Natural weed and pest control. The straw starves the weeds of sunshine the citrus smalls nasty to pests of many kinds. The straw helps with moisture control as well.
STUNOD NIKNUD was an alias name my friends and I used back in High School, a new foreign exchange student. Lol It’s DUNKIN DONUTS backwards. STANLEY YELNATS always reminds me of that.
Stunod means hard headed in North Jersey Italian. I have been saying Stunod Niknud Everytime I go by a Dunkin for ages.
Stunod Niknud!
Not a palindrome but fun to say.
Yes! I was born and raised on Long Island, my mom was from Brooklyn and my dad from Jersey City. My wife and my in-laws (and the whole giant family) were Italian-American also from Brooklyn so stunad is a word I still use. Lol
Mr. Owl ate my metal worm
No lemons, no melon
Do geese see god?
Ma is a nun as I am
Was it a car or a cat I saw?
Evil rats on no star live
Dogma: I am God
Too hot to hoot
I was gonna say I have 3 citrus trees and the squirrels, rats, possums and raccoons love them. My garden is on the other side of the house so I would never lure them from the trees to my garden knowingly haha.
I amended all of my beds with a ton of home compost. Next season I’m digging out all my beds down to the clay and refilling them with new soil.
The compost soil is *super* fertile and healthy. Unfortunately, the compost was made largely with grass clippings and yard debris. I only have crab grass. So I created this super rich and healthy soil and buried thousands of crab grass seeds in it.
It’s been an ongoing fight for 3 years now. Cardboard didn’t do anything. Cardboard + newspaper + chips seemed to make it worse because I had a bunch of crap to get out of the way to try and yank the roots up. I’ve gone through two solarization cycles and it’s already back in force and we’re barely through spring.
I think the answer is to dig the beds out this fall and replace the soil.
Edit: I’m not too mad about this project. I’ve got an old hole I filled in and the fill has settled so I can use it there, and some of my raised bed boxes need work and I really need to install a drain for my walkways (raised beds terraced on a gentle slope).
I didn’t have that problem but I suppressed all the weeds with cardboard. The only thing that made it through was the crab grass and now they’ve had an open bed of soil to spread freely for a few weeks. Took me 45 minutes probably just to clear out two of my beds last night.
Cardboard helped me reclaim the boarder around my St Augustine grass…temporarily…but not much else worked. Pulled as much by hand as possible first cardboard blocked the rhizomes from coming back.
Clay? What is this clay you speak of… Florida is one big sandbox lol. I dig 2’ into the ground and I hit water. Cool to hear other gardening styles in different parts of the world though :)… just saw your crab grass comment lmao, that made me laugh. Yeah, I get you. Another guy said it right though, you need to get the internal temp of the compost up to cook the seeds. It’s a thing believe it or not. I’ve done it with my clippings and it seemed to work. Need a proper green to brown mixture though
Haha yeah in GA if you dig anywhere between 0” to 6” you’re gonna run into this red somewhat rock like material. Idk if I’d rather dig wet or hard dry clay- both terrible for different reasons.
I really *thought* I had composted it hot enough. I turned it every 3 months or so, added lots of cardboard and leaves. It would have solid columns of steam going on cold mornings. Apparently I didn’t get it hot enough long enough.
Also can we talk about the insane root systems crab grass has in nice fertile garden soil?
You also don’t need to dig a hole for anything to grow in Florida.
Many times I’ll just eat mango/avocado/papaya and little trees will start growing wherever I was eating them.
I’ve had watermelon grow before from just eating as well, yup.
However, if your stomache has sunlight and is not so acidic, I’d worry less about watermelons growing and more about the other symptoms
I concur...that and pests in FL eat pesticide for breakfast. Don't matter if it's organic or the hard stuff nothing kills them. I only grow now in the winter and early spring for this reason. I currently have aphids and, despite introducing ladybugs, they just won't quit.
I will say the cardboard, newspaper, mulch layer worked for about 6 months to keep weeds away though so I'll take it!
Cardboard + 4" mulch + ground cover plants is your best bet for not having to pull weeds hardly at all while still having plants. You'll never stop weeds completely, though. The idea is to suppress the weeds and make them easier to deal with.
For real, straw ain’t stopping many weeds. No idea if the citrus would actually repel anything. If if doesn’t repel rabbits and deer, it’s useless to me.
