FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF JULY 23, 2000:
I planted some rhubarb this spring and now I’m worried. I’ve heard the leaves are very toxic to pets. Is this true? Should I take it out, or maybe put a cage around it?
"Go ahead and grow the rhubarb and don’t worry about your household pets," says Patricia Talcott, University of Idaho veterinary toxicologist. The scientific literature reports only one death to rhubarb poisoning and that was in a goat that got loose and ate many whole patches of rhubarb.
According to Talcott, the leaves of rhubarb contain insoluble calcium oxalate and anthraquinone glycosides, both of which can cause gastrointestinal irritation. They also contain oxalic acid and soluble potassium oxalate, which–at high enough doses–can potentially damage kidneys. But Talcott says a household pet is not likely to eat many rhubarb leaves because they aren’t very palatable and the gastrointestinal irritation will soon send back a message to stop.
By the way, the pleasant acidity of rhubarb stalks comes from malic acid, another chemical entirely.
What can we do to encourage bluebirds to spend time on our property?
Whether they’re mountain bluebirds or western bluebirds, this species likes open country with pre-existing cavities in trees or bluebird nesting boxes, says Yvonne Carree Barkley, University of Idaho extension forestry associate. The western bluebird spends its summers here and migrates south for the winter. The mountain bluebird spends its summers at elevations as high as 12,000 feet and migrates down towards 5,000 feet for the winter. Orchards, open conifer forests and farms with nesting boxes or existing tree cavities are the mountain bluebird’s preferred habitat.
Because the bluebird’s bill is not suitable for excavating its own tree cavities, it depends on finding holes made by other birds–or boxes made by you. Since bluebirds are voracious insect feeders, you may find that building them a nesting box is a great tradeoff for the pest-control services they so enthusiastically provide.
For more information on encouraging bluebirds to live on your land and for directions on making mountain and western bluebird nesting boxes, contact the UI Extension Forestry office at (208) 885-6536 or e-mail Barkley at extfor@uidaho.edu and order a copy of Bulletin No. 778, "A Private Landowner’s Guide to Managing Northwest Bluebird Habitat."
What is neem and does it work reliably for insect control?
Neem is an oil derived from the seed of the neem tree, Azadirachta indica, a tropical evergreen that grows in Asia, Africa and even the southern U.S. Used for a wide range of medicinal purposes for at least 4,000 years, neem similarly has a wide range of insecticidal properties. It can kill insect pests outright, interfere with molting, inhibit their feeding, repel them or retard their growth.
According to Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho extension entomologist, today’s commercially available neem products are even safer to use than table salt. Their targets include a whole swarm of insects–from soft-bodied pests like aphids to hard-bodied insects like crickets.
"If you want to try an alternative to synthetic insecticides, this is one that is readily available," says Stoltz. Because its residual activity is short and new plant growth will need protection from pests, neem does need to be sprayed continually, he notes.
I read that kids will learn to make better food choices if you let them serve themselves. I am trying this with my 5- and 7-year-old, but they are not making good choices! At my urging, they will take a teaspoon of vegetables to go with handfuls of bread and cupfuls of pudding. My mom thinks this is a hoot. She can’t believe this will work. Will it? Am I approaching this correctly?
You are right to let your children serve themselves, says Laurel Branen, University of Idaho associate professor of family and consumer sciences. "This allows them to choose how much they will eat," she says. "Children are born knowing when they are hungry and when they are full. Your responsibility as a parent is to decide which foods are brought into the house and which ones are served at each meal."
Branen recommends that you offer your children a variety of foods, both familiar and new. "Children often need at least 10 exposures to new foods before they will accept them," she says.
Many young children dislike vegetables. "Children have more taste buds than adults, so vegetables are less appealing to them," she says. "In addition, their noses are often closer to their plates. Put your nose 3 inches above broccoli and take a big whiff!" Nevertheless, parents should continue offering a variety of vegetables and encouraging their children to try them. "But don’t force," Branen says. "We rarely learn to like a food by being forced to eat it."
If you’re worried about your children eating dessert instead of other foods, offer desserts that provide nutrients–such as fruit salad or pudding–or don’t serve desserts at each meal. "Don’t just serve desserts at celebrations, though," she warns. "That makes children think of dessert as being special."