Stress manifests itself to varying degrees in many ways. The stress of forgetting to pick up a needed item at the grocery store is small compared to that of waiting for a test result, but both are stressful nonetheless.
The stress in my life increased tremendously in mid-February due to, of all things, boxelder bugs. For 5 weeks, they descended on the West and South sides of our home. They crept in through the windows, doors and heat registers. After we went through the second box of Kleenex trying to keep them at bay, my husband bought a small hand held vacuum. For every 30 minutes I spent working in my office, I would spend 5 or 6 minutes vacuuming Boxelder bugs. After doing this for 6-7 hours one Sunday afternoon my stress level was high and I had enough! I started researching what could be used to spray and kill the unwanted invaders into our home. Ortho Home Defense Max Insect Killer gave us the opportunity to work, eat, and sleep without any unwanted bugs.
While I don’t usually use chemicals around our home and landscaping, the experience has taught me that sometimes the right product, applied correctly can be very helpful.
The following is a list of products that you may find useful when working outdoors in your yard this year. Please make sure to read and follow the label instructions very carefully. Please also consider using natural or organic products/remedies before resorting to the chemical alternative.
Sucker-Stopper by Monterey-Trees – can often form suckers around the base. This product is specifically designed to minimize the amount of those annoying suckers.
Stump-Out by Bonide – This product helps old tree and shrub stumps to decompose faster.
Maize Weed Preventer by Bonide – This is a natural pre-emergent herbicide. This is a product that can be applied to your planting bed to minimize the amount of weeds that may occur throughout the year.
BurnOut by Bonide – This is an organic broad-spectrum herbicide. It can be used to kill grass and broadleaf weeds. It has the potential to kill whatever it is sprayed onto, so please be careful when applying.
Infuse by Bonide – This is a systemic fungicide that helps to control diseases on plants and lawns. It controls diseases such as powdery mildew, dollar spot, and anthracnose.
Eight Insect Control by Bonide – This is a broad-spectrum insecticide that kills over 100 different types of insects. It can be effectively used on flowers, shrubs and trees.
Annual Tree and Shrub Insect Control by Bonide – This is a concentrated systemic insecticide. It should be diluted in water and poured (according to the directions) around the base of the tree. The insecticide then moves from the root system up through the trunk, branches and leaves of the shrub or tree. This is a very useful product to use trying to protect larger trees from insects. It is also very effective on protecting shrubs.
Molemax by Bonide – This is an animal repellent product that repels burrowing animals such as squirrels, skunks, and voles.
Shake-Away Fox Urine Granules – This is an animal repellent product that helps to repel rabbits.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or tgsinc12@msn.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
