I’m looking for a ground cover to stabilize a shady, steep, forested hillside. Mostly deep shade, dry because of runoff of rain, erosion issues already a problem. Fast coverage, low maintenance, deer resistant desirable. A work crew recently cut tree roots at the base of the hil (see photos)l, which I’m sure means we lose those trees in time, but we need to try something now to keep the entire hill from eroding away. I’ve already looked at your list of ground covers, and am unfamiliar with pussy toes, about the only one that ticks every box. What would be your top 5 recommendations?

Would it be effective to hit garlic mustard now with a Weedwhacker before it flowers it is very young at this stage

We have lived a block from Como Park for 14 years, between the park and the fairgrounds. This year we are seeing our front lawn being torn up in a way that we have not experienced before. It started with about half the yard and is spreading. The surface is being dug up. Perhaps at night. We’re not sure. The affected areas are now a terrain of shallow holes and small dirt piles. We have no trees in our front yard. A few bushes and shrubs, but the damage is not occurring near them. Our neighborhood is always full of squirrels and chipmunks, of course, but it’s hard to think that this is being caused by them. They haven’t done anything like this in the past. I am attaching three photos. They don’t do a good job of showing what’s going on. I would have added some different views, but it looks like three is the limit. I hope these help. Do you have any thoughts? Thanks much. Gary Lee Joyner

Hi extension team, I have several dozen used aluminum baguette baking sheets. I want to reuse them in our vegetable garden as a border. Research online about safety and leeching is mixed. Do you have any perspective on whether these would be safe to use in the ground? They are aluminum with a glaze and have been used for commercial food production. The product is here: https://www.katom.com/225-49034.html Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!

I identified a fruit fly in our yard on 4/24/ 24 and 4/25/24 . I wasn't able to obtain a photo. We have a cherry tree in our yard which is about 5 years old and gives us plentiful amount of cherries yearly. Should I use a pesticide to make sure no future pest- fruit fly appear in the yard?

For the first few years, the pears from my tree were small however looked fine. The past couple years the pears are deformed. I don't know if an insect is creating the misshapen and diseased-looking pears of if it is a disease. What can I do to have healthy pears? Thank you.

I have a tall fescue lawn. Over the past several years, the lawn has a lighter green grass growing in patches. I have attached two pictures, one showing the lawn and the light green patch (one of many). The second picture is a close up of the "invasive" grass, Can you help me identify the light green grass and how to control it? I have a 3 acre lawn that will need to be treated, Thank you.

Where and how do we send a soil specimen for analysis.

Good Morning, Starting last year, we have been infested with hundreds of harmless- but very annoying box elder bugs. It seems to coincide with neighbors on both sides of us cutting down trees in their backyards (just my guess that now these bugs have nowhere else to live?) I spray daily with soap water and Maggie’s Farm 3-in-1 garden spray. I’m not sure what other options I have? It doesn’t seem to make sense to have a company come and spray- since the bugs are living on our neighbor’s houses. We live in a row home in Waterside, Frederick. I would appreciate any help you could offer. Thanks, Linda