrained in my brain that ticks
were so horrible and that we should be so afraid of them.
And we, of course, used to always do tick checks as soon as
(02:39):
we were done with our camping trips or with our hiking trips
or whatever. And I had never found a tick on
me ever. And then I remember we were
coming back from a camping trip with the Girl Scouts and I was
riding home. My mom was driving.
And I had, we had done all the, you know, prerequisite tick
checks before even getting in the car.
And everything was fine. And I was just sort of leaning
(03:01):
my head up against the window orleaning it on my hand, you know,
as my, I was leaning against thewindow and I remember just
running my hand through my hair and pulling my hand out and
there was this tick on my hand. Y'all, I lost it.
Like, I have never been one who was afraid of bugs or was
bothered by, you know, even snakes or anything else.
(03:24):
But it had been so beat into my brain that ticks were like the
enemy that that one little instance of having that tick on
my hand completely just threw meinto a tizzy.
And my mom just very calmly looked over and said, OK, roll
down the window and flick it outthe window.
Like, why are you sitting there freaking out?
(03:44):
You know, because I'd never found one on me, right?
Fast forward now, all of these years later, I am constantly
surrounded by ticks. Constantly.
We find them almost daily crawling on us.
And I know for people who maybe are gardening in a more suburban
or even urban area, that seems like something to freak out
(04:06):
about. But we are just so used to it
out here at this point because #1 the farm is surrounded by
trees, and there are a lot of areas along the outer edges
around the gardens that aren't mowed down very closely.
And we haven't sort of created any like, real natural
perimeters between those areas. So the ticks travel, right?
(04:27):
And then don't get me started about the mosquitoes this year.
It's absolutely ridiculous. So that is what sort of spurred
this episode. I know it's the time of year
when everybody starts to worry about these things and when they
start to become a problem, especially if you're out there
gardening in the very early morning or the late evening,
that is when the mosquitoes really start to come out.
(04:47):
And then, of course, you know, if you're in an area where most
of us are, there are ticks of some sort and they are vectors
for diseases. So I thought this week would be
a really good time to jump into understanding what it is that
we're dealing with and then how to deal with it as we move
through the gardening season. So the first thing that we have
(05:09):
to do, just like everything elseis understand what we are
dealing with. And we want to do this from a
science backed sort of evidence based way, right?
Ticks are absolutely vectors with disease.
OK, let's start with the ticks. They are vectors for disease
like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
They thrive in wooded or brushy or grassy areas.
(05:33):
They prefer a shaded environment.
They love the high humidity I mentioned.
The ticks here are awful. We are especially prone to seed
ticks. So a seed tick is technically a
tick in the second stage of its life cycle.
So the life cycle of a tick is basically 4 stages.
You have the egg, then you have the larvae, then you have the
(05:56):
nymph and then you have the adult and then we kind of start
all over again, right? Tick larvae are commonly
referred to as seed ticks. They are very, very tiny.
They kind of look like a little poppy seed with like 6 legs on
them. They are itsy bitsy OK at this
stage of their life cycle. They have just hatched but they
(06:17):
have yet to find their first blood meal and they need that
blood meal to move on to the nymph stage.
It is extremely tough for these little tick larvae to bite and
penetrate our skin. So if you find a seed tick,
generally speaking, it's just a matter of removing them,
knocking them off, whatever, which a lot of the time you will
(06:37):
get what are called tick bombs, seed tick bombs, which is like
just this cluster of them. Because again, they have all
just hatched and you happen to walk through the area where they
hatched. And now they are all over your
leg or your clothing, especiallyyour clothing because they can
grab on very easily, but they can't hang on really well.
(06:58):
So they're generally speaking, you can just take some duct tape
rolled inside out, or you can take like a lint roller to just
remove that grouping of the seedticks.
Now, if you're being bitten by something that you think is a
seed tick, which is generally what we end up with, it's likely
in the nymph stage. So technically these are not
(07:21):
seed ticks, but you know, I mean, they're, they're so close
to each other that generally those kind of get lumped into
the same sort of category. A nymph tick has had its first
blood meal and therefore they very well may carry and transmit
the pathogens that we are worried about in those larger
adult ticks. So really no matter the size or
(07:43):
the stage, unless it is a literal seed tick like it, it
has not bitten anything yet and it's just been hatched.
The rest of them we do have to worry about.
So what kind of ticks could you have in your area and what can
they transmit? This likely isn't a complete
list, OK, that I'm going to share with you and I only have
(08:04):
information about the contiguousUS.
So be sure to look up what is predominant in your area if you
are unsure. But these are sort of the major
tick species and their associated diseases by US
region. And we'll start with the
Northeast and the Midwest. This also includes Kansas,
right? The first one is the black
legged tick. This is the one that carries
Lyme disease. It also carries a bunch of other
(08:26):
ones, anaplasmosis and other, you know, lesser known ones.
The one that we most are familiar with is Lyme disease.
They inhabit the wooded and brushy areas, specifically in
areas with high humidity. They are very active from early
spring all the way through untillate fall.
They are the primary vector for Lyme disease in these regions.
(08:48):
The other one that is common in this region is the Lone Star
tick. So it is one that spreads
tularemia. So if you've never even ever
heard of that before, that is also known as rabbit fever.
It's a bacterial infection. It can cause a fever and skin
ulcers and all kinds of, you know, weird things and large
lymph nodes. There's also the southern tick
(09:08):
associated rash illness or starry.
But the one that you're probablymost familiar with is alpha gal
syndrome, and that is that red meat allergy that develops in
people who maybe have been bitten by these Lone Star ticks,
right? These ones are populated in
wooded areas that have sort of dense underbrush.
(09:31):
They are most active from early spring through the late summer.
They are known for aggressive feeding behavior.
And they are also starting to expand their range northward as
well. So this is something that you
might have to worry about even further north than the areas
that I just mentioned. In the Southeast, you also have
the Lone Star tick and it's extremely common and a
(09:54):
significant vector for multiple diseases in the southeast.
But you also have the American dog tick and this is the one.
Not only does this one spread the Tullaremia, but this one
also spreads the Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
These guys like to hang out in grassy fields and low lying
brush. They are active from the in the
spring and the summer months. They do prefer dogs, hence the
(10:18):
name American dog tick, but theywill bite humans and they are
very prevalent in the southeast.On the West Coast you guys have
the western black legged tick. So it's very similar to our our
regular black legged. So black legged tick is Ixides
scapularis. The western black legged tick is
(10:39):
Ixides pacificus. OK, same thing also spreads Lyme
disease and anaplasmosis. They're generally found in like
the coastal scrub and forested areas.
They are active late fall to early spring, so a little bit
different than the black legged ticks we're working with here,
but they are the primary vector for Lyme disease on the West
(11:02):
Coast. You also have the Pacific Coast
tick. This is the one that spreads
Rocky Mountain fever and Tuolirian tuolaremia.
I can never pronounce that right.
So this is very similar to the American dog tick.
So again, both spreading that Rocky Mountain spotted fever and
the tuolaremia. This one is also active spring
(11:26):
through early summer, less commonly bites humans, but still
a potential vector on the West Coast.
Once we get into the Rocky Mountain region, it is the Rocky
Mountain wood tick also again spreads Rocky Mountain spotted
fever, also spreads Colorado tick fever and that tularemia.
Again, they like to be in those wooded areas at like the higher
(11:50):
elevations and they are also active spring through early
summer. So if you're doing those sort of
elevation mountain hikes, that is the one that you want to look
for. Of course, it's named for its
prevalence in the Rocky Mountainregion.
So that is the main one to watchreach out for.
And then in the southwest, you've got the brown dog tick,
which again spreads that Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
(12:12):
It, however, does hang out in urban and suburban areas and it
is often found indoors. It also is active year round,
especially in your warmer climates.
This one does, again, prefer dogs, but it can bite humans.
And so this one is very unique because of its indoor habitat
(12:34):
preference. This is, I think, the only one
that we have that really prefersto be or is often found indoors.
And then there's another one that is sort of an emerging
concern, and this is the Asian Longhorn tick.
So it is a potential vector for a bunch of different diseases.
The research is ongoing for thisone.
(12:56):
This one is actually usually found in grassland and in
pastures, and it's often found on livestock.
So this was first identified in the US in 2017.
And the problem with this one isthat it is capable of
reproducing without mating, which means that it has a huge
(13:17):
potential for very, very rapid population growth.
