Q: I have trouble with ants in my hummingbird feeders, which hang from my back porch eaves. Do you have any ideas on how to solve my problem?

Tom Dee, e-mail

WALTER REEVES / Special (ENLARGE)
An ant moat for a hummingbird feeder is easy to make from the top of a spray-paint can.
WALTER REEVES WEEKEND GARDENER Walter Reeves is a TV and radio gardening show host and former DeKalb Extension agent. Listen to Reeves Saturdays on WSB-AM (750) from 6 to 10 a.m. Call 404-872-0750 to ask questions about lawns, gardens or pests or e-mail georgiagardener@yahoo.com Sign up for his free garden newsletter at www.walterreeves.com. EXTRA: • Walter Reeves' Fertilizer Calendar [an error occurred while processing this directive] • Complete list of Reeves columns

A: You need an ant moat. You can buy one from hardware stores or from Internet bird-supply outfits, but you can also make one yourself. Get a cap from a spray paint can (the cap should have an "inner ring" and an "outer ring" inside it). Poke a hole in the center of the cap and thread some coat hanger wire through. Make a hook at both ends of the heavy wire. Turn the cap so it is upside down, exposing the rings to the sky. Hang the top hook from your eaves attachment and hang the feeder from the bottom hook. Fill the "outer ring" of the cap with water. Ants can't cross the moat, no matter how long they lay siege to your hummingbird castle!

'Emerald' zoysia — or not

Q: I need to patch an area of 6 square feet in my 'Emerald' zoysia grass lawn. The nurseries no longer carry 'Emerald' but have 'Zeon' instead. Would it be OK to use 'Zeon' as a patch?

Trevor Phillips, e-mail

A: There is a true 'Emerald' zoysia grass, but the grass in your lawn may not be it. Turf expert Clint Waltz collected 16 samples of so-called 'Emerald' zoysia grass from sites in the Southeast and subjected them to genetic analysis. They had markedly different genes — and differed in their spring greenup date by as much as four weeks. Yet all were called 'Emerald' zoysia grass. That said, 'Zeon' has narrow blades like 'Emerald,' but it grows faster. Heaven knows if it would match the grass you have, but there's nothing wrong with experimenting. You could also simply plug in pieces of your current turf grass and allow it to fill the spot over a couple of years.

Q: Asian ambrosia beetles got in my crape myrtle and the entire top died. I cut it down. Now there are lots of sprouts coming from the stump. Can I train these sprouts into a new tree?

Sofia Ray, Hampton

A: Yes, you can select six of the most vertical sprouts now and remove the rest. If one or two of them splay out to the side a bit, tie the group together with twine to keep them all vertical. In September, remove the twine and select three of the best-looking, most vigorous sprouts and remove the weaker sprouts. Over the next few years, the sprouts you select will become your new crape myrtle tree framework. It will eventually look as nice as the one you lost.

Sweetgum sparks

Q: I have moved into a home with water oaks, yellow poplars and sweetgum trees. I would like to cut down the sweetgums. Can I use the wood in my woodstove?

Bill Powers, Griffin

A: If you like fireworks, you'll like burning sweetgum firewood. As its name implies, sweetgum wood has lots of tiny pockets of gum in the wood. As a log burns, it snaps and pops something fierce, throwing sparks in all directions. However, since you have a wood stove, the sparks are of little consequence and the "snap, crackle, pop" will be comforting on a winter evening. Be sure to let it dry for several months before burning.

One other bit of information: Sweetgum wood is very "twisty." It is hard to split into bolts as you would with oak or hickory logs. Plan on using pieces that don't need to be split, elsewise you'll lose several wedges in the process.

Armadillo predation

Q: Every predawn since spring my lawn and flower border have been excavated mercilessly by armadillos. Is there some evil-smelling spray that they can't tolerate?

E.M. Dixon, e-mail

A: Armadillo damage to landscapes is common as far north as Rome and Athens. Trapping seems to be the only effective control, but the feebleminded animal has to be guided into the trap with a low fence or boards that direct him to the trap mouth. I've put together some information on the animal as well as trapping hints at http://xrl.us/ARMADILLO.