By Melanie Stewart

Where does the water go when it comes out of the downspout?  What happens to the rain that lands on our patios, driveways and sidewalks?

Storm water runoff carries pollutants in the form of sediments, chemicals, oil and gasoline through the storm sewers directly into our waterways.  How can we stop it?  How can we use it?

About 0.3 inches of rainfall from the average home roof will fill a rain barrel.  The water can then be used for a variety of purposes: refill a water feature, water flowers, or water the garden with clean, soft, chlorine-free rain water.  They are not expensive, are not as hard to make as you may think, and you can find step-by-step instructions here.

Another option is to put in a rain garden.  Click here to get a free design guide, watch a video of a rain garden, and see an animation of one at work, all by the UNL Extension Office.  Rain gardens capture runoff from the roof, driveway, and other impervious surfaces in the landscape, filtering out pollutants as they replenish groundwater.  Rain gardens absorb runoff 30% – 40% more efficiently than a standard lawn, add beauty, and draw birds, butterflies and beneficial insects to your yard.  And who doesn’t want to mow less lawn?  If you have a large area to drain, you may want more than one rain garden to handle the runoff.  Not sure what to plant?  There’s a resource for that too; specifically designed for our climate.

Rain Gardens contain native plants that can withstand both wet feet and dry spells, with deep roots that increase the permeability of the soil. Once established, rain gardens only need some routine maintenance – removing weeds and watering occasionally if there is no rain.  And did I mention having less lawn to mow?

The next time it rains, take a look at how your home drains storm water, and see where you might want to put a rain garden.  It can be done inexpensively, following directions from the UNL Extension Office.  Be sure to locate utilities before you start to dig: log on to www.ne-diggers.com.

If these aren’t options for you now, you can follow these easy steps to help keep the water that is draining clean.  You and your family can attend World O Water; a free, educational event with lots of activities!

If you’ve spent any time outside in the past couple of weeks, you’ve likely seen numerous beetles flying about; they have metallic green bodies, coppery wings, and little white tufts of hair on the side.  They are Japanese beetles, and they are a force to be reckoned with.

They have been in the U.S. for almost 100 years, but are just now making their way to the Midwest, as winters haven’t been cold enough to control the larvae/grubs, which will damage lawns as they eat the roots.  They become adults in June and July and start eating—more than 300 species of plants.  You’ve probably noticed the damage on Linden trees—they start at the top and turn the leaves into brown lace.  Unlike many insects, they lay eggs in lawns daily for over a month, creating more larvae to eat the roots and more beetles to feast upon plants next year.

Your first instinct is probably to break out the pesticide but hold that thought. The only pesticides that work require special handling, cause damage to humans and the environment when improperly used, and also kill beneficial insects (including pollinators), and are unsafe for edible plants, pets, wildlife, and waterways.

So what can you do?

Get rid of the adults.

• Don’t use pheromone traps; while effective, they will attract more bugs to your yard, as Japanese Beetles can fly 5 miles(!) when motivated.
• Don’t smash or step on them, that also releases the pheromones and will attract more.
• Brush them off and drop them into water with just a bit of dish soap. They die, no muss no fuss, and you stop the damage from the adults now and the eggs they would lay in the future.

Control the grubs without hurting the beneficial insects you are working to attract:

• Apply milky spore. Grubs eat it, die, and release more spores which infect more grubs.  It takes 3-5 years to be effective, but provides the best longer-term solution as it becomes established in the soil.
• Apply parasitic nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) to your lawn to eat the larvae. They are effective if properly watered in and the ground kept moist.
• Apply Bacillus thuringiensis to specifically kill grubs.

• Use a product containing azadirachtin, the insecticidal ingredient found in neem oil. This concentrated spray is approved for organic use and best of all, it’s non-toxic to honey bees and many other beneficial insects.

• Attract birds. Robins, bluebirds, and others will eat the grubs.
• Don’t overwater, grubs do better when the ground is moist.
• Plant less grass. You decrease maintenance time and expense, and they have less to eat.