Battling bugs and weeds

Creeping bellflower

I’m not much of a gardener and we had our back yard set up with as many perennials as we could when we had the shop built 15 years ago. Of course they do need some maintenance and we’ve taken out some; some have died, and some new species have volunteered.

Normally I’d say that volunteerism is a good thing but not when the volunteer is creeping bell flower. It’s all over the place in our neighbourhood and it’s very hard to get rid of. In order to finally eradicate it you have to dig down and get the rhizomes out. That’s a bit difficult to do because some of it is coming up in the middle of the juniper and the juniper has every right to be there as far as I’m concerned. There was a big patch by the back fence and I spent some time earlier in the year layering newspaper and mulch over it. That sort of worked but I see leaves of the pesky plant coming out on the sides of the newspaper patch.

I’ve kind of given up except to pull up any stalks I see with flowers on them. It won’t make the nasty stuff go away but, at least, I can keep a bunch of the flowers from going to seed and that has to be worth something, or so I tell myself. Since there is plenty of it in neighbouring yards and in the alley it’s probably a losing battle. At least I get the satisfaction of yanking it out.

The second pest I’m battling is of the insect variety. We have a Manitoba maple tree in our front yard. I’m sure it’s as old as the house is and it’s the only tree left of the three big ones that came with the property. The green ash was a city tree and it got cut down after a wind storm brought down some of its bigger branches. We had a weeping birch until a few years ago and we chose to take that down because it was infested with aphids. I’ve since learned that you can buy ladybugs to release at intervals and they will happily eat the aphids. I think we’ll get some next year because the Manitoba maple has aphids now and that tree serves as our air conditioning during the summer.

It’s not the aphids that I’m battling at the moment though: it’s the box elder bugs. Box elder is another name for the Manitoba maple. I had never seen these bugs until about a year ago and now they are everywhere. They don’t pose a hazard to humans or pets and they are quite striking looking. They do, however, leave nasty reddish brown stains on the siding and if they can get inside to keep warm for the winter they will. I’d just as soon not share my indoor space with a bunch of bugs.Only very desperate spiders will eat them because they, apparently, taste bad. I have to wonder if there is some poor sucker somewhere who has actually tasted them.

Adult box elder bug

Incidentally, they are true bugs not beetles and they change up to 7 times before they become adults. Apparently you’re not supposed to squish them because they stink and the smell attracts even more of the little devils. You can kill them by soaking them with a solution of water and dish soap. I decided yesterday it was time to take on the insect hoards.

I got a spray bottle, filled it with water and dropped in about a tablespoon of dish soap. Then I headed out in the heat of the day to battle the bugs. They like to congregate on the south side of buildings but there were a bunch of them on the west side as well. That’s where the Manitoba maple is. I have to say the dish soap solution is pretty effective at dispatching them but you have to really soak them and they, of course, will try to run. They also have a knack of clinging onto the building after they’re dead so you need to spray them some more to get them off.

Younger box elder bug

I’ve been having trouble with tendinitis in my elbow and I found that using the trigger on the squirt bottle didn’t help it much so I made a quick trip to Canadian Tire for a garden sprayer that I can pressurize. That is a lot easier on the hand and arm and I made my way around the west and south sides of the house killing bugs. When I checked today there weren’t quite as many and I saw fewer adults. I think going after the bugs will be part of my daily routine for the next little while and I need to clean up the leaf litter near the foundation of the house before it snows.There will probably be a new crop of bugs next year but I’ll get on it at the beginning of the season now that I know what to do.

Now, if only I could get rid of the creeping bellflower by squirting it with a little water and dish soap.