Garden Detective

There was a mouse in my house last week, I was sure of it.

What tipped me off? A paper-wrapped tin of cookies in a cabinet in the laundry room was mysteriously becoming unwrapped. All by itself. Little by little, every day more paper torn off.

And then there were the telltale droppings, reminiscent of caraway seeds. Rye bread is forever ruined for me. I needed to get him out.

I hesitated when it became apparent I should buy a trap. He was a mouse, and probably very cute. I have a soft spot for cute furry things, but I tired of Cloroxing the cabinet every day, and frankly, the task was pretty gross. Plus, mice are rodents, and rodents carry disease.

We had some glue traps in the basement, left over from last year's cricket crisis, but I'd heard horror stories. Stories about mice chewing their own legs off to break free from those sticky sheets. No. It would have to be quick and relatively merciful. So I purchased two old-fashioned snap traps and baited them with yellow American cheese. Snapped my own finger in the process.

The next morning, I ran downstairs and braced myself as I inched open the cabinet. No mouse. No cheese. No cheese? He had managed to grab the cheese out of two traps without getting caught. Hmmm.

After giving it some thought, I figured the cheese was too easy to snatch. That night, I tried cream cheese and peanut butter, smearing each into its own trap so that the lifting wouldn't be possible. He'd have to linger, and that would ensure his demise. I headed upstairs, but first I got out the Clorox and the paper towels and cleaned up the mess he'd left behind.

The next morning, I approached the cabinet, filled half with dread and half with anticipation. Slowly, I opened the cabinet. No mouse. No cream cheese. No peanut butter.

I'm not kidding. That rodent had managed to lick clean two traps without setting them off. He was diabolical. And brilliant.

After Cloroxing the cabinet, I reached for the glue traps. I felt bad. I hoped he wouldn't suffer. But there was a mouse in my house and he was leaving his diseased rodent droppings in my food cabinet. And probably laughing at me. I was beginning to feel like Elmer Fudd, and for the first time in my life, I understood him.

Reluctantly, I peeled the backing off the super stickly traps and laid two in the cabinet, right next to the tin of cookies. He'd have to walk on the traps if he wanted to do any more unwrapping.

In the morning, I opened the cabinet and there was no mouse. But there was plenty of mouse fur stuck to the glue trap. And quite a few droppings scattered about. He'd gotten stuck and he'd freed himself. This was an impressive mouse!

Certain that the traps used earlier had been defective, I threw them away and purchased two more, baiting them the same way -- with peanut butter and cream cheese -- for the next two nights. Licked clean both times.

Then Saturday night, my daughter Julia and her friend baked some browines after dinner. I set the hot pan on top of the stove to cool. John, who had been in the basement, came upstairs and whispered to me that we'd have to throw away the brownies. He said that when he came up the stairs, which lead into the kitchen, the mouse was standing in the pan, nibbling on the cooling brownies. It ran behind the stove when it saw him.

That's probably the most disgusting thing I'd ever heard. I still don't know how he made it upstairs and on top of the range. I Cloroxed the stove and threw out the entire batch of brownies, except for two pea-sized crumbs, which I placed in each of the traps in the basement cabinet.

The brownies did him in within an hour. And, yes, he was cute.

Gardening 101: More How-Tos

Sure, you can douse your plants with chemicals. But your wallet -- and the environment -- may suffer. And if we're talking about edibles, so might your health. Most plants produce their own chemicals to fend off insects and disease, and if you familiarize yourself with them, you can strategically use them to your advantage.

Click photo for a slide show of insect-repelling plants:

Click photo to see the plants

Here are 20 plants that deter pests:

Basil: Repels aphids, flies, mosquitoes and mites; also has fungicidal properties. Plant around tomatoes to repel hornworms.

Borage: Repels tomato worms.

Catnip: Repels ants, fleas, mosquitoes.

Chamomile: Repels cabbage moths.

Chives: Plant around roses and lettuce to repel aphids.

Feverfew: Repels moths.

Lavender: Repels slugs.

Marigolds: Pests find their scent repulsive, so plant them throughout your vegetable garden. French and African varieties eliminate nematodes from the soil.

Mint: Repels aphids, cabbage moths and cabbage worms. Plant in containers, though, or it will take over your garden.

Nasturtium: Repels aphids and whiteflies. Plant around fruit trees, cucumbers and squash.

Onion: Repels ants.

Oregano: Repels cucumber beetle.

