Bryan Star

I have a very good tolerance for insects, bugs and critters in and around my house, orchard, and garden and I often point out the predatory wasps flying around and appreciate their job eating whatever it is they eat. This is something different, and on the level of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I thought a similar thing about cicadas, but I have not seen any evidence of those for years and have only had these wasps show up as recently as last year. If these things were eating Japanese Beetles that would be a different story, but I have yet to find a good natural solution to those either and they do great damage to my trees.

The ability to store the dog in an enclosed area is part of our agreement, and I completely understand the objection to the infestation as it stands. I absolutely hate considering more drastic solutions, but it may be what needs to be done.

I have a huge infestation of Cicada Killers. They are a fascinating creature and surprisingly unthreatening, but they are in the front and back yard of a house with a tenant whose dog uses the yard and freaks out in their presence, and I have small children that play in the area. I have tried a few spot treatments and it is hard to tell if I am making a dent in the population. I put out over 100 flags today marking the entry holes. The property has my food forest / orchard on site and they are on the edge on one side and intermingling a few trees and raspberries at the back.

These guys popped up last year at this time (as they do) when the previous tenants were moving out so it wasn't noticed but they have multiplied considerably this year, and I would like to keep them from further spreading into the orchard where treatment will more greatly impact the trees.

I would love to find a more natural treatment, and I understand these things can be beneficial, but the balance is WAY out of order and it is truly and infestation. I have read plenty of things on what treats them, but I am hoping to hear a personal success story or alternative way of dealing with them around food producing plants.

Here are some better pictures. I am ready to start pulling this stuff back to open up space, but I want to know if any is worth keeping around or beneficial.

I noticed the blurriness when I got them on the big screen. I took them at dusk, so I will get some better close ups tomorrow and follow up. Thanks for the responses!

The last one had hairy stems which it says poison hemlock does not have.

Is the wild geranium a good ground cover between things? Clear it away from seed starts to keep competition down? Is it worth transplanting for ground covers elsewhere?

I have been tied up finishing a house construction project all winter and never got around to preparing beds and adding compost before it got overrun. I can tell the things like the parsley, lemon balm and onions growing up from previous planting, but most of what I intentionally planted here last year were annuals. I am looking to get a summer crop going again and need help identifying what I should keep and what I should keep in check/eliminate.