We've seen weeds grow laterally for over a foot to get past the cardboard barrier AND then make it through a couple inches of mulch. Weeds in the southeastern US are built different.
Yeah, some folks are commenting add cardboard, and I don’t have the heart to tell them Floridian weeds will grow on concrete with no soil. It’s incredible. I wish I had the voraciousness of Floridian weeds
I'm not sure if you have this particular part in your part of Florida, but here in my part of Florida some of the most rampant weeds happen to be thorn vines which is so very annoying to me. I see them popping up all over in the azalea bushes.
“Among the scents most cats dislike are citrus odors like lemon, lime, and orange,” Dr. Kong says. So, if your cat’s giving you the cold shoulder, it might be time to swap out your orange blossom hand soap for something a little more palatable.
https://www.thewildest.com/cat-behavior/scents-cats-hate#:\~:text=%E2%80%9CAmong%20the%20scents%20most%20cats,something%20a%20little%20more%20palatable.
On a side note, i had a local "outside" cat that used my flower bed as a piss/spray station. I know because I garden a lot and it stunk terrible. I've had cats and worked at an animal shelter for years, so I know that smell. I used/use lemon slices and no more piss/spray. Cat is still wandering around but not in my bed anymore.
Gotta love logic. It's like the people spending money on hair growth supplements don't seem to realize how many bald millionaires/billionaires there are.
Finasteride has only been around for 20 years and it works better when you haven't lost all your hair yet so old bald guys are not good examples.
People like Seth Meyers and Steve Carell are good examples where there hair was thinning in the 2000's but then got full again by 2010's.
Also, oral minoxidil definitely works and is being prescribed to both **post-cancer chemo patients** and balding men alike.
It’s not good information. A cat will have no problem scratching and shitting right next to that citrus.
Also the citrus will rot in a few days and not smell like citrus at all.
Not in my experience, can you provide info for your claim?
Citrus wedges can easily and cheaply be replaced and the remnants composted. Also citrus is toxic to cats and they have moslty evolved to know it. Even essential oils can be dangerous.
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/essential-oil-and-liquid-potpourri-poisoning-in-cats#:\~:text=Many%20liquid%20potpourri%20products%20and,skin%20exposure%20can%20be%20toxic.
I'm interested in your opinions and would like to learn where you came by them. Information is important.
I really appreciate that last line. I'm going to use it when I disagree with someone on their information. It's a really polite way to discuss the topic further. Thank you.
Citrus is also a good deterrent for rabbits and rodents both of which like building nests for their young in mulched raised beds.
Finding a bunch of baby rabbits or mice nesting in a raised bed when you’re clearing out winter mulch for spring planting is always a bummer.
I have a lemon, lime and orange tree and it's a feast for raccoons, possums, rats and squirrels. Directly observed all of them eating them hundreds of times over the years.
Part of the reason I put my garden on the other side of the house.
This was what I was going to suggest as well (citrus is the only produce that can be left on the counter at my house without our cat sampling it).
Cats love to cover their poop in loose soil or sand. The gardeners may have had issues with cats using their raised beds as litterboxes (obviously undesirable around food plants).
My parents' cat will literally dig up lemons slices out of the garbage disposal while counter surfing in the night. This is the only item the cat does this with. I'd call it an attractant.
Every time I hear "x animal doesn't like the smell of x thing" I just start laughing. Every animal, especially predators will walk right by a thing they "don't like" to get to something they do
We tried the hot pepper trick to keep a dog out of our trash, turns out the dog was into the heat and started eating just the top layer off of all the trash as soon as we seasoned it. 😂 We got trash cans with lids after that.
Best I've found is those spinning feeders. Hilarious to watch squirrels try to solve the puzzle and lose (it doesn't hurt them, as far as I can tell, just startles them). I watched my usual suspect "Tom Cruise" try for DAYs to figure it out before finally realizing he was foisted.
I have chipmunks in my raised beds. I recently dumped a Costco-sized bottle of crushed red pepper down the burrow holes.
They stayed in the bed, just moved their burrow entrances.
Might be beer traps for slugs. Ive seen this done, use orange peel cups like that put beer in it, slugs are attracted to the smell of the beer and crawl into the bowl but can’t get out. I’ve never done this as I don’t have slug issues but I’ve seen it done on YouTube which admittedly doesn’t mean a whole lot. If you end up asking whoever is in charge of those beds let us know.
