Q: I found this snake in my wife’s flower bed, where chipmunks are digging holes that dry out the roots. My question: Do snakes burp? — Robert Reeves, Madison
A: That’s a fine fat fellow you have. The long swelling in the middle of this nonvenomous gray rat snake’s body is definitely chipmunk size. I have no doubt the chipmunk population is minus 1. Snakes don’t have a diaphragm they could use to truly burp. But gasses do build up during digestion, and they have to go somewhere … so snakes mostly pass excess gas through their cloaca (anus). My guess is the gas (or burp) would have a definite chipmunk taint. By the way, he doesn’t seem embarrassed to have been caught in the act. When a rat snake is under stress, it constricts and wrinkles its body noticeably.
Q: When I moved to Georgia four years ago, I had a beautiful stand of bamboo in my backyard. This spring they started to die off, and the stand is now completely dead. What caused this? Is there a chance for new growth? — Don Pintozzi, email
A: The most likely explanation is your bamboo is all the same age and only one species. One of the characteristics of many species of bamboo is that after most members of a species flower, the plants die. This is called gregarious blooming. One theory is that this die-off gives a good environment for new seedlings.
Here’s what you should do: Chop all of the dead bamboo to the ground, then take a pair of long handled loppers to cut the shallow rhizomes, which you see running along the ground, into 12-inch lengths. Cover them with soil. Hopefully, the rhizomes will make roots and sprout new bamboo for you. More details: bit.ly/GAbambooflowers
Q: Do insecticides expire? — Arnie Richins, Hoover, Alabama
A: A lot depends on how they were stored. If they were kept cool and in a dark place, I’d give liquid products at least three years, maybe five, of effectiveness. The product form also is a factor. Dusts and wettable powders are much shorter-lived than liquid emulsifiable concentrates. I’d give dusts and wettable powders only two years before disposing of them.
Now the question becomes how do you dispose of pesticides? I have collected the recommended disposal techniques for pesticides at bit.ly/GApestdisposal.
GARDEN QUESTIONS? Send them to Walter at georgiagardener@yahoo.com. Questions with good pictures, if appropriate, are preferred but not required.
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