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Bug Away? No, Stayed to Play
My house has bugs. Especially crickets. They come out at night and on occasion make a nerve wracking noise. Once in a while I'll see one crawl across the floor. There are lots of crickets outside the house along with many other insects. They're perfectly welcome to live their lives outside.

I'm not particularly fond of pesticides although I have used them on occasion. So when my wife told me that a friend of a friend had successfully used an electrical device to drive away their crickets I said maybe we should give it a try.

I spent nearly $30 dollars on the little white box with the switch, blinking red light and electrical cord. I read the instructions and set up the bug away box in the kitchen where it wouldn't be noticed.

No more bugs, right? Not quite.

I spotted a cricket not more than a foot from the flashing red light of the drives bugs crazy box. Supposedly the little box made an annoying noise only insects could hear. If that were true then I had to assume the cricket I saw was deaf. Unfortunately the crickets are still around and the little red light continues to flash on the box saying the machine is working to rid my house of all the unwanted insects. I don't think so.

The best bug away is my cat. She stays up late at night prowling the floor of each room looking for any sign of movement. Then she'll pounce. You know she's been successful in her hunt when you hear the cricket crunch.

Time to Water
I've done it. It's nothing to be proud of but it happens. I've gotten careless and watered a plant or two into oblivion. I know better and usually I'll stick an index finger into the soil of a potted plant to make sure it feels dry before I add more water. Other times I won't water until I see the plant with slightly wilted leaves. That means somewhere along the line I forgot to water.

As I perused a garden product isle I spotted a moisture meter with about an 8-inch probe. One you stick the thing in a pot it gives you a reading in three different ranges: dry, moist and wet. I didn't think it could get much simpler than that so I gave it a try. I must admit the moisture meter worked but for me it's still a lot easier to poke an index finger into the soil.

Inexpensive moisture meters tells you whether your potted plants' soil is wet, moist or dry. A well tuned index finger can tell you the same thing except it's a little shorter than the moisture meter.

More Observant Than Usual
About two years ago I spotted a moth under the front porch light. There were lots of moths fluttering around but one caught my attention because of its reddish color and southwest markings. As a Tucson native it surprised me that I hadn't seen the moth and taken notice of it years before.

Since that first sighting I've seen three more of the moths except they were quite a bit smaller than the first one. When I see one, I think of southwest native American art because of the color and lines.

Curious as to the moth's identification I went to the world wide web in search of a site for moths. Surprisingly there is a Web site put out through the University of Arizona called Moths of Southeastern Arizona where you can find an awful lot of pictures of moths. I perused quite a few images but never did find my moth so I sent an e-mail to the site's owner along with the photo below and a plea for help. Seems like my southwestern beauty is a Pyralid. Unfortunately there are some 1,375 species of Pyralids in Canada and the United States and that's as close as an identification as I got.

The color of the moth in this picture isn't as red as in real life. With its coloring and lines this is truly a southwest looking insect.

If any of you desert gardeners are familiar with the pretty creature below I'd sure like to know a bit more about it. Pyralids are also considered snout or grass moths so I'd like to learn what it dines on in its juvenile stage. (2000)