So these are active spring through fall.
So this is something that you would have to worry about.
Again, normally we think about ticks and we think about wooded
areas or really tall grass and that sort of thing.
These guys are actually in the grasslands and the pastures.
So that is a new thing that we get to worry about with these
(13:37):
types of ticks. As gardeners, selecting the
right plants for our climate is our key to success.
Specifically, when we're lookingat perennials and to know which
ones will thrive in our area, wegenerally are guided by our
hardiness zone, that geographical area defined by our
average minimum winter temperatures.
(13:58):
It's what tells us which plants withstand the conditions in our
region, survive the winter, and come back for us again the next
season. Heirloom Roses has always had
hardiness zones as a part of thesearch function on their website
to make it easier for us to narrow down the search through
the hundreds of varieties that they grow.
But now, to make it even easier,they've introduced a new feature
(14:21):
right at the top of heirloomroses.com.
Now we can enter our zip code toset our hardiness zone.
Once it's set, we can easily seeif a rose or a perennial is
suitable for our zone directly on its description page.
It could not be easier to get itright.
And of course, as a sponsor of the show, they're making it easy
(14:41):
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(15:01):
code Just Grow. The link is in the show notes.
OK, so it's not just the ticks that have different species or
genre that are diverse throughout the US and have
different diseases associated with them.
Mosquitoes are the same thing. So mosquitoes are generally
known for transmitting West Nilevirus and Zika virus, but there
(15:23):
are other illnesses that they can transmit to they.
One thing that is universal about mosquitoes is that they
breed in standing water and theyare usually most active during
dawn and dusk. But as evidenced by what has
been going on here with the Super high humidity levels from
all of the rain lately, I don't know if you guys can hear that,
(15:45):
but it is raining again. So the mosquitoes have been out.
They have been loving life. I've been getting buzzed and
bitten midday lately. And of course, just like ticks,
there are different breeds and different types of mosquitoes
that all live and breed in different geographic regions.
And they are responsible for spreading diseases differently,
(16:06):
too. I mean, I hear you, Florida,
when you talk about mosquitoes, the sign of dinosaurs, OK, You
have your own sort of little breed down there.
So let's break down the mosquitoes a little bit.
We have the 80s mosquitoes, K, not 80s isn't like the number,
but AEDES 80s mosquitoes, These ones are known for their very
(16:27):
aggressive daytime biting and their role in transmitting
several significant diseases. So you have the yellow fever
mosquito, you have the Asian tiger mosquito, you have 80S
Atlanticus, which is distributedlike in the Southeast US from
Texas to Maryland. So the yellow fever mosquito is
(16:48):
primarily in the Southeast and the Southwest and parts of
California. It is increasingly being found
in urban areas. It is transmitting dengue fever,
Zika, yellow fever, and there's a couple of other ones that
they're doing too. These prefer to lay their eggs
in artificial containers with standing water.
(17:09):
So your flower pots, your buckets, discarded tires that
are laying around. They definitely prefer feeding
on humans. And they are very active during
daylight hours. So throw out the window what
you, you know, learned about. OK, Well, they're active most at
dawn and dusk. Not these guys, OK, the Asian
tiger mosquito, those are also found in the Southeast, but they
(17:29):
are also found in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast
and parts of the Northwest. They are expanding their range
because they have figured out how to adapt to cooler climates
and they also spread dengue and Zika.
So they utilize both natural andartificial containers for laying
their eggs. So not only is it standing water
(17:51):
in like flower pots and other things, but also pools of water
that are just sitting around. And they are very, they are
actually capable of surviving incooler temperatures.
This is another aggressive daytime biter and they feed on
both humans and animals. And then we have Atlanticus.
This one is again southeastern US from Texas to Maryland.
(18:11):
It is a potential vector for yellow fever and Keystone virus.
They lay their eggs in temporarypools and containers.
Now the next thing we have is the Culex mosquitoes.
These ones are primarily active during dawn and dusk, and they
are known vectors for several encephalitic viruses.
OK, so we have the northern house mosquito.
(18:34):
So this is the northern US and southern Canada.
It arrives in urban and suburbanareas.
This is the one that is most likely the one that is bugging
ya at your picnic if you are in the northern US or southern
Canada, right? This one transmits West Nile
virus. It also transmits St.
Louis encephalitis. It prefers stagnant water
sources, so clogged gutters, storm drains, bird baths, that
(18:57):
sort of thing. Then we get into tarsalis, Colox
tarsalis. This is one in the Midwest and
the Western US also spreading that West Nile virus, also
spreading St. Louis encephalitis, but it also
is a vector for western equine encephalitis.
So if you are a horse person, this one is pertaining to you as
well. So it's not just the garden,
(19:19):
it's also dealing with our animals too.
And these ones utilize a varietyof water sources, including
freshwater but also polluted water.
OK. And then we have the Southern
house mosquito, which is in the southern US, including the Gulf
ghost states, also spreading West Nile and the Saint Louis
encephalitis. These are commonly found in
urban areas. They breed in polluted water
(19:39):
sources. So this is something that if you
are gardening in an urban area, you might be coming in contact
with. And then we have the Anaphylese
mosquitoes. These are the ones that are the
primary vectors for malaria. Now currently malaria cases are
rare and they are typically imported, but we do have two
varieties of the mosquitoes. 1 is an eastern, 1 is a western.
(20:01):
They are both potential vectors for malaria and the the one on
the East Coast tends to prefer clean, very slow moving water
sources. So like ponds or marshes?
The West Coast one. Tends to utilize a variety of
water sources including like rice fields and irrigation
dishes. OK.
(20:22):
But again, you know, the, the the malarial transmission is is
a bit rare, so not quite what wehave to worry about other than
them just being a general pain. And then we have the Coacetta
mosquitoes and these are the ones that are known in their
role for transmitting eastern equine encephalitis.
(20:43):
So these are through the easternand central US.
They are the primarily what theytransmit is this EEE and they
transmit it among bird populations.
But then humans become infected through these other vectors that
are going from the birds to the humans, right.
So there's all kinds of different ways that this is
done. These guys breed in freshwater
(21:04):
swamps and marshes. Now of course, Florida, you have
those giant mosquitoes, galley nippers or sora for a ciliato.
OK? These are the giant mosquitoes
in Florida that are known for their size and their aggressive
feeding habits. For those of us who are not in
Florida, if y'all, this is not ajoke, OK?
(21:26):
These galley nippers are about 20 times the size of our usual
mosquitoes and they have the bite to match.
These guys are capable of bitingthrough clothing.
So if we're used to wearing likelong sleeve clothes to protect
ourselves from mosquitoes, yeah,that doesn't work with these
guys. And they are not picky eaters.
(21:47):
They will target pets, they willtarget wild animals and they
will do the humans OK. They like floodwaters as their
sort of nurseries, which is why they are also referred to as
floodwater mosquitoes. Now, the good thing about these
guys, if there is something, is that while they are a nuisance,
they have not been documented totransmit mosquito borne illness
(22:09):
to humans. So that is like their only
saving grace because they are known to be carriers of
heartworm. And we know how that happens
with dogs. That's, you know, they get by
the mosquitoes and then they endup with heartworm.
So, yeah, the Florida ones are big and nasty, but it, you know,
and their bite hurts, but at least they're not, you know,
possibly transmitting any diseases to us.
(22:30):
OK, so now that I have either fascinated you with this
discussion or completely grossedyou out, how do we deal with
these pests in and around our gardens so that we and our pets
don't become an all you can eat buffet?
So the first thing that we can do is to sort of make some
(22:51):
adjustments to our landscaping, our yards, our garden areas to
deter these pests. And the first part of that is to
eliminate any standing water. So we should regularly be
emptying and scrubbing out containers that collect water.
So our bird baths, our plant saucers, any buckets that we
have sitting around, right? We also should be ensuring that
(23:14):
our gutters are clean and free flowing so that we don't have
that sort of water accumulation.The same thing goes with any
areas under like our faucets where our hoses are attached for
water in the garden. Or if we have downspouts that
maybe are backing up or they're dumping a lot of water there, we
need to worry about sort of managing how that water flows
(23:36):
and getting it moving again. The other thing too is if you do
have things like bird baths, then you might want to consider
installing one of those little pumps that creates a little
fountain or otherwise keeps thatwater moving a little bit
because the moving water will discourage the mosquito
breeding. The second thing to do is to
(23:57):
maintain short grass and to clear the vegetation.