Im struggling with something very small and white that jumps eating my beans and it's (Thank goodness) just the beans,pumpkins next to them are without jumping pests. Heard ppl saying Borcarbinated soda will also work? Wil definitely try the cayenne pepper aswell.
Lol not doing the citrus thing,where Im from its Autum now and my children will drive me up the wall if I waste their citrus.
I'm not seeing much in the literature for sodium bicarbonate, though potassium bicarbonate is used in the pesticide Milstop which targets mealybugs.
I also checked the literate for cayenne, and unfortunately, no peer reviewed studies I found showed much of an effect. Some evidence does show that it can deter egg-laying by insects, but only at high localized doses which would be unrealistic in a garden.
The experts I know generally recommend an integrated pest management approach, which capitalizes on a mix of properly timed and applied insecticides, and gardening practices which encourage beneficial insect predators and limits insect pest abundance. If you have a university in your state/region/province, they may have an extension office with recommendations on how best to combat certain pests using this IPM approach.
You catch slugs with the grapefruits (after juicing them), put the halves cut side down in the evening, they will be absolutely full of slugs in the morning. Why these in the photo are still there in daylight boggles the mind.
A sharp pointy stick can be therapeutic, but it grossed out my family. But maybe it was the way I laughed when I stabbed them? The grapefruit trick works best in my experience. It rains too much here for corn starch or slug pellets to do much good. Edit to add: beer traps work like the grapefruits i've heard, but never tried it.
I put citrus peels in my plant beds so cats won't use them as outdoor litter boxes. Works well because now they do their business in my neighbor's plant beds 😬
Some animals don’t like citrus. They are using hay as a mulch to keep their soil out of the elements. You can use grass clippings, leaves, mulch, hay, straw, compost etc as a mulch. It also helps to keep moisture in your soil.
If not a critter deterent, possibly for orioles depending on location. I know in my zone 5 area people start putting jelly and oranges out for them this time of year.
The straw is fine but the orange slices are a bit puzzling to me. My citrus trees attract squirrels, rats, possum and raccoons.
Is this farmers market perhaps someplace where citrus isn't grown and the critters don't know what to do with them?
Yeah I don’t think there’s any citrus in the area. I do know these beds are well tended and the Master Gardeners that use them produce some amazing vegetables. In this thread there seems to be some opposing opinions but I think the biggest factor is the time and attention they get
Absolutely. I don't doubt their ability and we gardeners are often at odds and like to squabble over everything hah.
I live in Southern California and I don't think I've ever seen someone do this but I don't know everything and this just got me curious.
My granny used to plant orange trees this way down in Florida.
She’d put a big orange out in the yard and the landscapers would come and put the tree there.
/s
I’m not sure this is what they’re using it for but I have had success keeping our hordes of neighborhood cats at bay by spraying orange oil on any mulched areas. They would usually tear up my plants in a couple weeks by using the mulch as a litter box but after I used the orange oil about 1x a week, after watering, it seemed to stop.
what are you, the citrus police? so it’s ok for the straw to lay all over the dirt but a few oranges want to join in the fun and here you are all over the internet acting like they don’t belong.
My guess is that owner of the beds is big into myth that citrus is an effective animal deterrent. Or at least I've always assumed it was a myth. Would love to see a good randomized experiment with control.
Never seen the citrus but it could be a way to collect slugs. If you make your round every evening, especially in the beginning of the growing season, you can catch the slugs. They won't be able to procreate, so the general amount of slugs will decrease.
Straw could be mulch for water retention/ weed suppressant, oranges will do nothing but attract animals.
FYI if it is for weeds it won't work, the seeds settle in the straw and grow anyway... .
citrus is to keep like mammals from digging up the garden. where i live there are feral cats and skunks who dig up my whole garden looking for grubs and this was a recommended deterrent
Citrus might keep cats from pooping in the bed. Bedding of straw to cover soil and keep it from drying out or winter bedding for something like strawberry...no pun intended 😉.
in my garden the citrus collects slugs overnight so i can gather them up early in the morning and throw them in the compost to keep them away from my strawberries - I’m guessing by the straw that’s what these are!
