[Ricky Ricardo]

Yes, the PLANT destruction is real. My important Hostas are all INSIDE the fenced backyard. The decimate those outside the fence!

Momi loves Hostas. We leave them in the ground year round, even here in SoCal. But we do have problems with destruction of them inside our fence. The destruction is called RICKY and his playmates. They tear through the Hostas, playing games, and all you can see is bits, pieces, and leaves flying through the air........and Momi chasing after them with a broom! And that only stimulates them even further. Nothing like a good game of "can't catch me!" I told her the only way she was going to catch those dogs is to get on the broom and ride it! 😁 (I had to go get some pizza that night for my supper.) 😟

 

[mudpuppymama]

Yes, the PLANT destruction is real. My important Hostas are all INSIDE the fenced backyard. The decimate those outside the fence!

I put bird netting over mine which is very effective.

 

[mudpuppymama]

I found two!!! ticks on Perry's head this week (only walking outside on leash - but I think it was from the yard even without leaves AND the grass is still very short - there were a ton of deer spending extended periods in the yard if the piles of poo are any indication)!!!. At that point hubby wanted me to ban the dogs from the bed (they don't sleep in/ on the bed at night, but we do lounge there during the day) - but I really can't spend the next 6-8 months keeping them off the bed. I will continue to keep checking him - though I'm not sure exactly what a seed tick looks/ feels like.

Some seed ticks are more tiny than others and can barely be seen. Great you are checking him. That really helps, but despite my best efforts I do miss some occasionally.

 

[mudpuppymama]

Here is what my backyard looks like, as well as the side yard and the entire surrounding area. I call it the baby tick nursery. I have to say though, in spite of living at tick central, the fur babies don’t really get all that many ticks and usually only during peak season, unless we are masochistic and go into the deep woods. Here peak season is April and May. Ticks like moisture and a bit of coolness. Our summers are hotter than hades so you don’t see as many then. If anyone wants to reduce the toxic load on their dogs they could only apply chemicals during peak season. I do not use any chemicals, but people around here use them year round even though the main threat is April and May. I also have to say that even if you don’t find a tick or flea on your dog, this does not mean they don’t have one!

 

[krandall]

Momi loves Hostas. We leave them in the ground year round, even here in SoCal. But we do have problems with destruction of them inside our fence. The destruction is called RICKY and his playmates. They tear through the Hostas, playing games, and all you can see is bits, pieces, and leaves flying through the air........and Momi chasing after them with a broom! And that only stimulates them even further. Nothing like a good game of "can't catch me!" I told her the only way she was going to catch those dogs is to get on the broom and ride it! 😁 (I had to go get some pizza that night for my supper.) 😟

I never heard of NOT leaving them in the ground! Even when the deer eat all the laves off, they are tough as nails. They grow back, it's just that it kind of spoils the look! LOL!

 

[Mikki]

Right now we have seven deer that cross over the yard and hang around in the Out Back. I use to have a Library Shelf full of books on How To Stop Deer From Eating Plants and Flowers. I tried everything in the books even resorting to Lion Urine. Lion Urine did the Trick. It kept the deer away and it, also, works on humans. We couldn't go in our backyard for weeks the smell was so strong.
Lion Pee is very! Stinky. 🦁

I finally threw away the books and no longer plant anything that deer eat. Deer typically don't like Marigolds but I've read if they're super hungry they'll even eat those. I have some big concrete pots that I recently planted some Fake Outdoor Plants in them. They don't need watered and deer won't bother them.

We don't have lots of brush and leaves on any part of the land, there's a lot of open space along with cedar and wood trees. The land around our house is cleared and maintained.

Now that we have fenced back yard I probably could plant some flowers.

We've never had a big problem with ticks or fleas even with the wild life. But ... we've always treated the yard once before summer gets going and occasionally a second time if it's been an especially wet, hot, humid year in addition to treating the dogs for a couple of months to make if something does get on them it doesn't live long.

I did get the Seed Ticks in an area that had a lot of dead leaves and under brush.

Agree with Nancy ... a Big Juicy Tick is a whole lot better than hundreds of Seed Ticks. 😨

 

[mudpuppymama]

I never heard of NOT leaving them in the ground! Even when the deer eat all the laves off, they are tough as nails. They grow back, it's just that it kind of spoils the look! LOL!

There is nothing worse than a beautiful hosta that has been mowed down by a deer. However, a hydrangea where every blossom has been eaten off runs a close second. At least the deer do not touch the leaves of the hydrangea.

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

I never heard of NOT leaving them in the ground!