So if you have a lawn area that is around your garden, you
actually want to keep that mowedpretty continuously and remove
any leaf litter or brush to reduce that tick habitat.
That's also going to reduce the humidity that kind of attracts
(24:18):
the mosquitoes as well. You also want to prune any
overhanging branches to allow the sunlight to kind of
penetrate because that is also going to create a less
hospitable environment, especially for the ticks.
But it's also going to allow that area to sort of dry out if
it has been very humid. And that's going to keep the
mosquitoes away as well. Of course, if we're creating
(24:41):
pollinator habitats or, or native, you know, insect
habitats around the edges of ourgarden areas that are very tall
and full of natives, that's fine.
We don't want to get rid of that.
We're not going to want to clearthose out.
But we likely don't want to be sort of meandering through those
areas either because that's a great place for ticks to hang
(25:03):
out, especially those little seed tick bombs that can cling
to us if we go anywhere near them.
OK. And then one thing that we have
sort of failed to do here, whichI really probably ought to
consider doing is creating a physical barrier.
So if you can create sort of a three foot wide barrier of wood
(25:24):
chips or even gravel between your, you know, garden area and
any wooded areas or even betweenyour lawn.
If there's an area that you hangout with, you know, in the in
the yard and any wooded areas around that is actually going to
restrict the tick migration intothe areas that you are using
(25:44):
like recreationally. I think this is something that
we're really going to have to focus on doing as this tick
problem seems to continuing to get worse.
And this also applies to like ifyou have children's like play
equipment or anything, or if you've got your patios out
there, keep them away from like the yard edges and the trees
because you're you're more likely to be encountering these
(26:05):
ticks the closer to the trees you are.
OK, personal protection to like,you know, wearing light colored
clothing, wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants.
Again, if you're in Florida, I get it.
You know, you guys have those ginormous ones that can bite
through the clothing. But for the rest of us, this is
going to help to prevent the mosquitoes for sure from getting
(26:25):
in. And then if we can tuck our
pants into our socks and tuck our shirts into our pants, that
is going to prevent the ticks from reaching our skin.
I will fully admit that I am notgood at this, OK.
I am very typically, especially in the summertime, gardening in
a pair of running shorts and a tank top, maybe just a sports
(26:47):
bra. Like I, I'm sorry, it's a free
for all out there. It's it's hot.
I don't want to be completely covered up like that.
So I do the Nextpex thing and I use insect repellent.
OK, So if that's something that you're wanting to do, use an EPA
registered insect repellent, specifically one containing
(27:08):
DEET. Now, I want to dispel some
misnomers about the use of DEET because it has been demonized in
the past and I, you know, followed right along with that
with most people. If you're not familiar with what
DEET is, it was created in 1946 by the US Army or the
researchers with the US Army. Anyway, because the soldiers who
(27:31):
were fighting in World War Two were also fighting against
mosquitoes, and they needed thisrepellent, right?
They started using it in the civilian realm in like 1957.
There were sort of reports, and I'm using that term loosely, I
would say probably more anecdotes of health concerns
(27:52):
surrounding the use of deed. And there was a really hard push
there for a while for people notto use it, especially with kids
or during pregnancy. Everything that has been studied
has shown that when it is used appropriately, DEET is fine.
Now, that doesn't mean that there haven't been any reactions
to DEET. It's a chemical, right?
So, and people often react to chemicals.
(28:13):
Some people might get rashes or irritated skin after using a
product that has DEET in it. It can also irritate your eyes
if you get it too close. But that's pretty much any bug
spray. There have been very rare
reports of seizures associated with DEET, but according to the
National Pesticide Information Center, most of those cases
followed people drinking the products with deeds in them or
(28:36):
otherwise using them in ways that, like, didn't follow the
recommended guidelines, whether it was intentionally or, you
know, by accident. So that's reassuring, right?
But overall, the reactions to DEET are few and far between
given the hundreds of millions of people who use it every year.
I use it. I use it religiously because I'm
(28:57):
on the farm. I'm doing endurance runs through
the woods, I go camping. I am much more comfortable using
a product with DEET and maybe having some rare side effect
than I am comfortable with contracting something like West
Nile virus or malaria or Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain
(29:18):
spotted fever or Alpha Gal syndrome or Zika virus.
Any of these things, OK? I would much rather take my
chances with the DEET than I would with all of those other
things, OK? But if you're not comfortable
with DEET, I'm not trying to convince you to use it.
There is an alternative, at least here in the US and I know
overseas as well, and that is touse something that contains
(29:39):
picaridin. So picaridin is an insect
repellent. It works for mosquitoes and
ticks and chiggers and all thosekinds of things.
It is a synthetic compound that was first made in the 1980s, and
it was made to resemble the natural compound piperine, which
is what's found in the group of plants that are used to produce
(30:01):
black pepper. So picaridin was used really
widely as an insect repellent inEurope and Australia.
It's only been available in the US since like 2000, 5 S and I
have not seen any of the concerns surrounding the carrot
and then I have seen the DEET. So that one might be an option
for you if you are just not comfortable using the DEET,
(30:23):
right? Another measure too, rather than
just spraying yourself, is to apply Permethrin to your
clothing. So this is going to give you
added protection specifically against the ticks and also those
giant Florida mosquitoes that like to bite through the
clothing. OK, so if you can get your hands
on some Permethrin, just put them on your clothing and that's
going to help keep the the ticksaway.
(30:45):
Of course, there are homemade remedies, right?
You can make a spray yourself. I have done this tons of times,
right? Oil of lemon, eucalyptus or
citronella essential oil blendedwith some witch Hazel.
So one part oil to 10 parts witch Hazel.
Just spray it on your skin. That is a very, very simple
recipe. I have also done a mix of
(31:05):
essential oils along with some rubbing alcohol and the witch
Hazel and a little bit of water.So you just Add all the
essential oils to your spray bottle and add like a tablespoon
of the alcohol and like 1/2 a cup of the witch Hazel and then
just fill the rest away with water and shake it up really
good and just spray it to your skin.
OK, I've done 1 like this that had Rosemary oil, eucalyptus and
(31:26):
tea tree oil. That was pretty effective
against the mosquitoes for sure.But when it comes to the ticks,
sorry, I'm going for the DEET. OK.
And then finally, you know, in terms of personal protection,
just make sure that you are checking yourself for ticks
after outdoor activities. So you know, if you've been
(31:48):
outdoors, whether it's in the garden or doing anything else,
check yourself, check your kids,check your pets.
And also showering within two hours of being out in the garden
can actually help to remove any unattached ticks.
But your best bet in terms of the mosquitoes is definitely
going to be making sure that youare covered up and using a bug
spray of some sort. And so finally, what are some
(32:09):
sort of tailored tips for different gardening setups?
If you are gardening in ground, you want to make sure that you
are implementing proper drainageto prevent any water from
pooling. So if you have an area in your
garden where the water tends to run down towards 1 area and then
it pools at the base, you may need to do some work to create
(32:31):
better drainage. Put in drain tile, dig a trench,
get it to, you know, get move further on away from the garden
so that you don't have that water pooling because that is
just attracting the mosquitoes to start laying their eggs.
You know, I always encourage using mulch that's going to
suppress the weeds, right, So that we don't have the weeds
coming up. And again, you're it's holding
(32:52):
on to all of that humidity, all that moisture.
So that's a great place for mosquitoes to hang out.
But then of course it getting taller like that is also a great
place for the ticks to hang out.But we do want to avoid
excessive mulch because we don'twant to retain too much moisture
and attract those pests in that manner.
I have always found straw to be really good at helping the
(33:15):
moisture to Wick away. Because straw, the stand, the
strands of the straw are hollow,they tend to allow for a little
bit better airflow, which also means water flow.
So there is gaps that are withinthe straw.
It just, it holds up better, it holds its structure better and
it allows that water to drain through into the soil underneath
(33:38):
so it doesn't mat down. It doesn't like hold that
moisture so much compared to something like say wood chips or
hay that are just going to suck up all that moisture and it's
going to hold it right there. So not only is that not super
great for the plants at that point, but it's also going to
attract those pests. So use the mulch, but use it
(33:58):
strategically. We want to suppress the weeds.
We want to, you know, retain themoisture in the soil, but we
don't want it so deep or to use a material that's going to
retain it all and attract those pests.