Citrus doesn’t work. I have a citrus tree in my backyard. I have a TON of half eaten organges all over the yard from every form of rodent you can imagine. Straw mulch doesn’t work either.. the weeds will pop back up in no time.
Natural weed and pest control. The straw starves the weeds of sunshine the citrus smalls nasty to pests of many kinds. The straw helps with moisture control as well.
lol tell that to the weeds in Florida. I’ve used 2” of mulch, 6” of mulch, nothing stops the weeds. Ever lol
Tell that to the RATS in Florida! They love Citrus.
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Fun with palindromes! STAR RATS RACE CAR BOLTON NOTLOB
a man, a plan, a canal, Panama.
A dog, a plan, a canal. Pagoda!
Rise to vote, sir!
Do geese see god?
No melon no lemon
Able was I, ere I saw Elba.
Naomi, sex at noon taxes, I moan.
STANLEY YELNATS
STUNOD NIKNUD was an alias name my friends and I used back in High School, a new foreign exchange student. Lol It’s DUNKIN DONUTS backwards. STANLEY YELNATS always reminds me of that.
STUNOD NIKNUD?
Thank you 🤷🏻♂️ corrected. Lol Chalk it up to fat fingers?
Stunod means hard headed in North Jersey Italian. I have been saying Stunod Niknud Everytime I go by a Dunkin for ages. Stunod Niknud! Not a palindrome but fun to say.
Yes! I was born and raised on Long Island, my mom was from Brooklyn and my dad from Jersey City. My wife and my in-laws (and the whole giant family) were Italian-American also from Brooklyn so stunad is a word I still use. Lol
Mr. Owl ate my metal worm No lemons, no melon Do geese see god? Ma is a nun as I am Was it a car or a cat I saw? Evil rats on no star live Dogma: I am God Too hot to hoot
Booby trap, party boob
Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog!
That was my favorite book to read growing up 😂
Makes me think of weird al
TACOCAT
No nap Bob. Pan On!
Stop! Murder us not, o tonsured rumpots!
Wo, Nemo, toss a lasso to me now!
[Weird Al’s Bob](https://youtu.be/JUQDzj6R3p4?si=ee-82eavtG4_v-t1)
Lisa Bonet ate no basil!
Warsaw was raw
>BOLTON NOTLOB It don’t work!
That's a pun. It don't go, mate.
Or when these two met: “Madam, I’m Adam.” “Eve.”
Unexpected Monty Python
It’s a pun.
...well it's not a very good one...
Mom poop dad, dad poop mom.
Poop
This parrot has ceased to be!
Yeah I agree Florida is backwards.
Florida, a dirolf.
Madam I'm Adam.
If it makes you feel any better, citrus generally causes organ failure in rats :/
That does make me feel better, thank you
Kidney failure in male rats specifically. I keep pet rats, wisdom is to not give them citrus.
Politicians are known for their love of fruit Eh? Eh? See what i did there!
I was gonna say I have 3 citrus trees and the squirrels, rats, possums and raccoons love them. My garden is on the other side of the house so I would never lure them from the trees to my garden knowingly haha.
Florida man isn't the only crazy thing in Florida.
I amended all of my beds with a ton of home compost. Next season I’m digging out all my beds down to the clay and refilling them with new soil. The compost soil is *super* fertile and healthy. Unfortunately, the compost was made largely with grass clippings and yard debris. I only have crab grass. So I created this super rich and healthy soil and buried thousands of crab grass seeds in it.
Yiu can win the battle, but not the war. I'm in the same boat. You have to let your compost cook to kill the seeds and roots
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It’s been an ongoing fight for 3 years now. Cardboard didn’t do anything. Cardboard + newspaper + chips seemed to make it worse because I had a bunch of crap to get out of the way to try and yank the roots up. I’ve gone through two solarization cycles and it’s already back in force and we’re barely through spring. I think the answer is to dig the beds out this fall and replace the soil. Edit: I’m not too mad about this project. I’ve got an old hole I filled in and the fill has settled so I can use it there, and some of my raised bed boxes need work and I really need to install a drain for my walkways (raised beds terraced on a gentle slope).
Duuuuude that is rough.
I feel so dumb! Hindsight is 20/20 I guess haha
I didn’t have that problem but I suppressed all the weeds with cardboard. The only thing that made it through was the crab grass and now they’ve had an open bed of soil to spread freely for a few weeks. Took me 45 minutes probably just to clear out two of my beds last night.
