Time to treat
for fire ants
The following article courtesy of the Texas Agri-Life Extension Service, Texas A&M University. Thanks to Entomologist Kimberly Schofield, program specialist-IPM.
k-schofield@tamu.edu
Red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, are an invasive species that has infested over 300 million acres in the southern United States.
Annual Costs $6 Billion
On average, Americans spend over $6 billion a year on medical bills, repairing damage to electrical wiring and purchasing insecticides for treatment of fire ants. For these reasons, the use of chemicals is needed to manage their populations, in order to allow the native ant species back into the landscape.
Fire Ants
Fire ant baits, drenches, dusts and contact insecticides may be applied to control fire ants. It is advised to treat the individual fire ant mounds directly if less than 5 mounds are found within a 1/4 acre or less than 20 mounds within 1 acre, since this is not considered an infestation.
However, if more than 5 mounds are present within a ¼ acre or 20 mounds within an acre, then a fire ant bait or contact insecticide should be broadcast over the entire infested area.
Fire Ant Mound
Fire ant baits are made up of defatted corn grit covered with insecticide and soybean oil. The delivery process of baits into the colony is so effective, that the amount of insecticide applied within an area is significantly reduced.
Right Time To Use Bait
Before broadcasting the fire ant bait, foraging activity should be assessed, by placing a potato chip or hot dog next to the mound. If fire ants find the chip or hot dog within twenty minutes, then it is a suitable time to broadcast the bait.
Fire ants will typically actively forage when the soil surface temperature is between 70 and 90° F, which is between May and September.
To Water In Or Not To Water In?
Fire ant baits should never be watered into the soil and they should not be applied if they smell rancid. On the other hand, contact insecticides can also be broadcast over the entire infested area and need to be watered into the soil.
Control using contact insecticides generally lasts for 6 to 12 months, depending on the active ingredient within the insecticide.
Both fire ant baits and contact insecticides can be broadcast using a hand-held spreader for small areas or a Herd Seeder can be mounted onto a truck or ATV for larger areas.
For more information, please visit the fire ant web page at http://fireant.tamu.edu.
|
Claude Graves
on pruning roses
Most winter damage to rose bushes is due to dissection, Claude Graves of Richardson, Texas, told a gathering of Collin County rose growers recently.
Mr. Graves is a well-known rosarian whose old garden climbers and hybrid teas is one of the most popular stops on Dallas-area garden tours.
“Eight-five percent of winter damage is due to dehydration. It’s very important to keep rose watered in the winter,” he said.
Black spot is still a problem right now, he said. Mr. Graves advised rosarians to strip off the old foliage during pruning and during the winter.
He described pruning experiments that the Royal National Rose Society of England has conducted.
First, they used a gasoline-power hedge clipper and noted the difference. They found that roses did very well, he told the Collin County Rose Society members recently.
“They studied not pruning at all. The roses did great with no pruning,” he said.
“The accepted ARS pruning method has been adopted because we plant too close,” he said. This type of pruning started by exhibition growers, he said. He said that most people plant their roses on 36-inch centers. Rosarians should plant roses on five-foot to six-foot centers, he said.
The traditional method is to prune for size and remove unwanted growth, he told the group. “The English studied not pruning dead wood, and they are getting very good results,” he said
Mr. Graves said he has tried cutting back heavily every two to three years. “They ‘sulk’ like crazy the first year. The next spring they grow. By the third year, they are too big again.
Planning new beds, plant on 60-inch centers. It will cut down on labor, he said. — Jay Goode |
By Kimberly Schofield
Program Specialist-Urban IPM
k-schofield@tamu.edu
Pest Check
Tarantula hawks (Pepsis sp.) are most active in the summer, during the day, although they avoid the highest temperatures. They are one of the largest species of wasps in Texas. They are 1 ½ inches in length, metallic blue-black in color with red wings. Tarantula hawks are considered generally harmless to humans, since they seldom sting. However they can be provoked, so they should be left alone; their stings are considered to be the most painful of any North American insect.
Tarantula hawks get their common name since they use tarantulas as food for their immature stages. These wasps are found wherever tarantulas are found since tarantulas are needed for the continuation of the wasp’s lifecycle. The female wasps will either enter a tarantula burrow and push out the spider, or attack a male tarantula while he is searching for a mate. She will grab the spider by a leg, flip it over on its back and sting it, or she may approach it from the side to deliver a sting. Once the tarantula is stung, it becomes paralyzed within seconds.
If the female wasp expelled the tarantula from a burrow, she will drag it back into its own burrow and lay a single egg on the spider’s abdomen. Then the burrow will be sealed. If the female wasp stings a male tarantula in search of a mate, the female wasp will excavate a burrow and drag the paralyzed spider inside. Then she will lay her single egg and seal the chamber. Once the egg hatches, the wasp larvae begins to feed on the tarantula and develops within the burrow.
