Grist | Topics | 13 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 13 of 13
Headline	Author	Published	Section
Super Pupa On tent caterpillars	Umbra Fisk	19 May 2008	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, In beautiful Virginia, this is the time of year that the caterpillars start making their "tents" in branches of shrubbery and trees in our yards. Conventional wisdom has been to destroy them, as they will surely eat the leaves inside the tent, causing some damage to the infected tree/shrub. So I have two questions: First, are these "tent worms" (which are really caterpillars) a stage of a butterfly or a mot ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, gardening, green living, wildlife (all these topics)

Kitty Twister On cats and birds	Umbra Fisk	07 Nov 2007	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I have three cats, and live in a close-in suburb of Boston. I love the cats dearly, and let them outside during the day to wander about, and generally not have to live an indoor, sedentary, boring life. My question concerns their hunting instincts: I haven't had any luck with any particular way of preventing them from killing birds, mice, etc. I worry most about the birds, having read repeatedly that the millions of pet cats w ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, wildlife (all these topics)

A Better Mousetrap On live trapping	Umbra Fisk	03 Oct 2007	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, My wife and I live in a small town in Massachusetts, where I recently volunteered to head up an effort to certify our Unitarian Universalist congregation as a Green Sanctuary, an official recognition of our environmental stewardship. In discussing potential remedies for a mouse problem with a fellow congregation member, I recounted how I recently trapped four mice in our home and transported them gingerly to fields and par ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, wildlife (all these topics)

More Words on Birds On attracting wildlife	Umbra Fisk	27 Aug 2007	Ask Umbra
Hi Umbra, I agree with your analysis of bird feeders, and would like to share a win-win solution. I have a huge variety of birds that visit my yard year-round. Instead of bird feeders, I have planted an abundance of native plants, including trees, bushes, and groundcover plants that provide berries, seeds, nesting material, and shelter throughout the year. In addition, I use organic gardening methods, and spread worm castings f ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, wildlife (all these topics)

Take Me To Your Seeder On feeding birds	Umbra Fisk	30 Jul 2007	Ask Umbra
Dearest Umbra, Every winter I take pleasure in putting out birdseed to feed the backyard wildlife. I purchase the easily available, run-of-the-mill, found-at-my-local-hardware-store type of seed. My question is, in the big picture ... am I doing more harm than good? If the feed I am using is grown conventionally, am I doing a greater harm to the ecosystem as a whole? Or, on balance, is it better to provide free nosh to the locals? ...
Topics: advice, agriculture, Ask Umbra, industrial ag, wildlife (all these topics)

The Roach Approach On battling cockroaches	Umbra Fisk	23 Oct 2006	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, Help! I'm having a mysterious cockroach problem. I found four in my apartment in two weeks, and not in the expected places: one in a stack of papers (I know, I should pay my bills faster), one near my vitamin bottles, one nowhere near water in my bathroom, and, the worst one, crawling along the arm of my couch (while I was sitting on the couch). I don't like to spray them with chemicals, but these things freak me ou ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, wildlife (all these topics)

And I Weed You Now Tonight On herbicides and lawns	Umbra Fisk	03 May 2006	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, My husband just spread some very toxic weed-killer on our lawn, and I told him there must be a safer way to get rid of weeds. Our children and pets were not allowed on the lawn for 24 hours. We have a well and septic system, and I was wondering if that stuff would seep into our water supply. I also worried about the birds and other wildlife that visit our yard. Thanks for any help you can offer. Doreen Yor ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, toxics, wildlife (all these topics)

The 'Cide House Rules On herbicides	Umbra Fisk	01 May 2006	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, How do herbicides (organic, if such exist, or non-organic) work? David Burch South Bend, Ind. Dearest David, Herbicides are considered a subcategory of pesticides, for all you confused by my last pesticide comments. Herbicides kill plants with a vast array of ingenious torture and maiming techniques. (Maiming a plant isn't quite like maiming an animal: plants can grow back broken limbs, and it's hard to deny a plant its ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, toxics, wildlife (all these topics)

Flarey Bird On birds bursting into flames	Umbra Fisk	11 Nov 2004	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I saw the following on the CNN website. Can this possibly be true? I see birds hit, land on, peck at, and poop on power lines all the time, but I've never seen one burst into flames. LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Weather forecasters predicted little relief Monday for firefighters battling wildfires that have scorched thousands of acres and forced hundreds of people to leave their homes in California. Firefighte ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, wildlife (all these topics)

Yes, Deer On deer hunting	Umbra Fisk	25 Sep 2003	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, My husband kills deer every fall for the "sport" of it. I'm completely disgusted with him and we have bitter arguments. His justification for killing deer is that they will starve over the cold winter and that he is thinning the population so more will survive. My argument is that nature will do the job on its own and that he is killing the largest, healthiest deer who have a chance to survive and that it's the old and wea ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, wildlife (all these topics)

Rat Combat On keeping compost rat-free	Umbra Fisk	30 Apr 2003	Ask Umbra
Hi Umbra, I live in Providence, R.I., and I have a basic composting bin; it's about three feet tall, made of black plastic with ventilation shafts on all four sides and on top, but it has no bottom. I want to set this up in my tiny side yard for my neighbors and me to use. However, we have a big rat problem here and I am afraid all this delicious, rotting food will attract them. Is there any way to keep a rat-free compost bin in a ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, gardening, green living, wildlife (all these topics)

Mosquito Veto On mosquitoes	Umbra Fisk	12 Feb 2003	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, Our 50-gallon hot water tank has been converted to a rainwater catchment. Due to the open space around the gutter that feeds rainwater into the tank, it is difficult to seal off the catchment to prevent entry and exit of mosquitoes, and they just love to use the catchment to breed. Can I use something natural to discourage them? Rebecca Dearest Rebecca, The eager Culicidae family, like their fellow insects and some of the rest of ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, green living, wildlife (all these topics)

Murders on the Rise On crows	Umbra Fisk	31 Oct 2002	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, Is there a national increase in the crow population, or am I just noticing them more as I age? Jim La Jolla, Calif. Dearest Jim, Probably both. I'll wager that you have become more observant as the years pass, but it's also the case that, according to various bird counts and surveys, the American crow population is indeed expanding -- although not in all parts of the country. Industrial agriculture provides little friendly habit ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, wildlife (all these topics)

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