OK In your raised garden beds, you want to make sure that you
are using materials that allow for adequate drainage.
I never and the proponent of putting bottoms on our raised
(34:22):
beds, I think they should alwaysbe open to the soil underneath
regardless of how bad that soil is because it's going to allow
for the natural microbes, but then also it's going to allow
for adequate drainage. Now, of course, if you have to
put it on a patio or on, you know, a concrete or something,
then that's a completely different story.
But if you're out in the actual ground area, then make sure that
(34:42):
bottom is open, make sure that that it's got some drainage.
You also want to make sure that you are checking in and around
those beds to make sure that youdon't have any standing water.
Because if we think about it, weare constructing these beds
regardless of what we're making them out of the soil underneath.
Again, unless you're gardening on a patio or you know, on a
(35:02):
concrete, you know, pad somewhere, if you are out in the
ground or on the ground, those beds are going to shift.
The materials inside that bed are going to settle.
That ground underneath the bed may settle in one way or
another, which means you might end up with some uneven points
in and around those beds. So make sure that you are
checking, especially after heavyrainfall, that's a really good
(35:24):
time to see whether or not you have any standing water around
the outside of the beds or even in one corner of the bed.
And then if you're working with really small containers, just
make sure that you are not over watering as you are promptly
emptying, emptying, emptying those saucers that are under
your pots. And you, you know, just to make
(35:44):
sure that we are reducing the humidity levels and we're not
giving that standing water and allowing those mosquitoes to
breed freely. Ideally, we are eliminating the
standing water. We are maintaining our landscape
areas, keeping the grass short, pulling out the leaf litter,
pruning the vegetation back to reduce those tick habitats and
keep the humidity levels down tokeep the mosquitoes away.
(36:04):
Right? We want to eliminate any
potential breeding sites for themosquitoes.
We want to try to create a barrier.
So wood chips or travel or something to separate our
gardening areas from any wooded areas.
We want to protect ourselves. So wear the appropriate
clothing. Not me, but we can use insect
(36:24):
repellents when we are out therein the garden.
And then of course, after we're done working out in the garden,
make sure that we are thoroughlychecking ourselves for ticks and
taking a quick shower afterwardsto get rid of anything that we
might miss. And then finally, we have a
technique that I am going to be utilizing this year because the
mosquitoes have gotten to be so bad.
(36:47):
And this is a technique that uses buckets to trap and get rid
of the mosquitoes. And we call this the bucket of
doom. OK, so Doug Talamy, he is an
American entomologist. He's an ecologist, he's a
conservationist. He is a professor in the
(37:08):
Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the
University of Delaware. All around really smart guy.
He's written several books. He's co-authored a bunch of
papers. Anyway, he has also founded the
oh what's it called National Park in my homemade homemade
National Park, I think is what it's called.
And he has issued the mosquito bucket challenge.
(37:29):
The reason for this is because you notice that I didn't mention
fogging or spraying for mosquitoes as one of the ways
that we should battle them. And the reason for this is
because mosquito fogging is not only toxic, but it is also
mostly ineffective. These sprays really kill much
(37:50):
more in the way of beneficials like butterflies and bees and
lightning bugs than they do adult mosquitoes.
They only kill about 10% of the adult mosquitoes.
And according to Doug Ptolemy, in order for that to be really
effective at mosquito control, those sprays would need to kill
upwards of like 90% of them. And they just don't do that.
(38:12):
So the idea is to target the mosquitoes in their larval stage
instead. So we've already talked about
the fact that mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water.
Well, this bucket of doom gives them a place to do that and then
it stops that. OK, So what do you need?
You need a bucket. 5 gallon bucket works OK.
(38:33):
Any large container that holds water will be fine.
Plus you need some water. OK.
You're also going to need like ahandful of dead leaves or grass
clippings. I just have like weeds that I've
pulled from the garden or whatever.
Toss it in there. And you also want to get
mosquito dunks. So mosquito dunks are these like
pucks of material that contain Bacillus thuringensis
(39:00):
israeliensis. So Bti, you've heard me talk
about BT before. It is a bacteria that is, that
is really good at attacking, like caterpillars and that sort
of thing. Well, this is the same type of a
thing. It works on the mosquito larvae.
OK, very widely available online, most hardware stores,
you can find them at the garden centers, whatever.
(39:21):
So then you also want to have like a bucket lid or some wire
mesh or just a sturdy stick. This is going to depend on
whether or not you have kids andpets around.
So here's the thing, OK, this iswhat you do.
You fill the bucket about 2/3 ofthe way with water and then
we're going to make it funky. OK, we want to add that plant
(39:42):
debris. So whether it's dead leaves or
grass clippings or the weeds from your garden, whatever and
shove it in there. We want to make this water
stinky. You know what happens when
you've like had a bucket out in the garden and you've collected
your your vegetable scraps or you've collected the weeds that
you've been, you know that you've been pulling.
(40:03):
And then you leave that bucket sitting somewhere and it like
rains and you forget about it. And there it creates that funk.
Yeah, we're trying to create that funk on purpose.
OK. We want to leave plenty of water
surface area so the mosquitoes have room to land and lay their
eggs. And then we want to break up
that mosquito dunk. We're just going to break it up
into force. And we're just going to put 1/4
(40:24):
of that dunk into the bucket. Now here's the thing that you
you need to worry about. If you have kids around or pets
around that might get into this bucket, you want to add a lid
that has plenty of large holes drilled into it so the
mosquitoes can get in. Or you can do like wire mesh
secured across the top with zip ties or put a heavy rock on it
(40:44):
or something. But if you don't have kids or,
or you know, pets, you can just put a stick in the bucket so
that leans up and out above the rim.
So if you have a small animal that falls in there or
beneficials that land in there, they have a way to kind of crawl
out. That's it.
That's all you're going to do, water, vegetation, a lid of some
sort or a stick and that mosquito dunk 1/4 of it.
(41:05):
And then you just stick that bucket in a quiet like shady
area away from your house or anyplace else, right?
It's going to draw the mosquitoes over there to go
ahead and lay their eggs in there.
But when that larvae hatches, that mosquito gunk dunk is going
to take care of the problem for you.
That is the easiest way to reduce the amount of larvae or
(41:27):
the amount of mosquitoes that are coming in your yard without
worrying about spraying anythingtoxic in and around.
So every yard is different. Try a spot that stays sort of
damp and quiet, put it in the corner of a yard or wherever and
I will put a link in the show notes to this method.
As a matter of fact, today's show actually has a ton of
(41:48):
resources in terms of the sources where I got all this
information. Plus, you know, things about
tick safety and this mosquito bucket challenge from Homegrown
National Park and all the different things about deets and
Picard and all that kinds of stuff.
So I encourage you to take a look in the show notes if you're
on the e-mail list. Those sources were already
listed in this morning's e-mail,so you should have those at your
(42:10):
ready. All right, my gardening friends,
this episode was full of a lot of information about some little
buggies that we don't want to have in our garden, especially
the kind that are munching on usor on our pets.
So hopefully it gave you enough information to be able to go out
and do something about it so that we can be a little bit more
comfortable in our gardens this summer.
(42:31):
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
that dream garden, and we'll talk again soon.
For most of us, summer gardeningcan be an absolute joy until the
buzzing and the biting begins. There are two pests in the
garden that seem to be pretty much universal no matter where
you are. And I'm not talking about pests
for your plants, I'm talking about pests for your people,
ticks and mosquitoes. Around here we call this is it
(00:22):
freckle or tick season? And we've had so much rain
lately that the mosquitoes seem to be coming out all day every
day and no matter where I'm standing I hear them buzzing in
my ear. We are constantly spraying
ourselves down with all kinds ofbug sprays.
So today on Just Grow Something,we are going to explore some
science backed strategies to reduce tick and mosquito
(00:45):
populations in and around our gardens.
From landscaping adjustments to personal protection measures, by
the end you will be well equipped with practical tips to
enhance your outdoor enjoyment while reducing disease and itch
and overall irritation. Let's dig in.
Hey, I'm Karen and what started as a small backyard garden 20
(01:07):
years ago turned into a lifelongpassion for growing food.
Now as a market farmer and horticulturist, I want to help
you do the same. On this podcast, I am your
friend in the garden, teaching evidence based techniques to
help you grow your favorites andbuild confidence in your own
garden space. So grab your garden journal and
a cup of coffee and get ready tojust grow something.
