FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF OCT. 23, 2000:
We had an awful lot of squash bugs this year and are wondering if we’ll need to move the squash to another part of the garden next spring. Does rotating squash help control squash bugs?
You can run but you can’t hide, says Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho extension entomologist. Any squash bug worthy of its name will find your squash, regardless of where you’ve moved it. "They’re big and mobile and fly pretty good," he says.
Unless your neighbors have their own nearby infestations, you may be able to reduce your problems next year by clearing up the plant debris, fence lines and woodpiles in which your squash bugs are planning to spend the winter. "In the spring, handpick the adults and mash them before they have a chance to lay their eggs," Stoltz says.
I’d like to attract more birds to my backyard. Which landscape plants do you recommend?
Birds are attracted to plants that provide fruit, seeds or shelter. Danny Barney, University of Idaho extension horticulturist, recommends blueberries–highbush or lowbush–whose foliage offers the added advantage of developing excellent red fall color. Because blueberries demand acidic soils, southern Idahoans who live in alkaline areas should plant them in containers or raised beds filled with amended soils.
Barney also suggests newer cultivars of crabapples that have smaller, less messy fruit than older types. Depending on the variety, their fruit can hang on trees well into winter–even until spring bloom–thereby serving up both a feast for your songbirds and for your winter-weary eyes as well.
Mountain ash (Sorbus) bears many clusters of reddish-orange fruit that birds love. If you prefer native plants, try fruit-bearing serviceberry (Amelanchier) or hawthorn (Crataegus).
The large seedheads of ornamental grasses are another rich source of seeds for birds, and sunflowers produce oil-rich seeds that birds can’t resist.
If you’d like to attract hummingbirds once spring arrives, try cardinal flower, bugleweed, Western columbine, dwarf blue butterfly bush, coral bells, sweet William and salvia.
Our son is only 16 months old and we’re already struggling with the Terrible Twos. He says "no" to everything–even to things he really wants. How long can we expect this to go on and what’s the best way to deal with it?
Children begin to say "no" a lot sometime between 14 and 30 months, says Diane Demarest, coordinator of the University of Idaho’s Parents as Teachers demonstration project. Your son isn’t going out of his way to try to upset you–even though he’s very likely succeeding! He’s simply recognizing that he is a separate person from you and–given this almost overwhelming new awareness–is trying to figure out how a separate, independent person should act.
"Letting people know that he has his own ideas becomes more important to him than anything else he does," says Demarest. "And a very easy way to express this is simply to say ‘no!’"
As a parent, you should continue to maintain firm and reasonable limits–especially on safety and health issues–and avoid giving your son choices when "no" is simply not an acceptable answer. For example, don’t debate with him about whether he’ll stay in his car seat; refuse to move the car unless he’s seated. Don’t ask him if he wants to take his bath now; let him know you’ll be bathing him in five minutes.
But you can avoid many unnecessary stand-offs by giving your child a choice when it’s appropriate, says Demarest. For example, at bath time, ask him whether he’d like to bring along the ducky or the ball. At bedtime, allow him to pick between the "Runaway Bunny" book and "Big Bird." And in the morning, let him decide whether he’ll have apple juice or orange juice. You might even deliberately give him opportunities to say enthusiastic "No’s!" by asking him silly questions like "Do cars fly?" or "Does a dog say ‘meow’?"
"This is a difficult stage for all parents to manage, but it’s an important time of learning for your son," says Demarest. "Staying calm and supportive can get both of you through his tantrums more easily. If you say to him, ‘I can see that this is really upsetting you and that you’re really angry,’ he will feel more understood and have words to describe his feelings."
Through Idaho’s Parents as Teachers program–offered free regardless of family income– parents of children under 3 get monthly visits from trained parent educators. The educators bring along children’s books, short videotapes on child development and ideas for fun activities designed to encourage learning during that specific month of the young child’s life. For more information, call Demarest at (208) 343-1542 in Boise or write her at dianed@uidaho.edu.
[READERS: Do you have a question about your home, yard or garden? Send it to HomeWise, University of Idaho Ag Communications, Moscow, ID 83844-2332 or e-mail it to homewise@uidaho.edu. Mention of proprietary products or firms does not constitute endorsement by the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System or imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.]