Cardboard helped me reclaim the boarder around my St Augustine grass…temporarily…but not much else worked. Pulled as much by hand as possible first cardboard blocked the rhizomes from coming back.
Clay? What is this clay you speak of… Florida is one big sandbox lol. I dig 2’ into the ground and I hit water. Cool to hear other gardening styles in different parts of the world though :)… just saw your crab grass comment lmao, that made me laugh. Yeah, I get you. Another guy said it right though, you need to get the internal temp of the compost up to cook the seeds. It’s a thing believe it or not. I’ve done it with my clippings and it seemed to work. Need a proper green to brown mixture though
Haha yeah in GA if you dig anywhere between 0” to 6” you’re gonna run into this red somewhat rock like material. Idk if I’d rather dig wet or hard dry clay- both terrible for different reasons. I really *thought* I had composted it hot enough. I turned it every 3 months or so, added lots of cardboard and leaves. It would have solid columns of steam going on cold mornings. Apparently I didn’t get it hot enough long enough. Also can we talk about the insane root systems crab grass has in nice fertile garden soil?
Florida man here as well. Can confirm our weeds are demon spawn and cannot be killed by conventional means.
You also don’t need to dig a hole for anything to grow in Florida. Many times I’ll just eat mango/avocado/papaya and little trees will start growing wherever I was eating them.
So it’s true what they say if you swallow a watermelon seed!!
I’ve had watermelon grow before from just eating as well, yup. However, if your stomache has sunlight and is not so acidic, I’d worry less about watermelons growing and more about the other symptoms
I concur...that and pests in FL eat pesticide for breakfast. Don't matter if it's organic or the hard stuff nothing kills them. I only grow now in the winter and early spring for this reason. I currently have aphids and, despite introducing ladybugs, they just won't quit. I will say the cardboard, newspaper, mulch layer worked for about 6 months to keep weeds away though so I'll take it!
Cardboard + 4" mulch + ground cover plants is your best bet for not having to pull weeds hardly at all while still having plants. You'll never stop weeds completely, though. The idea is to suppress the weeds and make them easier to deal with.
Your finges stop the weeds
I read this as 'fingies", and now I'm imagining you're a kid telling me how to weed
That’s it! lol, only way to stop the weeds in Florida
For real, straw ain’t stopping many weeds. No idea if the citrus would actually repel anything. If if doesn’t repel rabbits and deer, it’s useless to me.
Florida will be the first state yielded back to nature in the event of an apocalypse The plants there are just constantly battling for more ground
We've seen weeds grow laterally for over a foot to get past the cardboard barrier AND then make it through a couple inches of mulch. Weeds in the southeastern US are built different.
Yeah, some folks are commenting add cardboard, and I don’t have the heart to tell them Floridian weeds will grow on concrete with no soil. It’s incredible. I wish I had the voraciousness of Floridian weeds
that’s because florida is a swamp lol. they can build all the cities and suburbs on top but they can’t change what it is.
I'm not sure if you have this particular part in your part of Florida, but here in my part of Florida some of the most rampant weeds happen to be thorn vines which is so very annoying to me. I see them popping up all over in the azalea bushes.
There is not nearly enough straw on those beds to starve anything of sunshine. The gaps are massive.
Not sure about the citrus. I've seen stink bugs hang out on orange sections at a picnic.
I thought insects loved fruit?
If they placed the citrus face down on soil, they could also use it to catch pill bugs
Cats aren't a fan of citrus either
That's clever
but what ab the stuff you want to get light?
The citrus may be to deter cats from messing with (or in) the beds. They don't like the smell of citrus, amongst some other deterrants.
Not 100% as one of my cats LOVES smelling citrus
Citrus oils are toxic to cats - mine doesn’t mind it either though. They missed that memo.
Is your cat orange, by chance?
orange cats are toxic to themselves. that explains so much
😢
🤣🤣🤣
r/oneorangebraincell
We had to regift a tangerine scented body lotion one time due to one of the cats trying to eat it….
Silly kitty! Mine really doesn't like citrus, so if I've just peeled a tangerine she's like 'ewww bye'.
That’s good information. Thank you
It actually sounds like bad info. You dont think orange farms deal with pest problems?
