tremblay@decwrl (04/25/86)
>Ouch! Try planting cucumbers between your corn plants and let the vines >run up the stalks. The cukes will not harm the corn and the spiny vines >may discourage the raccoons. I know from experience that doing this keeps >squirrels away from corn. It also saves space in the garden. Unless, you started your corn stalks in furrows and and back filled them to give them support, most varieties of cucumbers (i.e. vines, don't use bush) will be too heavy and aggressive for the corn stalk to support. You might try a "pickling" variety which are small and the fruit weighs less. I've had great success using dog hair in old nylon stockings placed around my corn patch (which isn't enormous, 8' X 10'). Any scent of a larger animal will ward off racoons (usually). I've read about people using "Zoo Doo" or other large animal dung too. I haven't tried this, but I wouldn't I pay for such a stupid fertilizer, unless I got it from the circus for free. >areas. A pound of spore powder will treat about 4,000 square feet >of turf for moderately good results (up to 60% kill within 12 months) >and, of course, continued and increasing protection. Higher application >rates bring even greater results in less time. Authorities agree that >the spore disease control averages 80 to 90% in overall effectiveness." There is a product out called "ATTACK" which contains Milky Spore for grub control. But be aware, that the above statistic I think is a little optimistic, it actually takes several years to get into the beetle's life cycle and control them to the point where they won't cause harm to your plants. So don't expect not to have beetle problems for a year or two after application. That's my experience anyway. /Glenn Tremblay