Gardening: Pick Your Poison
I think I may have confused some people. I’m not an expert at anything, much less gardening.
My only interest in writing this column was to get people interested in gardening, especially growing their own food. Hopefully, some of you can learn from my mistakes and successes along the way.
A long time ago I spent a lot of money on a philosophy degree. Don’t get me wrong, I probably couldn’t have gotten a writing job without it. But I’m not sure if I learned anything more profound than what I could have read in a $2 used paperback copy of Plato’s Apology. In it Socrates gives us the secret to knowledge: the wise man only knows that he doesn’t really know anything; whereas the fool thinks he knows everything, but he, too, knows nothing.
Last week I wrote about bad bugs and good bugs. One reader took issue with my comments on kissing bugs. I don’t really consider them a pest in the garden. However, as this reader pointed out, they can be a serious pest for humans and pets.
Like I said, I don’t really know anything. So I’ll let the Aggies handle this one.
According to Texas A&M University, about 55 percent of kissing bugs are infected with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disaese. The reader who wrote me last week said he lost a pet dog to the disease and said he knew of several other people in Fayette County who have lost dogs to Chagas.
Kissing bugs feed on blood. They do not attach to their prey like ticks, and their bites do not usually cause much pain. They can take several minutes to take a full meal.
According to A&M: “Chagas disease has two stages; the first stage is called the ‘acute phase’ and the second stage is called the ‘chronic phase’. After the T. cruzi parasite enters the body, the acute phase can last for a few weeks or months. During the acute phase, some people experience symptoms like fever, tiredness, body aches, headache, rash, diarrhea, loss of appetite, or vomiting. Some people do not notice any symptoms during the acute phase. This can make it difficult to diagnose for Chagas disease.
“After the T. cruzi parasite enters the body, about 1 out of 3 people develop the chronic phase of Chagas disease. The chronic phase can take many years to develop — some people have the chronic phase for decades after the parasite enters their body. In the chronic phase, people may experience heart problems or other symptoms.”
Chagas disease can affect wild animals such as raccoons, coyotes, opossums and other mammals, Kissing bugs transmit the T. cruzi parasite from the animals to humans and their pets.
Researchers at A&M say the Chagas parasite can cause heart disease in canines in addition to stomach issues and sudden death. There is no vaccine that protects against Chagas.
A&M gives the following advice for avoiding Chagas disease:
• Secure your house to keep kissing bugs from sneaking in. Plug any gaps around doors and baseboards, and fix any holes in window screens. Don’t leave windows or doors open without screens.
• Keep the area under and around your house neat. Remove wild animal nests, piles of branches and wood, and trash so that wild animals stay away from your house. Wild animals can carry the parasite and also be blood sources for kissing bugs.
• Turn off outside lights at night if safe. Kissing bugs might fly towards lights and then crawl into a house. Keeping the lights off can keep the kissing bugs from coming near.
• Work with an extension agent or a pest control company to discuss integrated pest management (IPM) strategies.
You regular readers know that I am not a fan of using non-organic pesticides. On the other hand, Chagas can be a serious disease. Pick your poison.
In the garden
My new favorite varieties of hot peppers are Sugar Rush Red and Lemon Drop. I’m growing both for the first time this year. Both are of the species Capsicum bacattum, known as Aji peppers in South America, from what I understand. Both possess a unique, tropical fruitiness unlike any pepper I’ve ever tasted.
As the name implies, Lemon Drop tastes more lemony. Sugar Rush Red tastes almost peachy in my estimation.
The plants get huge. Mine are three feet tall and have flopped over because I didn’t know I needed to cage them. They also produce abundantly. I’m harvesting dozens of these peppers from just six plants almost every time I walk to the garden.