CHAPTER 11 - The Best Control 2

Oregano also contains four anti-asthmatic compounds; six compounds that are expectorants; seven that lowerblood pressure; nineteen antibacterial compounds and up to 8.8 percent bactericidal compounds. Loaded withantiseptic compounds, oregano is useful in treating sinusitis; try a tea and inhale as you drink. Make a tea byusing one to two teaspoons of dried oregano per cup of boiling water.According to Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs, Oregano helps reduce fevers andrelieve cramps, bronchitis, childhood diseases such as measles and mumps, and irregular menstruations. Makethis tea: bring a pint of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add one teaspoon of Oregano. Stir well, coverand let steep for about half an hour. Strain and it can be refrigerated. Warming only slightly that amount to beconsumed, one cup two to three times daily.Willpower - The opposite of willpower is addiction.Windex ® - kills insects/arachnids quickly, but do a Google search on Windex and danger.Winter Rye - Sow winter rye in the fall, using about 1 pound per 500 square feet. When the rye grows 3 feettall, cut it off at the grouind level and cover the rye grass with cardboard and then cover the cardboard with 1inch of mulch. In several months the rye grass and cardboard should be composted enough to till and plant.Wireworm Spray - Crush wireworms and add some water to make a bug-juice liquid. Strain and spray onaffected crops.Wireworm Traps - Cut fresh potatoes in half and cut out the eyes. Poke a stick into each piece of potato touse as a handle. Early in the season, bury the traps 4-6” deep in the garden or flower bed, before the seedsor tubers are planted, to attract wireworms. Every day, pull out the potatoes, using the sticks as handles, andshake off the wireworms into a bucket of soapy water. Reuse the same potato for a while, then replace with anew one. Use one trap for each square yard of soil.Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) - will quickly reduce the pain from any insect bite.Wolfsbane or Scorpion Plant (Aconitum anthora) - About 300 B.C.E. Theophratus in Book 9 of his Enquiryinto Plants noted this plant kills scorpions if it is shredded over them.Wood Ashes - Sprinkle over bushes and plants - they are caustic and will dehydrate and/or suffocate aphids.Rinse off after a day. Make an application of wood ashes around the base of newly set plants to control maggots,red spiders, aphids and cutworms and to help repel rabbits and deer. A barrier a few inches deep will keep snailsand slugs away. Put the ashes in a box where they will stay dry and poultry can flutter in the ashes to get rid ofparasites. Ashes on ice will provide traction.Wood Fern, Shield Fern (Dryopteris felix-mas) - The powdered rhizome is toxic to armyworms.Wood Pallets - Remove them; they can be a source of wood destroying insects and a source of psocids whenthey become wet.Woodpeckers - will eat coddling moth larvae and other pests. Hang shiny strips of aluminum foil or aluminumpans where you want to repel woodpeckers.Woods - Wherever there are woods there will always be a higher water table. Wood also provide birds andbeneficial habitatWool - Loosely wadded sheep wool tied around a stem of a plant will keep leaf cutter ants from crossing over.Wool has also been used as a mulch. The natural lanolin in wool repels dust mites.Work - Anothr four-letter word. Don’t just talk the talk; you must walk the walk.Wormseed; Jerusalem Tea (Chenopodium ambrosioides) - Some parts are toxic as extracts or dusts onseveral species of leaf-eating larvae.476