Yeah, Hostas are a borderline ornamental landscape plant here in SoCal that require special attention. You can get them to perform adequately (but not like the Northeast/Northwest Coast) if given properly amended soil, generous supplemental irrigation (I use concentrated drip irrigation to conserve precious water), enough fertilizer (but not too much), a shade location particularly during the hottest part of the summer (supposed to be 88F here today, during the the summer it will be 20F hotter than that!), and keep the dogs out of them. RICKY stays out of them except when his doggie friends come over and then all the canines lose their collective minds and rampage in our backyard. Yesterday, RICKY's cousin doggie, JoJo, dug a nice hole in one planting bed looking for doggie easter eggs (aka cotton tail rabbit poop) and then proceeded to do a nice clip job on our Hybrid Bermuda lawn with her maxillary clippers which was okay because we don't generally apply fertilizers or pesticides to lawn. She just thought it made a nice salad entree for her kibble, but I gave her Honest Kitchen instead as a holiday treat. She went nuts.

 

[krandall]

Yeah, Hostas are a borderline ornamental landscape plant here in SoCal that require special attention. You can get them to perform adequately (but not like the Northeast/Northwest Coast) if given properly amended soil, generous supplemental irrigation (I use concentrated drip irrigation to conserve precious water), enough fertilizer (but not too much), a shade location particularly during the hottest part of the summer (supposed to be 88F here today, during the the summer it will be 20F hotter than that!), and keep the dogs out of them. RICKY stays out of them except when his doggie friends come over and then all the canines lose their collective minds and rampage in our backyard. Yesterday, RICKY's cousin doggie, JoJo, dug a nice hole in one planting bed looking for doggie easter eggs (aka cotton tail rabbit poop) and then proceeded to do a nice clip job on our Hybrid Bermuda lawn with her maxillary clippers which was okay because we don't generally apply fertilizers or pesticides to lawn. She just thought it made a nice salad entree for her kibble, but I gave her Honest Kitchen instead as a holiday treat. She went nuts.

Sounds like WAAAAYYY too much work! They are weeds here! We chop them into quarters and throw 3/4's of each away ever other year or so or they get too dense! (A little lungwort mixed in the middle... which I am SURE can't take your dry conditions!!!)

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

THAT is a beautiful Hosta garden! We don't see anything close to that except in botanical gardens here in SoCal where they are given daily maintenance and special care. I notice that you use a wood chip mulch (I can imagine where you get that from). Here in SoCal, I generally recommend a minimum of 2 inches of mulch (bark, wood chips, organic matter, or in some cases gravel) to deter weeds, retain subsoil moisture, and facilitate clean up. We moved into a new home last year and because of some personal difficulties we were unable to establish a new garden then. But this year we are going full RICKY on our garden and things are proceeding nicely. We have about 80% of our foundation planting in and when finished, Momi will start performing her "Annuals" magic to produce a riot of color later this summer.

 

[mickjamer]

I spent $120 on a dog bed so you didn't have to. And because it looked awesome. The PetFusion Ultimate Dog pawsnose.com/best-waterproof-dog-beds is something that I think anyone with an active breed should look into. This is my personal opinion and strictly based on what Charlie seems to like.

 

[krandall]

THAT is a beautiful Hosta garden! We don't see anything close to that except in botanical gardens here in SoCal where they are given daily maintenance and special care. I notice that you use a wood chip mulch (I can imagine where you get that from). Here in SoCal, I generally recommend a minimum of 2 inches of mulch (bark, wood chips, organic matter, or in some cases gravel) to deter weeds, retain subsoil moisture, and facilitate clean up. We moved into a new home last year and because of some personal difficulties we were unable to establish a new garden then. But this year we are going full RICKY on our garden and things are proceeding nicely. We have about 80% of our foundation planting in and when finished, Momi will start performing her "Annuals" magic to produce a riot of color later this summer.

Actually, we don’t use wood chips, which change the nitrogen content of the soil. We use decomposed leaf litter mulch. It’s great, but probably not available in your area. It’s locally sourced and very environmentally friendly. And yes, it’s about 2” deep. The only thing I HATE is that until it gets a couple of good rains on it, the dogs (especially Panda) track it in like CRAZY, and the yard was just done last week. So right now, I have to catch each one of them as they come theough the door, and brush them down, then sweep the kirchen before letting them through to the rest of the house! The bark mulch was heavier, and just fell right off them.

 

[krandall]

I spent $120 on a dog bed so you didn't have to. And because it looked awesome. The PetFusion Ultimate Dog pawsnose.com/best-waterproof-dog-beds is something that I think anyone with an active breed should look into. This is my personal opinion and strictly based on what Charlie seems to like.

Spam is not welcome here and has been reported.

 

[Mikki]

I spent $120 on a dog bed so you didn't have to. And because it looked awesome. The PetFusion Ultimate Dog pawsnose.com/best-waterproof-dog-beds is something that I think anyone with an active breed should look into. This is my personal opinion and strictly based on what Charlie seems to like.

Report Made to Admin: Spam. In appropriate comment and solicitation.

 

[strawberry]

I reported it too a couple of days ago

 

[Mikki]

I spent $120 on a dog bed so you didn't have to. And because it looked awesome. The PetFusion Ultimate Dog pawsnose.com/best-waterproof-dog-beds is something that I think anyone with an active breed should look into. This is my personal opinion and strictly based on what Charlie seems to like.

SPAM

 

[Mikki]

Why can't I delete something after it's Posted?