(01:31):
So it may come as no surprise toyou that I was in the Girl
Scouts. I'm definitely always been an
outdoor kind of kid, and I used to love going camping when we
were little. And when we lived in Colorado,
that meant camping up in the mountains.
We were aware of like ticks and mosquitoes and stuff, but we
were fairly young. It wasn't until I was in the
Girl Scouts in Virginia and we started doing a lot of those
(01:54):
sort of group camping trips intothe wooded areas that were sort
of along the Potomac that we were sort of, I don't know,
indoctrinated, ingrained, I guess it was ingrained in us
about being so super aware of ticks and to the point where it
was almost a phobia. For a while, we were told, you
(02:17):
know, the ticks would jump out of the trees and they would get
into our hair. And so we always had to wear
bandanas on our heads, which, bythe way, that's a myth.
They don't actually jump out of the trees and land on you.
But you know, it was so ingrained in my brain that ticks
were so horrible and that we should be so afraid of them.
And we, of course, used to always do tick checks as soon as
(02:39):
we were done with our camping trips or with our hiking trips
or whatever. And I had never found a tick on
me ever. And then I remember we were
coming back from a camping trip with the Girl Scouts and I was
riding home. My mom was driving.
And I had, we had done all the, you know, prerequisite tick
checks before even getting in the car.
And everything was fine. And I was just sort of leaning
(03:01):
my head up against the window orleaning it on my hand, you know,
as my, I was leaning against thewindow and I remember just
running my hand through my hair and pulling my hand out and
there was this tick on my hand. Y'all, I lost it.
Like, I have never been one who was afraid of bugs or was
bothered by, you know, even snakes or anything else.
(03:24):
But it had been so beat into my brain that ticks were like the
enemy that that one little instance of having that tick on
my hand completely just threw meinto a tizzy.
And my mom just very calmly looked over and said, OK, roll
down the window and flick it outthe window.
Like, why are you sitting there freaking out?
(03:44):
You know, because I'd never found one on me, right?
Fast forward now, all of these years later, I am constantly
surrounded by ticks. Constantly.
We find them almost daily crawling on us.
And I know for people who maybe are gardening in a more suburban
or even urban area, that seems like something to freak out
(04:06):
about. But we are just so used to it
out here at this point because #1 the farm is surrounded by
trees, and there are a lot of areas along the outer edges
around the gardens that aren't mowed down very closely.
And we haven't sort of created any like, real natural
perimeters between those areas. So the ticks travel, right?
(04:27):
And then don't get me started about the mosquitoes this year.
It's absolutely ridiculous. So that is what sort of spurred
this episode. I know it's the time of year
when everybody starts to worry about these things and when they
start to become a problem, especially if you're out there
gardening in the very early morning or the late evening,
that is when the mosquitoes really start to come out.
(04:47):
And then, of course, you know, if you're in an area where most
of us are, there are ticks of some sort and they are vectors
for diseases. So I thought this week would be
a really good time to jump into understanding what it is that
we're dealing with and then how to deal with it as we move
through the gardening season. So the first thing that we have
(05:09):
to do, just like everything elseis understand what we are
dealing with. And we want to do this from a
science backed sort of evidence based way, right?
Ticks are absolutely vectors with disease.
OK, let's start with the ticks. They are vectors for disease
like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
They thrive in wooded or brushy or grassy areas.
(05:33):
They prefer a shaded environment.
They love the high humidity I mentioned.
The ticks here are awful. We are especially prone to seed
ticks. So a seed tick is technically a
tick in the second stage of its life cycle.
So the life cycle of a tick is basically 4 stages.
You have the egg, then you have the larvae, then you have the
(05:56):
nymph and then you have the adult and then we kind of start
all over again, right? Tick larvae are commonly
referred to as seed ticks. They are very, very tiny.
They kind of look like a little poppy seed with like 6 legs on
them. They are itsy bitsy OK at this
stage of their life cycle. They have just hatched but they
(06:17):
have yet to find their first blood meal and they need that
blood meal to move on to the nymph stage.
It is extremely tough for these little tick larvae to bite and
penetrate our skin. So if you find a seed tick,
generally speaking, it's just a matter of removing them,
knocking them off, whatever, which a lot of the time you will
(06:37):
get what are called tick bombs, seed tick bombs, which is like
just this cluster of them. Because again, they have all
just hatched and you happen to walk through the area where they
hatched. And now they are all over your
leg or your clothing, especiallyyour clothing because they can
grab on very easily, but they can't hang on really well.
(06:58):
So they're generally speaking, you can just take some duct tape
rolled inside out, or you can take like a lint roller to just
remove that grouping of the seedticks.
Now, if you're being bitten by something that you think is a
seed tick, which is generally what we end up with, it's likely
in the nymph stage. So technically these are not
(07:21):
seed ticks, but you know, I mean, they're, they're so close
to each other that generally those kind of get lumped into
the same sort of category. A nymph tick has had its first
blood meal and therefore they very well may carry and transmit
the pathogens that we are worried about in those larger
adult ticks. So really no matter the size or
(07:43):
the stage, unless it is a literal seed tick like it, it
has not bitten anything yet and it's just been hatched.
The rest of them we do have to worry about.
So what kind of ticks could you have in your area and what can
they transmit? This likely isn't a complete
list, OK, that I'm going to share with you and I only have
(08:04):
information about the contiguousUS.
So be sure to look up what is predominant in your area if you
are unsure. But these are sort of the major
tick species and their associated diseases by US
region. And we'll start with the
Northeast and the Midwest. This also includes Kansas,
right? The first one is the black
legged tick. This is the one that carries
Lyme disease. It also carries a bunch of other
(08:26):
ones, anaplasmosis and other, you know, lesser known ones.
The one that we most are familiar with is Lyme disease.
They inhabit the wooded and brushy areas, specifically in
areas with high humidity. They are very active from early
spring all the way through untillate fall.
They are the primary vector for Lyme disease in these regions.
(08:48):
The other one that is common in this region is the Lone Star
tick. So it is one that spreads
tularemia. So if you've never even ever
heard of that before, that is also known as rabbit fever.
It's a bacterial infection. It can cause a fever and skin
ulcers and all kinds of, you know, weird things and large
lymph nodes. There's also the southern tick
(09:08):
associated rash illness or starry.
But the one that you're probablymost familiar with is alpha gal
syndrome, and that is that red meat allergy that develops in
people who maybe have been bitten by these Lone Star ticks,
right? These ones are populated in
wooded areas that have sort of dense underbrush.
(09:31):
They are most active from early spring through the late summer.
They are known for aggressive feeding behavior.
And they are also starting to expand their range northward as
well. So this is something that you
might have to worry about even further north than the areas
that I just mentioned. In the Southeast, you also have
the Lone Star tick and it's extremely common and a
(09:54):
significant vector for multiple diseases in the southeast.
But you also have the American dog tick and this is the one.
Not only does this one spread the Tullaremia, but this one
also spreads the Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
These guys like to hang out in grassy fields and low lying
brush. They are active from the in the
spring and the summer months. They do prefer dogs, hence the
(10:18):
name American dog tick, but theywill bite humans and they are
very prevalent in the southeast.On the West Coast you guys have
the western black legged tick. So it's very similar to our our
regular black legged. So black legged tick is Ixides
scapularis. The western black legged tick is
(10:39):
Ixides pacificus. OK, same thing also spreads Lyme
disease and anaplasmosis. They're generally found in like
the coastal scrub and forested areas.
They are active late fall to early spring, so a little bit
different than the black legged ticks we're working with here,
but they are the primary vector for Lyme disease on the West
(11:02):
Coast. You also have the Pacific Coast
tick. This is the one that spreads
Rocky Mountain fever and Tuolirian tuolaremia.
I can never pronounce that right.
So this is very similar to the American dog tick.
So again, both spreading that Rocky Mountain spotted fever and
the tuolaremia. This one is also active spring
(11:26):
through early summer, less commonly bites humans, but still
a potential vector on the West Coast.
Once we get into the Rocky Mountain region, it is the Rocky
Mountain wood tick also again spreads Rocky Mountain spotted
fever, also spreads Colorado tick fever and that tularemia.
Again, they like to be in those wooded areas at like the higher
(11:50):
elevations and they are also active spring through early
summer. So if you're doing those sort of
elevation mountain hikes, that is the one that you want to look
for. Of course, it's named for its
prevalence in the Rocky Mountainregion.