Male tarantula hawks usually perch on taller vegetation or high points, where they wait for newly emerged females, which may be receptive to mating. Both male and female tarantula hawks feed on nectar.
A tarantula hawk, Pepsis sp. (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae). Photo by Bart Drees, Professor and Extension Entomologist, Texas A&M University.
Summer Means A Time For Fleas
The most common type of flea in Texas is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché). However, there are other flea species in Texas, including the dog flea, Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis), and the oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis (Rothschild). All of these fleas are around 1/8 inches in length, dark brown in color and have a wingless, flattened body.
Flea eggs are laid on a furred host after consuming the host’s blood. The white round eggs fall off of the host onto the ground in the area where the host spends time and rests. Whitish, legless larvae hatch from eggs in 2 to 3 weeks. The larvae develop in 9 to 15 days under optimum conditions. Fully developed larvae will then pupate by spinning a cocoon of silk that becomes covered with soil particles and debris. This protects the pupa and makes them hard to detect. The pupal stage lasts from 7 days up to a year before the adults emerge. Under optimum temperature and humidity conditions, fleas can complete their lifecycle from egg to adult in 30 to 75 days.
Adult mouthparts are modified for piercing and sucking blood, so they can bite multiple times. Not only are flea bites irritating due to an itchy reaction, but fleas can also transmit diseases such as murine typhus.
Sometimes buildings can become infested with fleas even when there are no pets around. Other animals such as bats, roof rats, squirrels and raccoons commonly have fleas and may bring them into structures. The building should be inspected and all openings should be sealed so wildlife can not enter.
Non-Chemical Control Suggestions:
Change pet bedding regularly and vacuum thoroughly. Vacuum under furniture, cushions, chairs, beds, and along walls. Make sure to discard vacuum cleaner bags at least once a week, since fleas can continue to develop inside vacuum cleaner bags.
Some Chemical Control Suggestions:
Treat your pets. Treatments are available as sprays, spot-ons, pills or food additives for pets. With all products, read and follow label directions carefully. Products designed for use on adult dogs should not be used on puppies or cats, unless specified on the label.
Treating homes. The pet’s living area should be treated at the same time that the pet is treated. This will hopefully prevent re-infestation of the pet. Citrus sprays containing d-limonene is one suggestion that can be applied to rugs, carpeting and pet bedding. Also, insect growth regulators such as methoprene and pyriproxyfen can be used indoors. Methoprene is unstable in sunlight so it is an effective indoor treatment. However pyriproxyfen sprays, can be applied both indoors and outdoors. Outdoors, treat areas where pets spend most of their time, such as bedding areas or under shade trees.
Remember to inspect your pet regularly for fleas and carefully follow the label directions on the insecticide products!
Photo of a cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouche) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). Photo by R. Meola, Texas A&M University.
Mention of commercial products is for educational purposes only and does not represent endorsement by Texas AgriLife Extension or The Texas A&M University System. Insecticide label registrations are subject to change, and changes may have occurred since this publication was printed. The pesticide user is always responsible for applying products in accordance with label directions. Always read and carefully follow the instructions on the container label.
Be on the lookout
for May Beetles
The following article article reprinted courtesy of the Texas Agri-Life Extension Service, Texas A&M University.
Thanks to Kimberly Schofield,
program specialist-IPM. k-schofield@tamu.edu.
As the weather warms, we will begin to see the adult May beetles (Phyllophaga spp.) flying under lights at night. These adults feed on leaves of several trees including oaks and pecans and can cause complete defoliation of the tree if large numbers of adults appear. Most healthy trees recover quickly from complete defoliation, but stressed trees can be damaged by these attacks.
The female May beetle will deposit eggs into the turf and the eggs will hatch into “c-shaped” grub worms that are creamy white in color with brown heads. The grubs feed on dead organic matter and roots of plants. Since the grubs feed on roots, they can injure roots of grasses and other plants. This causes infested turf to brown and it can be easily removed in large clumps.
Grubs
Damage to golf course
Some Control Options:
Irrigating the soil with ¼ to ½ inches of water prior to treatment can improve the effectiveness, since the grubs will move closer to the soil surface. Parasitic nematodes in the genera Steinernema and Heterorhabtitis have been shown to be effective. Insecticides containing imidacloprid, halofenozide, and clothianidin are some active ingredients that are effective at killing the smaller stages of grub worms and ideally should be applied 6 weeks after adults emerge. Lambda-cyhalothrin and trichlorfon are some examples of active ingredients more effective at killing the larger grub worm stages.
Mention of commercial products is for educational purposes only and does not represent endorsement by Texas Agri-Life Extension or The Texas A&M University System. Insecticide label registrations are subject to change, and changes may have occurred since this publication was printed. The pesticide user is always responsible for applying products in accordance with label directions. Always read and carefully follow the instructions on the container label.
Chambersville Tree Farm Owner
Hosts Pruning Party
Dean Oswald examines rose bush
Rosarians brave chilly weather to prune
Claude Graves (left) talks on pruning
|