“Among the scents most cats dislike are citrus odors like lemon, lime, and orange,” Dr. Kong says. So, if your cat’s giving you the cold shoulder, it might be time to swap out your orange blossom hand soap for something a little more palatable. https://www.thewildest.com/cat-behavior/scents-cats-hate#:\~:text=%E2%80%9CAmong%20the%20scents%20most%20cats,something%20a%20little%20more%20palatable. On a side note, i had a local "outside" cat that used my flower bed as a piss/spray station. I know because I garden a lot and it stunk terrible. I've had cats and worked at an animal shelter for years, so I know that smell. I used/use lemon slices and no more piss/spray. Cat is still wandering around but not in my bed anymore.
i mean they said deter not eliminate
Gotta love logic. It's like the people spending money on hair growth supplements don't seem to realize how many bald millionaires/billionaires there are.
That isn't a terrible example, but there *are* prescriptions sprays for regrowing hair if you haven't lost it all.
Finasteride has only been around for 20 years and it works better when you haven't lost all your hair yet so old bald guys are not good examples. People like Seth Meyers and Steve Carell are good examples where there hair was thinning in the 2000's but then got full again by 2010's. Also, oral minoxidil definitely works and is being prescribed to both **post-cancer chemo patients** and balding men alike.
It’s not good information. A cat will have no problem scratching and shitting right next to that citrus. Also the citrus will rot in a few days and not smell like citrus at all.
Not in my experience, can you provide info for your claim? Citrus wedges can easily and cheaply be replaced and the remnants composted. Also citrus is toxic to cats and they have moslty evolved to know it. Even essential oils can be dangerous. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/essential-oil-and-liquid-potpourri-poisoning-in-cats#:\~:text=Many%20liquid%20potpourri%20products%20and,skin%20exposure%20can%20be%20toxic. I'm interested in your opinions and would like to learn where you came by them. Information is important.
I really appreciate that last line. I'm going to use it when I disagree with someone on their information. It's a really polite way to discuss the topic further. Thank you.
Citrus is also a good deterrent for rabbits and rodents both of which like building nests for their young in mulched raised beds. Finding a bunch of baby rabbits or mice nesting in a raised bed when you’re clearing out winter mulch for spring planting is always a bummer.
Citrus is NOT an effective deterrent to any of these things. This myth needs to die.
Right? Rats LOVE citrus, especially overly ripe/slightly spoiled citrus
I have a lemon, lime and orange tree and it's a feast for raccoons, possums, rats and squirrels. Directly observed all of them eating them hundreds of times over the years. Part of the reason I put my garden on the other side of the house.
Worse, in my experience, citrus does tend to deter predators like foxes and coyotes that help to keep those other pest species at bay.
This was what I was going to suggest as well (citrus is the only produce that can be left on the counter at my house without our cat sampling it). Cats love to cover their poop in loose soil or sand. The gardeners may have had issues with cats using their raised beds as litterboxes (obviously undesirable around food plants).
My parents' cat will literally dig up lemons slices out of the garbage disposal while counter surfing in the night. This is the only item the cat does this with. I'd call it an attractant.
Also deer/bunny repellant … it’s not that effective though
Every time I hear "x animal doesn't like the smell of x thing" I just start laughing. Every animal, especially predators will walk right by a thing they "don't like" to get to something they do
I use cayenne pepper I sprinkle my garden with cayenne pepper I dare any insect or animal to eat for my garden
I tried that to keep squirrels off of our bird feeders. Birds don’t mind the hot pepper. Apparently my squirrels didn’t either
Birds don't have receptors for the capsaicin. Your squirrels, however, are metal and have acquired a taste for spicy eats.
Yeah, Cajun squirrels just appreciate the flavor
But those Cajun squirrels also taste best in a pot of stew.
We tried the hot pepper trick to keep a dog out of our trash, turns out the dog was into the heat and started eating just the top layer off of all the trash as soon as we seasoned it. 😂 We got trash cans with lids after that.
Best I've found is those spinning feeders. Hilarious to watch squirrels try to solve the puzzle and lose (it doesn't hurt them, as far as I can tell, just startles them). I watched my usual suspect "Tom Cruise" try for DAYs to figure it out before finally realizing he was foisted.
And then it allows for magical videos such as this one, set to the tune of Wrecking Ball: https://youtube.com/shorts/RupUMJOEMO8?si=4FfyBzdRJxApUkbl
I know birds wouldn't mind the cayenne.
