By Bev Johnson

Master Gardener

How to kill a cat.

Bunkey just got his first cat.  On his well kitten appointment with the vet, he got a list of things that are dangerous to cats. One thing he hadn’t thought of was how dangerous some plants can be to his new baby. Here are a few things his vet told him.                    

Never bring a lily into the house. All parts of a lily plant are toxic to a cat. Just nibbing a leaf can cause kidney failure and death in 24 to 48 hours. Aloe, the windowsill, burn relieving plant, can cause severe irritation of the mouth, throat and digestive tract, at the least and convulsions and death for a susceptible cat. Everyone knows you should not let kids snack on Dieffenbachia leaves because of the nickname, dumb cane. 

The calcium oxalate crystals in the leaves can cause drooling, swelling of the tongue and even kidney damage to a cat. The symptoms for a child aren’t quite so severe but he will probably drool and spit a lot. Heavenly Bamboo or Nandia produces cyanide, a deadly poison. Let a cat eat this and she will have seizures, go into a coma, respiratory failure and soon after, death. 

Small children like to put everything in their mouths. That being the case, if you have a “rug rat” in your house you may want to remove these plants, or at least keep them out of the child’s reach. Peace lily, English ivy, philodendron, Ficus, Christmas or Jerusalem cherry, rubber tree and pencil cactus AKA milkbrush, all can cause harm to a child.

Even outside plants and shrubs can be dangerous for people of any age to ingest. The seeds from Datura and Castor bean can kill a person as can the sap from an Oleander. People have died from using an Oleander branch to toast marshmallows over a fire. Raw elderberries contain cyan as do the flowers of Hydrangea. If you plant Rosary Pea with the plan to make a rosary from them, be sure to wear rubber gloves when you are piercing them. One pea ingested can kill you and the sap released when you are piercing them can make you very ill. All parts of Christmas rose, and foxglove are deadly. Don’t snack on Bleeding heart, larkspur, Delphinium, the seeds of lily of the valley or Lobelia. Now that you are properly afraid of your plants, happy gardening.

Now about bats. They eat a tremendous number of mosquitoes. That being said, they are not the best houseguests. There are sometimes you don’t want to remove them from your attic. If you turn them out in the winter, they will die, and the mosquitoes will flourish next spring.  

If it is a nursing colony, removing the adults will result in dead baby bats. They stink and the little corpses are hard to get rid of. It takes about 5 weeks before they can fend for themselves. Besides, Mother bats are quite stubborn while nursing and won’t leave their nest.  Mothballs, garlic, lights or noise just won’t do the trick. The nursing season in the U.S. and Canada is from the first of May to the end of August.

It is difficult for most homeowners to find all the little holes the bats are using for freeways into your house. Go into the area with a flashlight at night and see if a person outside can see the light through a hole. The problem with this is the bat feces. It’s not the best thing to inhale. And you probably won’t find all the holes. Spend a little cash and just call the bat guy.