So that is the main one to watchreach out for.
And then in the southwest, you've got the brown dog tick,
which again spreads that Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
(12:12):
It, however, does hang out in urban and suburban areas and it
is often found indoors. It also is active year round,
especially in your warmer climates.
This one does, again, prefer dogs, but it can bite humans.
And so this one is very unique because of its indoor habitat
(12:34):
preference. This is, I think, the only one
that we have that really prefersto be or is often found indoors.
And then there's another one that is sort of an emerging
concern, and this is the Asian Longhorn tick.
So it is a potential vector for a bunch of different diseases.
The research is ongoing for thisone.
(12:56):
This one is actually usually found in grassland and in
pastures, and it's often found on livestock.
So this was first identified in the US in 2017.
And the problem with this one isthat it is capable of
reproducing without mating, which means that it has a huge
(13:17):
potential for very, very rapid population growth.
So these are active spring through fall.
So this is something that you would have to worry about.
Again, normally we think about ticks and we think about wooded
areas or really tall grass and that sort of thing.
These guys are actually in the grasslands and the pastures.
So that is a new thing that we get to worry about with these
(13:37):
types of ticks. As gardeners, selecting the
right plants for our climate is our key to success.
Specifically, when we're lookingat perennials and to know which
ones will thrive in our area, wegenerally are guided by our
hardiness zone, that geographical area defined by our
average minimum winter temperatures.
(13:58):
It's what tells us which plants withstand the conditions in our
region, survive the winter, and come back for us again the next
season. Heirloom Roses has always had
hardiness zones as a part of thesearch function on their website
to make it easier for us to narrow down the search through
the hundreds of varieties that they grow.
But now, to make it even easier,they've introduced a new feature
(14:21):
right at the top of heirloomroses.com.
Now we can enter our zip code toset our hardiness zone.
Once it's set, we can easily seeif a rose or a perennial is
suitable for our zone directly on its description page.
It could not be easier to get itright.
And of course, as a sponsor of the show, they're making it easy
(14:41):
for you to save on your new roseby going to heirloomroses.com
and using Code Just Grow at checkout to save 20% on your
purchase. I've been getting all kinds of
ideas of what I want to add to the gardens for next year, and
now it's even easier when I set my hardiness zone and start
checking out all the varietiesheirloomroses.com with
(15:01):
code Just Grow. The link is in the show notes.
OK, so it's not just the ticks that have different species or
genre that are diverse throughout the US and have
different diseases associated with them.
Mosquitoes are the same thing. So mosquitoes are generally
known for transmitting West Nilevirus and Zika virus, but there
(15:23):
are other illnesses that they can transmit to they.
One thing that is universal about mosquitoes is that they
breed in standing water and theyare usually most active during
dawn and dusk. But as evidenced by what has
been going on here with the Super high humidity levels from
all of the rain lately, I don't know if you guys can hear that,
(15:45):
but it is raining again. So the mosquitoes have been out.
They have been loving life. I've been getting buzzed and
bitten midday lately. And of course, just like ticks,
there are different breeds and different types of mosquitoes
that all live and breed in different geographic regions.
And they are responsible for spreading diseases differently,
(16:06):
too. I mean, I hear you, Florida,
when you talk about mosquitoes, the sign of dinosaurs, OK, You
have your own sort of little breed down there.
So let's break down the mosquitoes a little bit.
We have the 80s mosquitoes, K, not 80s isn't like the number,
but AEDES 80s mosquitoes, These ones are known for their very
(16:27):
aggressive daytime biting and their role in transmitting
several significant diseases. So you have the yellow fever
mosquito, you have the Asian tiger mosquito, you have 80S
Atlanticus, which is distributedlike in the Southeast US from
Texas to Maryland. So the yellow fever mosquito is
(16:48):
primarily in the Southeast and the Southwest and parts of
California. It is increasingly being found
in urban areas. It is transmitting dengue fever,
Zika, yellow fever, and there's a couple of other ones that
they're doing too. These prefer to lay their eggs
in artificial containers with standing water.
(17:09):
So your flower pots, your buckets, discarded tires that
are laying around. They definitely prefer feeding
on humans. And they are very active during
daylight hours. So throw out the window what
you, you know, learned about. OK, Well, they're active most at
dawn and dusk. Not these guys, OK, the Asian
tiger mosquito, those are also found in the Southeast, but they
(17:29):
are also found in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast
and parts of the Northwest. They are expanding their range
because they have figured out how to adapt to cooler climates
and they also spread dengue and Zika.
So they utilize both natural andartificial containers for laying
their eggs. So not only is it standing water
(17:51):
in like flower pots and other things, but also pools of water
that are just sitting around. And they are very, they are
actually capable of surviving incooler temperatures.
This is another aggressive daytime biter and they feed on
both humans and animals. And then we have Atlanticus.
This one is again southeastern US from Texas to Maryland.
(18:11):
It is a potential vector for yellow fever and Keystone virus.
They lay their eggs in temporarypools and containers.
Now the next thing we have is the Culex mosquitoes.
These ones are primarily active during dawn and dusk, and they
are known vectors for several encephalitic viruses.
OK, so we have the northern house mosquito.
(18:34):
So this is the northern US and southern Canada.
It arrives in urban and suburbanareas.
This is the one that is most likely the one that is bugging
ya at your picnic if you are in the northern US or southern
Canada, right? This one transmits West Nile
virus. It also transmits St.
Louis encephalitis. It prefers stagnant water
sources, so clogged gutters, storm drains, bird baths, that
(18:57):
sort of thing. Then we get into tarsalis, Colox
tarsalis. This is one in the Midwest and
the Western US also spreading that West Nile virus, also
spreading St. Louis encephalitis, but it also
is a vector for western equine encephalitis.
So if you are a horse person, this one is pertaining to you as
well. So it's not just the garden,
(19:19):
it's also dealing with our animals too.
And these ones utilize a varietyof water sources, including
freshwater but also polluted water.
OK. And then we have the Southern
house mosquito, which is in the southern US, including the Gulf
ghost states, also spreading West Nile and the Saint Louis
encephalitis. These are commonly found in
urban areas. They breed in polluted water
(19:39):
sources. So this is something that if you
are gardening in an urban area, you might be coming in contact
with. And then we have the Anaphylese
mosquitoes. These are the ones that are the
primary vectors for malaria. Now currently malaria cases are
rare and they are typically imported, but we do have two
varieties of the mosquitoes. 1 is an eastern, 1 is a western.
(20:01):
They are both potential vectors for malaria and the the one on
the East Coast tends to prefer clean, very slow moving water
sources. So like ponds or marshes?
The West Coast one. Tends to utilize a variety of
water sources including like rice fields and irrigation
dishes. OK.
(20:22):
But again, you know, the, the the malarial transmission is is
a bit rare, so not quite what wehave to worry about other than
them just being a general pain. And then we have the Coacetta
mosquitoes and these are the ones that are known in their
role for transmitting eastern equine encephalitis.
(20:43):
So these are through the easternand central US.
They are the primarily what theytransmit is this EEE and they
transmit it among bird populations.
But then humans become infected through these other vectors that
are going from the birds to the humans, right.
So there's all kinds of different ways that this is
done. These guys breed in freshwater
(21:04):
swamps and marshes. Now of course, Florida, you have
those giant mosquitoes, galley nippers or sora for a ciliato.
OK? These are the giant mosquitoes
in Florida that are known for their size and their aggressive
feeding habits. For those of us who are not in
Florida, if y'all, this is not ajoke, OK?
(21:26):
These galley nippers are about 20 times the size of our usual
mosquitoes and they have the bite to match.
These guys are capable of bitingthrough clothing.
So if we're used to wearing likelong sleeve clothes to protect
ourselves from mosquitoes, yeah,that doesn't work with these
guys. And they are not picky eaters.
(21:47):
They will target pets, they willtarget wild animals and they
will do the humans OK. They like floodwaters as their
sort of nurseries, which is why they are also referred to as
floodwater mosquitoes. Now, the good thing about these
guys, if there is something, is that while they are a nuisance,
they have not been documented totransmit mosquito borne illness
(22:09):
to humans. So that is like their only
saving grace because they are known to be carriers of
heartworm. And we know how that happens
with dogs. That's, you know, they get by
the mosquitoes and then they endup with heartworm.