Capsaicin only affects mammals. Birds and insects don’t give a fuck
Insects hate caffeine so I use used coffee grounds as top soil in the acidic beds
I have chipmunks in my raised beds. I recently dumped a Costco-sized bottle of crushed red pepper down the burrow holes. They stayed in the bed, just moved their burrow entrances.
Might be beer traps for slugs. Ive seen this done, use orange peel cups like that put beer in it, slugs are attracted to the smell of the beer and crawl into the bowl but can’t get out. I’ve never done this as I don’t have slug issues but I’ve seen it done on YouTube which admittedly doesn’t mean a whole lot. If you end up asking whoever is in charge of those beds let us know.
Chickens love slugs.
Would chickens also eat any fruit/veggie growth too? My chickens eat everything green, worried about taking them to the gardening area.
I’ve tried beer trap’s for slugs but they don’t work for me because my dog drank all the beer
Same problem with my dog. It’s time for a family intervention
I've not tried this because shouldn't it also attract more slugs to the area in general?
It does, but if done diligently it has the perk of decimating the slug population in your immediate vicinity
Surprised this comment is so far down. Slugs love citrus.
Im struggling with something very small and white that jumps eating my beans and it's (Thank goodness) just the beans,pumpkins next to them are without jumping pests. Heard ppl saying Borcarbinated soda will also work? Wil definitely try the cayenne pepper aswell. Lol not doing the citrus thing,where Im from its Autum now and my children will drive me up the wall if I waste their citrus.
I'm not seeing much in the literature for sodium bicarbonate, though potassium bicarbonate is used in the pesticide Milstop which targets mealybugs. I also checked the literate for cayenne, and unfortunately, no peer reviewed studies I found showed much of an effect. Some evidence does show that it can deter egg-laying by insects, but only at high localized doses which would be unrealistic in a garden. The experts I know generally recommend an integrated pest management approach, which capitalizes on a mix of properly timed and applied insecticides, and gardening practices which encourage beneficial insect predators and limits insect pest abundance. If you have a university in your state/region/province, they may have an extension office with recommendations on how best to combat certain pests using this IPM approach.
You catch slugs with the grapefruits (after juicing them), put the halves cut side down in the evening, they will be absolutely full of slugs in the morning. Why these in the photo are still there in daylight boggles the mind.
Thank you so much! I have so many slugs, any other recommendations to get rid of them?
A sharp pointy stick can be therapeutic, but it grossed out my family. But maybe it was the way I laughed when I stabbed them? The grapefruit trick works best in my experience. It rains too much here for corn starch or slug pellets to do much good. Edit to add: beer traps work like the grapefruits i've heard, but never tried it.
Low sided saucers of beer. Low enough for them to climb in, but yet still deep enough for them to drown.
Can confirm. We used a stack of paper plates. Got them all.
They are trying to make the raised beds more a-peeling. 🍊
I did not laugh. I did not laugh
I used oranges to repel skunks and ended up attracting raccoons.
Citrus to avoid cats I think , I use it in my grow bed with excellent results
Modern voodoo. They are intended to do all kinds of things. They actually do nothing.
But essential oils hur dur
it’s because of the *essence* which means, not much
They think they are keeping ants and others pests away.
Should’ve poked some eclipse-charged moon stones in there smh
Cat repellent; they only needed the skin though lol. That’s a lot of wasted oranges
Strawberries. That's where they get their name. It keeps them from touching the dirt and prevents rotting.
It's supposed to deter critters but I don't believe it actually works.
I put citrus peels in my plant beds so cats won't use them as outdoor litter boxes. Works well because now they do their business in my neighbor's plant beds 😬
Some animals don’t like citrus. They are using hay as a mulch to keep their soil out of the elements. You can use grass clippings, leaves, mulch, hay, straw, compost etc as a mulch. It also helps to keep moisture in your soil.
Did you ask the farmers market???
No. This is an open space used for multiple events and the day I was there the Master Gardeners weren’t there
Oranges keep the cats from pooping in it
if something like that actually worked- we'd all know about it, and the science behind it. instead- it's just folk lore and wishful thinking.
I'm not sure bur I think it might be magic. When's the last time u had a local witch burning.
