Tag Archives: gardening

Wine bottle drip irrigator

Instructions for making a drip irrigator out of a wine bottle. In case you’re bored out of your mind during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Wine bottle drip irrigator

Instructions

  1. Cut the bottom off the bottle. The above shows a 750-mL bottle but a 1.5-L works, too. I own a Creator’s bottle cutter kit (it’s fantastic) but there are videos showing other techniques.
  2. Drill a hole through the cork to accommodate 1/4″ tubing.
  3. Cut a length of 1/4″ drip irrigation tubing so that it is 1/2″ longer than the cork. Put a small piece of tape over the opening of one end.
  4. Put a few drops of outdoor glue into the hole. Gorilla Glue is nice because it tends to expand, filling gaps in the cork.
  5. Insert the taped-up end of tubing into hole, pushing until untaped part is flush. Take off tape (that was there to make sure it didn’t get filled with glue).
  6. Once glue is dry, insert cork into bottle so that the 1/2″ overhang is sticking out.
  7. Attach an adjustable valve to the tubing.
  8. Attach a 12″ (or so) length of 1/4″ tubing to the valve.
  9. Attach bottle to a 36″ stake (1×1″ wood, 1/2″ bamboo, or plastic-coated metal) using wire. Make it extremely snug so that when filled with water it won’t drift down.
  10. Crumple up some tulle (or flexible screening) to form a filter plug near cork. Tamp down using a long rod. This prevents hole and valve from clogging.
  11. Attach tulle (or flexible screening) to top with two rubbers bands. One rubber band is fine but the second is backup in case sunlight degrades one. The screening keeps out debris, but also prevents mosquitoes from ovipositing when valve is closed (and bottle is filled).

Here are some closeups:

Once done, situate the irrigator in your garden so that you can easily see the drip and adjust the valve without fighting foliage or stooping. This is why the instructions above call for a short length of tubing rather than something that fully extends into the soil near the plant (where you couldn’t see it). Evaporation from a falling drop of water is probably non-zero but I think the ability to see the drip rate is worth it.

When you water drop by drop, slowly, the soil has time to fully absorb the moisture. Drip irrigated plants thus need far less water, sometimes dramatically less. Another benefit is that water isn’t constantly splashed onto leaves, something that can distribute as well as activate pathogens. Some plants simply don’t like wet leaves (don’t judge). And many plants (such as tomatoes) also benefit from being constantly hydrated, something that is hard to accomplish with normal irrigation. Finally, plants tend to take up fertilizer better when it is slowly delivered.

Identifying mantid egg cases in Pennsylvania

Below are photographs and descriptions of egg cases of the (native) Carolina mantis, the European (=praying) mantis, the Chinese mantis, and the narrow-winged mantis.

Carolina mantid (Stagmomantis carolina)

Carolina mantids (the only native species in my area) form relatively smooth, teardrop-shaped oothecae with a central portion that is lightly colored. Often found on tree trunks, rocks, and buildings.

Egg case of Carolina mantid (Stagmomantis carolina)

European mantis (Mantis religiosa)

These oothecae are somewhat similar to the Carolina mantis’ but lack the alternating bands of color. Another common name for the European mantis is the praying mantis.

Egg case of European mantis (Mantis religiosa)

Chinese mantid (Tenodera sinensis)

Chinese mantid oothecae are typically roundish, roughly textured, and uniform in color. Introduced from Asia, as you probably guessed.

Egg case of Chinese mantid (Tenodera sinensis)

Narrow-winged mantid (Tenodera angustipennis)

Narrow-winged mantid oothecae are usually rather elongate. They are also seem to have red streaks, though the color seems to be most noticeable after they age a few months. Introduced from Asia, too.

Egg case of narrow-winged mantid (Tenodera angustipennis)

More ID help

For an excellent overview of all of these species, please see the Cape May Wildlife Guide’s page on mantids. Please also see the excellent guide by Paweł Pieluszyński of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, especially because it includes an ootheca of the Asian jumping mantis (Statilia maculata) that is probably lurking undiscovered in Pennsylvania. If you need help identifying an ootheca, I highly recommend posting a photograph on iNaturalist. Not only will you get an answer from the iNaturalist community within a day or two, your submission helps scientists track the spread of invasive species.

What should you do with the non-native oothecae?

Invasive mantids eat butterflies, native bees, honey bees, small birds, and also the native mantid, so when you find egg cases, dispose of them. Here are some suggestions on how to do that:

  • Put them in a freezer for a week
  • Step on them
  • Give them to a neighbor who has chickens
  • Give them to local bird rehabilitation centers
  • Give them to a neighbor who has a pet tarantula, snake, lizard, or fish

Whatever you do, please not just relocate oothecae to some nearby field — that just transfers the problem to someplace where you can’t see the problem.

But aren’t mantids great for pest control?

Although it’s true that young mantids consume a lot of insects, some of which might be pests, when mantids are fully grown they tend to camp out on flowers and wait for large butterflies and even small birds. Mantids are, of course, excellent for controlling butterflies and hummingbirds in case you happen to hate those animals.

Monarch butterfly captured by a Chinese mantid (Tenodera sinensi
Monarch butterfly captured by a Chinese mantid (Tenodera sinensis).