So, yeah, the Florida ones are big and nasty, but it, you know,
and their bite hurts, but at least they're not, you know,
possibly transmitting any diseases to us.
(22:30):
OK, so now that I have either fascinated you with this
discussion or completely grossedyou out, how do we deal with
these pests in and around our gardens so that we and our pets
don't become an all you can eat buffet?
So the first thing that we can do is to sort of make some
(22:51):
adjustments to our landscaping, our yards, our garden areas to
deter these pests. And the first part of that is to
eliminate any standing water. So we should regularly be
emptying and scrubbing out containers that collect water.
So our bird baths, our plant saucers, any buckets that we
have sitting around, right? We also should be ensuring that
(23:14):
our gutters are clean and free flowing so that we don't have
that sort of water accumulation.The same thing goes with any
areas under like our faucets where our hoses are attached for
water in the garden. Or if we have downspouts that
maybe are backing up or they're dumping a lot of water there, we
need to worry about sort of managing how that water flows
(23:36):
and getting it moving again. The other thing too is if you do
have things like bird baths, then you might want to consider
installing one of those little pumps that creates a little
fountain or otherwise keeps thatwater moving a little bit
because the moving water will discourage the mosquito
breeding. The second thing to do is to
(23:57):
maintain short grass and to clear the vegetation.
So if you have a lawn area that is around your garden, you
actually want to keep that mowedpretty continuously and remove
any leaf litter or brush to reduce that tick habitat.
That's also going to reduce the humidity that kind of attracts
(24:18):
the mosquitoes as well. You also want to prune any
overhanging branches to allow the sunlight to kind of
penetrate because that is also going to create a less
hospitable environment, especially for the ticks.
But it's also going to allow that area to sort of dry out if
it has been very humid. And that's going to keep the
mosquitoes away as well. Of course, if we're creating
(24:41):
pollinator habitats or, or native, you know, insect
habitats around the edges of ourgarden areas that are very tall
and full of natives, that's fine.
We don't want to get rid of that.
We're not going to want to clearthose out.
But we likely don't want to be sort of meandering through those
areas either because that's a great place for ticks to hang
(25:03):
out, especially those little seed tick bombs that can cling
to us if we go anywhere near them.
OK. And then one thing that we have
sort of failed to do here, whichI really probably ought to
consider doing is creating a physical barrier.
So if you can create sort of a three foot wide barrier of wood
(25:24):
chips or even gravel between your, you know, garden area and
any wooded areas or even betweenyour lawn.
If there's an area that you hangout with, you know, in the in
the yard and any wooded areas around that is actually going to
restrict the tick migration intothe areas that you are using
(25:44):
like recreationally. I think this is something that
we're really going to have to focus on doing as this tick
problem seems to continuing to get worse.
And this also applies to like ifyou have children's like play
equipment or anything, or if you've got your patios out
there, keep them away from like the yard edges and the trees
because you're you're more likely to be encountering these
(26:05):
ticks the closer to the trees you are.
OK, personal protection to like,you know, wearing light colored
clothing, wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants.
Again, if you're in Florida, I get it.
You know, you guys have those ginormous ones that can bite
through the clothing. But for the rest of us, this is
going to help to prevent the mosquitoes for sure from getting
(26:25):
in. And then if we can tuck our
pants into our socks and tuck our shirts into our pants, that
is going to prevent the ticks from reaching our skin.
I will fully admit that I am notgood at this, OK.
I am very typically, especially in the summertime, gardening in
a pair of running shorts and a tank top, maybe just a sports
(26:47):
bra. Like I, I'm sorry, it's a free
for all out there. It's it's hot.
I don't want to be completely covered up like that.
So I do the Nextpex thing and I use insect repellent.
OK, So if that's something that you're wanting to do, use an EPA
registered insect repellent, specifically one containing
(27:08):
DEET. Now, I want to dispel some
misnomers about the use of DEET because it has been demonized in
the past and I, you know, followed right along with that
with most people. If you're not familiar with what
DEET is, it was created in 1946 by the US Army or the
researchers with the US Army. Anyway, because the soldiers who
(27:31):
were fighting in World War Two were also fighting against
mosquitoes, and they needed thisrepellent, right?
They started using it in the civilian realm in like 1957.
There were sort of reports, and I'm using that term loosely, I
would say probably more anecdotes of health concerns
(27:52):
surrounding the use of deed. And there was a really hard push
there for a while for people notto use it, especially with kids
or during pregnancy. Everything that has been studied
has shown that when it is used appropriately, DEET is fine.
Now, that doesn't mean that there haven't been any reactions
to DEET. It's a chemical, right?
So, and people often react to chemicals.
(28:13):
Some people might get rashes or irritated skin after using a
product that has DEET in it. It can also irritate your eyes
if you get it too close. But that's pretty much any bug
spray. There have been very rare
reports of seizures associated with DEET, but according to the
National Pesticide Information Center, most of those cases
followed people drinking the products with deeds in them or
(28:36):
otherwise using them in ways that, like, didn't follow the
recommended guidelines, whether it was intentionally or, you
know, by accident. So that's reassuring, right?
But overall, the reactions to DEET are few and far between
given the hundreds of millions of people who use it every year.
I use it. I use it religiously because I'm
(28:57):
on the farm. I'm doing endurance runs through
the woods, I go camping. I am much more comfortable using
a product with DEET and maybe having some rare side effect
than I am comfortable with contracting something like West
Nile virus or malaria or Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain
(29:18):
spotted fever or Alpha Gal syndrome or Zika virus.
Any of these things, OK? I would much rather take my
chances with the DEET than I would with all of those other
things, OK? But if you're not comfortable
with DEET, I'm not trying to convince you to use it.
There is an alternative, at least here in the US and I know
overseas as well, and that is touse something that contains
(29:39):
picaridin. So picaridin is an insect
repellent. It works for mosquitoes and
ticks and chiggers and all thosekinds of things.
It is a synthetic compound that was first made in the 1980s, and
it was made to resemble the natural compound piperine, which
is what's found in the group of plants that are used to produce
(30:01):
black pepper. So picaridin was used really
widely as an insect repellent inEurope and Australia.
It's only been available in the US since like 2000, 5 S and I
have not seen any of the concerns surrounding the carrot
and then I have seen the DEET. So that one might be an option
for you if you are just not comfortable using the DEET,
(30:23):
right? Another measure too, rather than
just spraying yourself, is to apply Permethrin to your
clothing. So this is going to give you
added protection specifically against the ticks and also those
giant Florida mosquitoes that like to bite through the
clothing. OK, so if you can get your hands
on some Permethrin, just put them on your clothing and that's
going to help keep the the ticksaway.
(30:45):
Of course, there are homemade remedies, right?
You can make a spray yourself. I have done this tons of times,
right? Oil of lemon, eucalyptus or
citronella essential oil blendedwith some witch Hazel.
So one part oil to 10 parts witch Hazel.
Just spray it on your skin. That is a very, very simple
recipe. I have also done a mix of
(31:05):
essential oils along with some rubbing alcohol and the witch
Hazel and a little bit of water.So you just Add all the
essential oils to your spray bottle and add like a tablespoon
of the alcohol and like 1/2 a cup of the witch Hazel and then
just fill the rest away with water and shake it up really
good and just spray it to your skin.
OK, I've done 1 like this that had Rosemary oil, eucalyptus and
(31:26):
tea tree oil. That was pretty effective
against the mosquitoes for sure.But when it comes to the ticks,
sorry, I'm going for the DEET. OK.
And then finally, you know, in terms of personal protection,
just make sure that you are checking yourself for ticks
after outdoor activities. So you know, if you've been
(31:48):
outdoors, whether it's in the garden or doing anything else,
check yourself, check your kids,check your pets.
And also showering within two hours of being out in the garden
can actually help to remove any unattached ticks.
But your best bet in terms of the mosquitoes is definitely
going to be making sure that youare covered up and using a bug
spray of some sort. And so finally, what are some
(32:09):
sort of tailored tips for different gardening setups?
If you are gardening in ground, you want to make sure that you
are implementing proper drainageto prevent any water from
pooling. So if you have an area in your
garden where the water tends to run down towards 1 area and then
it pools at the base, you may need to do some work to create
(32:31):
better drainage. Put in drain tile, dig a trench,
get it to, you know, get move further on away from the garden
so that you don't have that water pooling because that is
just attracting the mosquitoes to start laying their eggs.