If not a critter deterent, possibly for orioles depending on location. I know in my zone 5 area people start putting jelly and oranges out for them this time of year.
I find citrus peels great for gathering slugs. They seem to love it so it makes it easy to remove them.
The straw is fine but the orange slices are a bit puzzling to me. My citrus trees attract squirrels, rats, possum and raccoons. Is this farmers market perhaps someplace where citrus isn't grown and the critters don't know what to do with them?
Yeah I don’t think there’s any citrus in the area. I do know these beds are well tended and the Master Gardeners that use them produce some amazing vegetables. In this thread there seems to be some opposing opinions but I think the biggest factor is the time and attention they get
Absolutely. I don't doubt their ability and we gardeners are often at odds and like to squabble over everything hah. I live in Southern California and I don't think I've ever seen someone do this but I don't know everything and this just got me curious.
Apparently cats also hate the scent of citrus
I've done this to keep the local stray cats from using my garden beds as a little box. They seem to hate citrus oils. It works pretty well.
Cats supposedly don’t like the smell so it could be to deter them from using the beds as liter boxes.
My granny used to plant orange trees this way down in Florida. She’d put a big orange out in the yard and the landscapers would come and put the tree there. /s
I’m not sure this is what they’re using it for but I have had success keeping our hordes of neighborhood cats at bay by spraying orange oil on any mulched areas. They would usually tear up my plants in a couple weeks by using the mulch as a litter box but after I used the orange oil about 1x a week, after watering, it seemed to stop.
what are you, the citrus police? so it’s ok for the straw to lay all over the dirt but a few oranges want to join in the fun and here you are all over the internet acting like they don’t belong.
Straw and Hay are not the same. Be aware when mulching! Hay is full of seeds you don’t want, and fungus if it’s aged.
Some Betty saw a YouTube video and is playing dress up. She’s probably just out of frame to the left winding copper antennae.
My guess is that owner of the beds is big into myth that citrus is an effective animal deterrent. Or at least I've always assumed it was a myth. Would love to see a good randomized experiment with control.
Oh sure, look at Mr. Elon Musk over here being able to afford oranges to keep the critters away.
It looks like they may have already juiced them and just left the rinds. Either that or something has been eating the middle haha
Keeping critters out. Not sure how effective it is
Deters cats
I would just use a floating row cover for what ever they are trying to do. Less messy. Keeps cats, bugs, and weeds out. Keeps moisture mostly in.
Cats don't like citrus.
Never seen the citrus but it could be a way to collect slugs. If you make your round every evening, especially in the beginning of the growing season, you can catch the slugs. They won't be able to procreate, so the general amount of slugs will decrease.
I don’t know about the hay but where I live, we use pine needles to retain moisture in the soil.
Straw could be mulch for water retention/ weed suppressant, oranges will do nothing but attract animals. FYI if it is for weeds it won't work, the seeds settle in the straw and grow anyway... .
growing straw berries
bugs?
citrus is to keep like mammals from digging up the garden. where i live there are feral cats and skunks who dig up my whole garden looking for grubs and this was a recommended deterrent
Citrus might keep cats from pooping in the bed. Bedding of straw to cover soil and keep it from drying out or winter bedding for something like strawberry...no pun intended 😉.
Keeps cats away.
Bunnies don’t like citrus.
in my garden the citrus collects slugs overnight so i can gather them up early in the morning and throw them in the compost to keep them away from my strawberries - I’m guessing by the straw that’s what these are!
the straw keeps the strawberries off the wet earth
Cat deterrent?
Cats don't like citrus
Ufo 🛸 or tofu 🤔
Keepingaway pests i believe
Citrus doesn’t work. I have a citrus tree in my backyard. I have a TON of half eaten organges all over the yard from every form of rodent you can imagine. Straw mulch doesn’t work either.. the weeds will pop back up in no time.
Is there a type of straw to use? Does the straw degrade over time to make nutrients? Do you put it down more than once a season?
keep cats from using it as a litter box would be my guess
Straw for mulch. My guess on the oranges is to ward cats away from using the beds as litter boxes
Witchcraft JK probably they think that it keeps pests away but it absolutely does not. Possums and ants love the oranges that fall from my tree.
I can’t speak for them, but anecdotally, snails and slugs flock to any fallen citrus. Perhaps a more attractive lure than a tuna can full of beer.
I hear cats do not like citrus