I had/have a very bad squirrel problem. When I began gardening I negotiated with the squirrels and they agreed to only take their fair share of tomatoes, persimmons, peaches, pears and berries. The crows and chipmunks were a different matter and required separate negotiations. I thought we had a deal. But first the squirrels; then the crows; and finally the chipmunks started taking more than their fair share. I told my wife that I would show them who was boss. I bought a live trap and baited it with peanut butter. I caught a squirrel right away and took it 10 miles away and freed it. After that first catch, I discovered the peanut butter gone and no squirrel. Turns out the squirrels were sending in the chipmunks to test the trap and they were too small to trigger the door. After all of this I saw the crows were sitting in my persimmon tree laughing at me and pecking on persimmons. I shook my fist at them and yelled, "I'll show you who is the boss!" My wife walked back into the house muttering, "The squirrels are the boss, you idiot." Does that sound disloyal?

gardengal48 Nicotine extracts, for example, have broad spectrum pesticidal properties, occur naturally and are rather frightenly toxic, Have to disagree with you From KimmSR This from the "Wisegeek" website, but probably meaningless to those that hold the viewpoint that Nicotine is not hazardous. "Nicotine in high doses acts as an effective nerve poison and can have a number of potentially harmful side effects. It is extremely physically addicting, though estimates on the exact degree of addiction range wildly from very low levels to those rivaling that of heroine or cocaine. If taken in large doses \- larger than almost anyone is likely to achieve through smoking \- it may induce severe nausea or vomiting. In small doses it may increase blood pressure, which can prove harmful, or in very rare cases, fatal to those with dangerous heart conditions. A number of recent studies have strongly linked nicotine itself to various cancers. This means that in addition to the cancer risks posed by tar through smoking, nicotine itself increases your chances of developing cancer. It also means that even those on nicotine patches and gums are raising their likelihood of getting cancer. This link is thought to be caused by a property of nicotine which retards your body's ability to slough off damaged cells, giving cancerous cells more time to develop. According to Poison/Toxicology by Jay Arena, the lethal dosage of nicotine for a 150 pound (68kg) male is 60mg. This is less than both arsenic and strychnine. American cigarettes contain approximately 9mg of nicotine each (compare with 19mg in a New Zealand cigarette), but after burning, only about 1mg enters the body over the course of smoking an entire cigarette. While this results in amounts well below the lethal dosage, over time this poison can weaken the immune system and cause fatigue and other minor maladies. Much more nicotine enters the body through chewing tobacco and many nicotine patches/gums than through smoking cigarettes; nicotine levels should be monitored when using these methods of disbursement. While gums and patches have maximum recommended doses, chewers of tobacco should be aware of how much nicotine they are sending directly to their blood stream. An average pinch of chew held in the cheek for half an hour provides as much nicotine as smoking three or four cigarettes. Nicotine is also a very potent insecticide, used as a natural alternative to chemical pest control substances. In most marketed forms it contains 40% pure nicotine sulfate, mixed with water and sprayed on to crops. When used in warm weather it provides optimal results, breaking down quickly to non\-toxic levels and allowing for wide\-spread use on food crops, even very close to harvest." Now here is the ID 10 T that started this crap However, I did find in my computer a > letter from Larry Caplan, county extension agent in > Indiana, on the subject: > "Master Gardeners > > I've tried to stay out of the Jerry Faker (er, > Baker) thread, because > the last time I weighed in on it on the Hort AGents > list, I found my > comments archived, and subject to review by every > Baker acolyte on the > 'net. For years, I'd get these out\-of\-the\-blue (and > sometimes vicious) > postings from his disciples. > > Calmly, and clearly, my problems with Mr. Baker are > that: > > 1. None of his concoctions (and many of his > cultural practices) have > been proven to be effective by University research. > That alone means > that we, as Extension people and Master Gardeners, > may not use his > materials and concoctions for our recommendations. > > May I remind you: as representatives of your > University, you MAY NOT > legally recommend any pesticide or cultural practice > unless it is > backed up by literature from your University. I > won't get into the > debate about whether practice A or mixture B works > \-\- if your > University does not recommend it, neither may you. > > 2. Some of his concoctions are dangerous. His > "tobacco tea" is simply > a way of extracting nicotine for use as an > insecticide. Nicotine's > LD\-50 is about 50 mg/kg, which makes it nearly as > toxic as strychnine > (LD\-50 of 30 mg/kg). To be spraying this over the > entire yard/garden, > as a general "tonic", without checking a) to see if > there are pests > present, and b) without checking to see if there are > beneficials > present, and c) without warnings to kids, barefoot > gardeners, and pets > that a highly toxic (though natural) product has > been sprayed \-\- all > of this is reckless. I wouldn't spray malathion > this recklessly. I > hope no one else would spray nicotine that > recklessly. > > 3. Some of his concoctions are (technically) > illegal. OK, class, what > are the 3 words we must all say when we recommend a > pesticide? READ > THE LABEL! Now, what does the label say for dish > detergent? Use it > for washing dishes. Where does it say which crops > it's safe for? > Where does it say how much to use for your crops, or > which pests it > will control? Where are the environmental cautions > for using it > outdoors? They don't exist, because the label > doesn't give you the > legal right to use it outdoors as a pesticide. > > Again, I won't get into the debate about whether it > works (although, > anecdotally, I've seen severe plant burn from > dishwashing detergent). > It isn't on the label, and the label is federal law. > YOU CAN NOT > RECOMMEND OR USE A PRODUCT CONTRARY TO ITS LABEL. > Period. > > Will you go to jail if you use dish detergent in > your garden? No, Big > Brother isn't watching us that closely. But, as a > Master Gardener, can > you get into trouble with your University for making > illegal > recommendations? You bet! Just imagine the > embarassment when a > gardener kills 40 tomato plants, following your > advice to use dish > detergent. You are sued, and so is your University. > Chances are, your > University will not cover you, because you violated > their directives > and recommended an off\-label use of a product. It's > happened, folks. > > 4. He's not a Master Gardener. No University > claims him, to my > knowledge. > > I've got a lot of other picky problems with his > recommendations, but I > won't bother with them here. I don't want to see > this debate continue > to rage. We have to face it: he's charismatic, > he's popular, and he > sells advertising space (or garners donations to > PBS). He's here to > stay, and we need to have FACTS at our finger tips > to discourage our > clientele from blindly following his advice. > > Does he have good points? Sure! He does get people > enthused about > gardening, and some of his recommendations are > actually beneficial to > our gardens. However, we need to examine specific > recommendations, and > refute them on a point by point basis. > > And please: we are all Master Gardeners (we are, > aren't we?) Let's > keep the discussion PLEASANT and COURTEOUS, please. > NO name calling, > no snide remarks. Just the facts, folks, just the > facts. > > \-\-Flame\-proof suit being zipped on \-\- > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > Larry Caplan, Extension Educator \-\- Horticulture > Purdue Univ. Cooperative Extension Service, > Vanderburgh Co. > \-\- Southwest Indiana, USDA Zone 6 > Certified Arborist \-\- International Society > of Arboriculture It appears that this character could not find the LD 50 of a cigerette or cigar or chewing tobacco or pipe tobacco and A_S_S_U_M_E_D that they had the same LD 50 as nicotine sulphate Common sense, If a Cigar or whatever had and LD 50 of 55 how many folks would have died with the second use. Nicotine sulphate was a man made substance with a nicotine level of 40% Lethal to humans, just a couple drops of this stuff on your skin would mean a trip to ER, BTDT.

I love Jerry Baker and all of his crazy tips and tonics! He gets that gardening is like life you have to try this and that and see what works best for you. If you need gardening and/or life to be an exact recipe for your happiness and success you need to go back to chemicals at the gardening store. In any event I'm looking to perk up my hibiscus out on the balcony. Does anyone have Jerry's recipe for houseplant tonic? Many thanks for sharing it if you do.

I'm Becky. I'm finding out that my behavior is not that of an addicts, but completely normal (at least here!) LOL! I started 29 different varieties of heirlooms - all from old seeds (2009-2012). All 29 varieties of tomato seeds germinated!!! Some with more success than others. Now I have 100+ seedlings taking over the living room, dining room and spare room. Its like Wild Kingdom in here! Of yeah, in the garden, I have room for 40 or so plants.