You know, I always encourage using mulch that's going to
suppress the weeds, right, So that we don't have the weeds
coming up. And again, you're it's holding
(32:52):
on to all of that humidity, all that moisture.
So that's a great place for mosquitoes to hang out.
But then of course it getting taller like that is also a great
place for the ticks to hang out.But we do want to avoid
excessive mulch because we don'twant to retain too much moisture
and attract those pests in that manner.
I have always found straw to be really good at helping the
(33:15):
moisture to Wick away. Because straw, the stand, the
strands of the straw are hollow,they tend to allow for a little
bit better airflow, which also means water flow.
So there is gaps that are withinthe straw.
It just, it holds up better, it holds its structure better and
it allows that water to drain through into the soil underneath
(33:38):
so it doesn't mat down. It doesn't like hold that
moisture so much compared to something like say wood chips or
hay that are just going to suck up all that moisture and it's
going to hold it right there. So not only is that not super
great for the plants at that point, but it's also going to
attract those pests. So use the mulch, but use it
(33:58):
strategically. We want to suppress the weeds.
We want to, you know, retain themoisture in the soil, but we
don't want it so deep or to use a material that's going to
retain it all and attract those pests.
OK In your raised garden beds, you want to make sure that you
are using materials that allow for adequate drainage.
I never and the proponent of putting bottoms on our raised
(34:22):
beds, I think they should alwaysbe open to the soil underneath
regardless of how bad that soil is because it's going to allow
for the natural microbes, but then also it's going to allow
for adequate drainage. Now, of course, if you have to
put it on a patio or on, you know, a concrete or something,
then that's a completely different story.
But if you're out in the actual ground area, then make sure that
(34:42):
bottom is open, make sure that that it's got some drainage.
You also want to make sure that you are checking in and around
those beds to make sure that youdon't have any standing water.
Because if we think about it, weare constructing these beds
regardless of what we're making them out of the soil underneath.
Again, unless you're gardening on a patio or you know, on a
(35:02):
concrete, you know, pad somewhere, if you are out in the
ground or on the ground, those beds are going to shift.
The materials inside that bed are going to settle.
That ground underneath the bed may settle in one way or
another, which means you might end up with some uneven points
in and around those beds. So make sure that you are
checking, especially after heavyrainfall, that's a really good
(35:24):
time to see whether or not you have any standing water around
the outside of the beds or even in one corner of the bed.
And then if you're working with really small containers, just
make sure that you are not over watering as you are promptly
emptying, emptying, emptying those saucers that are under
your pots. And you, you know, just to make
(35:44):
sure that we are reducing the humidity levels and we're not
giving that standing water and allowing those mosquitoes to
breed freely. Ideally, we are eliminating the
standing water. We are maintaining our landscape
areas, keeping the grass short, pulling out the leaf litter,
pruning the vegetation back to reduce those tick habitats and
keep the humidity levels down tokeep the mosquitoes away.
(36:04):
Right? We want to eliminate any
potential breeding sites for themosquitoes.
We want to try to create a barrier.
So wood chips or travel or something to separate our
gardening areas from any wooded areas.
We want to protect ourselves. So wear the appropriate
clothing. Not me, but we can use insect
(36:24):
repellents when we are out therein the garden.
And then of course, after we're done working out in the garden,
make sure that we are thoroughlychecking ourselves for ticks and
taking a quick shower afterwardsto get rid of anything that we
might miss. And then finally, we have a
technique that I am going to be utilizing this year because the
mosquitoes have gotten to be so bad.
(36:47):
And this is a technique that uses buckets to trap and get rid
of the mosquitoes. And we call this the bucket of
doom. OK, so Doug Talamy, he is an
American entomologist. He's an ecologist, he's a
conservationist. He is a professor in the
(37:08):
Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the
University of Delaware. All around really smart guy.
He's written several books. He's co-authored a bunch of
papers. Anyway, he has also founded the
oh what's it called National Park in my homemade homemade
National Park, I think is what it's called.
And he has issued the mosquito bucket challenge.
(37:29):
The reason for this is because you notice that I didn't mention
fogging or spraying for mosquitoes as one of the ways
that we should battle them. And the reason for this is
because mosquito fogging is not only toxic, but it is also
mostly ineffective. These sprays really kill much
(37:50):
more in the way of beneficials like butterflies and bees and
lightning bugs than they do adult mosquitoes.
They only kill about 10% of the adult mosquitoes.
And according to Doug Ptolemy, in order for that to be really
effective at mosquito control, those sprays would need to kill
upwards of like 90% of them. And they just don't do that.
(38:12):
So the idea is to target the mosquitoes in their larval stage
instead. So we've already talked about
the fact that mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water.
Well, this bucket of doom gives them a place to do that and then
it stops that. OK, So what do you need?
You need a bucket. 5 gallon bucket works OK.
(38:33):
Any large container that holds water will be fine.
Plus you need some water. OK.
You're also going to need like ahandful of dead leaves or grass
clippings. I just have like weeds that I've
pulled from the garden or whatever.
Toss it in there. And you also want to get
mosquito dunks. So mosquito dunks are these like
pucks of material that contain Bacillus thuringensis
(39:00):
israeliensis. So Bti, you've heard me talk
about BT before. It is a bacteria that is, that
is really good at attacking, like caterpillars and that sort
of thing. Well, this is the same type of a
thing. It works on the mosquito larvae.
OK, very widely available online, most hardware stores,
you can find them at the garden centers, whatever.
(39:21):
So then you also want to have like a bucket lid or some wire
mesh or just a sturdy stick. This is going to depend on
whether or not you have kids andpets around.
So here's the thing, OK, this iswhat you do.
You fill the bucket about 2/3 ofthe way with water and then
we're going to make it funky. OK, we want to add that plant
(39:42):
debris. So whether it's dead leaves or
grass clippings or the weeds from your garden, whatever and
shove it in there. We want to make this water
stinky. You know what happens when
you've like had a bucket out in the garden and you've collected
your your vegetable scraps or you've collected the weeds that
you've been, you know that you've been pulling.
(40:03):
And then you leave that bucket sitting somewhere and it like
rains and you forget about it. And there it creates that funk.
Yeah, we're trying to create that funk on purpose.
OK. We want to leave plenty of water
surface area so the mosquitoes have room to land and lay their
eggs. And then we want to break up
that mosquito dunk. We're just going to break it up
into force. And we're just going to put 1/4
(40:24):
of that dunk into the bucket. Now here's the thing that you
you need to worry about. If you have kids around or pets
around that might get into this bucket, you want to add a lid
that has plenty of large holes drilled into it so the
mosquitoes can get in. Or you can do like wire mesh
secured across the top with zip ties or put a heavy rock on it
(40:44):
or something. But if you don't have kids or,
or you know, pets, you can just put a stick in the bucket so
that leans up and out above the rim.
So if you have a small animal that falls in there or
beneficials that land in there, they have a way to kind of crawl
out. That's it.
That's all you're going to do, water, vegetation, a lid of some
sort or a stick and that mosquito dunk 1/4 of it.
(41:05):
And then you just stick that bucket in a quiet like shady
area away from your house or anyplace else, right?
It's going to draw the mosquitoes over there to go
ahead and lay their eggs in there.
But when that larvae hatches, that mosquito gunk dunk is going
to take care of the problem for you.
That is the easiest way to reduce the amount of larvae or
(41:27):
the amount of mosquitoes that are coming in your yard without
worrying about spraying anythingtoxic in and around.
So every yard is different. Try a spot that stays sort of
damp and quiet, put it in the corner of a yard or wherever and
I will put a link in the show notes to this method.
As a matter of fact, today's show actually has a ton of
(41:48):
resources in terms of the sources where I got all this
information. Plus, you know, things about
tick safety and this mosquito bucket challenge from Homegrown
National Park and all the different things about deets and
Picard and all that kinds of stuff.
So I encourage you to take a look in the show notes if you're
on the e-mail list. Those sources were already
listed in this morning's e-mail,so you should have those at your
(42:10):
ready. All right, my gardening friends,
this episode was full of a lot of information about some little
buggies that we don't want to have in our garden, especially
the kind that are munching on usor on our pets.
So hopefully it gave you enough information to be able to go out
and do something about it so that we can be a little bit more
comfortable in our gardens this summer.
(42:31):
Until next time, my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
that dream garden, and we'll talk again soon.
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