*copyright 2008, 2009 - P.L. Chadwick, Webmaster |
December 2009 |
For the people, by the people, and about the people of Lake Helen, Florida |
Homemade Remedy for Infestations |
By Tammy Jones |
Working in the yard is something many of us enjoy. I love it and have made
it my career for twenty years. After meeting Pat Chadwick at the Lake Helen Halloween party, she asked me to share some tips of mine with The City Observers’ readers so here goes: |
When possible I try to avoid strong chemicals, therefore a favorite homemade remedy
of mine is a coffee and tea mixture. Collect your coffee grounds in a
bucket and fill it with water. Let this sit for a day or two, then strain
the liquid and put it in a sprayer. Apply this liberally to shrubs and trees.
Be sure to cover the undersides of the leaves. This works well
on mealy bugs, whiteflies, and scale. Spray every fourteen days until the
problem is under control and then just once a month after that. In case
of a severe infestation, mix in a couple of tablespoons of liquid Seven.
Then use the leftover grounds directly on sago palms for severe scale. |
P.S. Regarding my costume at the Lake Helen Halloween party as the “Dead Gardner”: The bugs were all real but I did not kill them. They were already dead when I found them. The blind snake was real and I returned him to his natural habitat so he could tell his friends about his experience at the Lake Helen Halloween Party. (Tammy is actually a very pretty woman! - Pat) |