Pennyroyal: Repels ants.

Petunia: Repels aphids, leafhoppers, Mexican bean beetles.

Radish: Plant around cucumbers and squash to trap beetles.

Rosemary: Deters cabbage moth, bean beetles and carrot fly.

Rue: Repels Japanese beetles, flies, fleas and ants. Keep away from basil, though, because neither will grow if planted together. (Also repels cats and keeps them out of your garden.)

Tansy: Repels ants.

Thyme: Deters cabbage worms and slugs.

Tomatoes: Plant around asparagus to repel asparagus beetles.

Click photo for a step-by-step slide show:

It's easy: Click photo for instructions

Ewww. Aphids.

Here are some common pests that can interfere with happy tomato gardening endeavors, along with the best ways to deal with them.

Aphids

Wash aphids off with as hard a stream of water as the leaves and stem can handle. If you need to pull out the big guns, order up some lady bugs. They'll keep aphids in check.

Colorado potato beetle

These are best picked off by hand. Squash beetles, eggs and larvae.

Cutworms

Keep weeds in check to discourage their presence. Use cardboard collars around new transplants to protect their vulnerable lower stems.

Flea beetles

Row covers will protect transplants, but need to be removed before temperatures get too hot. Keep the bed clear of weeds to reduce populations.

Tomato hornworms

Usually kept in check by natural enemies, but if you hand pick larvae you'll nip them in the bud, so to speak.

Whiteflies

Your best defense against whiteflies is a good offense. Carefully check plants for infestation before purchasing.

This cool shot of a ladybug hanging out with dew drops is from the AP.

Coccinella septempunctata, or ladybird beetles, are one of the few insects that aren't considered creepy by most people, kids included. Maybe fireflies, too, but that's it. Somehow, most people wouldn't think twice about squishing a spider in their home, but they'll gently carry a lady beetle outdoors to safety. Maybe it's because they're cute. They don't bite or sting, but neither do cicadas and they gross out a lot of people.

Ladybird beetles, affectionately referred to as ladybugs (though they can be either male or female), generally appear in large numbers in the fall, on light-colored and illuminated objects. They seem to prefer southwestern-facing objects and might make their way into homes through cracks and windows. They hibernate indoors until the spring, so you might be seeing some in your house right now. Those likely haven't been able to find their way outdoors.

If you find any, put them out in your garden, where they'll dine on aphids, mealy bugs, mites and scale insects, serving as a natural and very effective means of pest control. By design, ladybugs lay their eggs as close as possible to the nearest aphid colony, ensuring a steady supply of food for their predatory young and happy plants for you.

Have a aphid problem? You can purchase ladybugs at some garden supply shops, by catalog and online. I found a pack of 900 for $13.95 at Gardens Alive! (the exlamation point is part of their name.) From the website: "One package of about 900 Sta-Home adults will produce more than 10,000 pest-eating larvae in your garden within 30 days! We ship at the proper time for your area or on the date you specify."

However, if you get a crazy big swarm of them in your house come fall, like a friend of mine did for no apparent reason aside from they probably were looking for a warm place to stay, you might have no choice other than to vacuum them up. Be sure to empty the bag immediately, because when they're stressed out they release a nasty-smelling substance that will be nearly impossible to eradicate. Best to do this outdoors.

Photo by Bill Davis

Ever notice how most years, you only see a few cicadas. And you don't hear them chirping all that much? And then other years you find their discarded exoskeletons on everything from gas grills and swing sets to front doors and mailboxes? Ever notice how those are the years when it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock movie outside your window every night around, say, Memorial Day?

That's because after cicadas lay their eggs, their offspring take 17 years to mature and emerge from their underground homes. Once they finally see the light of day, the males chirp their mating calls like crazy, do the nasty and die within weeks, leaving behind another batch of buried eggs that will make its presence known 17 years from now.

This brood -- Brood XVI -- is a really big one. It's expected to emerge in 13 states along the east coast, New York among them.

Though they look like scary, nasty, prehistoric beings out for blood, cicadas are completely harmless. They look like they'd bite or sting, but they do neither.

The problem is that because of their sheer numbers, sometimes in the millions, they can wreak havoc on trees and shrubs, kinda like locusts. If you just planted any young trees, you might want to protect them with some netting until around July 4.

Personally, I'm going to enjoy them while I can. They won't be back until 2025.

Map of anticipated cicada activity

Read more: Complete cicada coverage from Newsday.