What is Milky Spore? It's an organic insecticide for natural pest control. Honestly, the buggies in Ar are so awful, that I sort of don't give a rip about being all natural, organic, blah blah blah, but other than the grubs, my soil is awesome and full of good organisms, too, and I don't want to load it with pesticides that will kill those off, so I'm going to try a more organic route. Milky Spore can be applied spring, summer and fall and doesn't harm earthworms, birds, bees, fish, other animals, or plants. It works by attacking the larvae stage of the Japanese beetle known as grubs. Once treated, the plant roots absorb the spores which these grubs then eat, ingesting a natural occurring bacterium known as Bacillus popilliae. The bacteria are lethal only to Japanese beetle grubs, and cause the grub to die. Its color changes to a milky white during the process, thus the name Milky Spore. These grubs then decay and release billions of bacteria spores back into the soil, restarting the entire process. Another cool thing I learned is that because of the way the spores multiply and cycle back into the soil, one treatment will continue working for 5, 10, even 20 years. Like.
I know. Since when do I care about being organic? I guess since I started putting so much work into having healthy dirt for my plants. If I load it with toxins, all that work is wasted. So we're going to try this approach, first. Either way, the grubs/beetles have GOT to go. The chicks are growing like crazy. Evey morning we wake up, and peek in on them in their little cage, and swear they grew an inch overnight. Every afternoon, when Reese gets home, we take them outside where they can roam freely and eat as many bugs from the yard as they wish. Last night, I found a tick on me. Bugs are gross. There is certainly no shortage of bugs in my backyard. I'm pretty sure we'll have some fat little hens very soon.
