Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romero’s radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona.
Q: I have some beautiful bougainvillea bushes in my yard that have gotten to be about 9 feet tall. They started to flower, and then little black bugs were all over on the ground underneath them; soon there were green caterpillars everywhere, too. I thought I’d try some pesticides; so I hosed them down thoroughly. But a week later, all the flowers fell off the plants. Was it the pesticide that did it? And what will happen to my plants now?
A: Yes, it could have been the pesticide, but your bougainvilleas will bounce back. They’re one of the toughest plants that we’ve got in Arizona. If you want to use a spray on the bugs, try something biologic that disrupts the digestive system of the caterpillars without harming the plants. And don’t worry, your flowers will bloom again.
Q: I planted an ash tree in my yard and it got really big, but it is now driving my neighbor and me crazy with all the seeds that it produces. How can I control this mess?
A: That’s the problem with a lot of trees that homeowners plant because they are varieties that will grow tall very quickly. The fastest growers are often the trees that are the biggest litter producers. About all you can do now is take that tree out and replace it with another tree that’s less intrusive.
Q: I’ve been having a lot of trouble lately with desert pack rats making nests under my car and chewing on the wires in the engine. I’ve tried some home remedies like putting mothballs in cheesecloth patches around the area, but they just chew up the cheesecloth and leave the mothballs behind. How can I stop this problem?
A: Your basic problem is that the numbers of pack rats may have increased in your neighborhood, and now they’re looking for new territory where they can build their homes. If you’re parking your cars outside and don’t have a garage, you should keep moving the car every day and park in new places. You can also try putting some landscape lighting in the area near the cars. Those lights may keep those rats away because they like to nest in places where they’re not noticed. You can also try putting a light under the hood of the car at night. But if all that fails, you probably have to have an exterminator work on reducing the population of desert rats by trapping them and removing them from your property.
Q: I’m growing green chile plants in my backyard garden, because I like cooking with New Mexican style chiles and jalapenos. The peppers never seem to get very big, and they absolutely shrivel up when they’re small. Some of them turn red too quickly. What can I do to improve their performance?
A: All those problems are basically the result of the summer heat as well as the multiplying of insects that may be eating the chiles. If you can be patient and keep your plants going in the summer, they will start producing beautiful, big chiles in the fall. The only things that seem to grow well in intense summer heat in backyard gardens are okra, eggplant and Malabar spinach.
