Green Drinks Talk Porstsmouth NH

Reducing the amount of pesticide and fertilizer used on our landscapes.

While it is often assumed that farmers are the major source for the overuse of pesticides this is entirely untrue. Homeowners use between 2-6 times the amount of pesticides per acre than farmers. Most farmers have become much more educated on the proper use of chemicals than the average homeowner. Chemicals cost a lot of money and farmers in general operate under very low margins so it has become essential for them to reduce their usage as much as possible.
http://people.oregonstate.edu/~muirp/pesttren.htm

Here is a quick overview of how we can reduce our use of chemicals on the landscape.
Each of the subjects is really a stand-alone subject so I encourage you to do further research.
Reduce the manicured lawn size.
Lawns consume a huge amount of resources and are more likely to produce fertilizer runoff than other landscape uses.
Mowing uses gas and oil unless you use a push mower.
Lawns use more fertilizer, weed killer and insecticide than other landscape use. Even organic lawns need to be mowed and use fertilizer.
Think about how much of that lawn you really use and how much is using you. Would some of that lawn better serve your landscape if it were converted to other uses like a vegetable garden, flower garden or shrubs and trees?
You can reduce the amount of fertilizer by returning grass clippings using a mulching mower.
Also researchers are now coming on board with mulching fall leaves back into the lawn using your mulching mower. A practice I have been recommending, and taking grief about for years.
This research is now showing that in addition to adding organic matter and fertilizer, chopped leaves can also reduce dandelions in the lawn. See: http://www.greencycle.net/2010/11/rake-or-mulch-study-says-mulch-your-fall-leaves/
Lawns are a huge source of the overuse of pesticides.
How many people use a grub control/fertilizer combo every year without knowing if grubs even exist? It takes between 8-12 Japanese beetle grubs per square foot to show any noticeable damage on a cared for lawn. If you don’t have this many then don’t treat. This is a simple test to do with a bulb planter. Simply calculate the area that the planter will remove and convert that number to Square feet. Take several plugs out of the lawn and count the number of grubs per square foot. This takes less time then running down to the garden store for unneeded grub killer.
Plant breaks on slopes.
A sloped area of lawn, paths or even seasonal vegetation is more likely to cause runoff than a flat area. Sloped areas near streams and other water sources and even roads where runoff will enter the sewer system should always have a vegetative brake. Choose, hardy preferably native species for these areas.
If you are not totally organic; use integrated pest management (IPM) to control pests.
IPM includes but is not limited to.
Monitoring and correctly identifying pests.
The use of Predators.
Cultural/physical control.
Proper planting, watering, fertilizing and mulching.
Selecting the right plants for the environment.
Selecting insect and disease resistant plants and varieties.
And the use of pesticides.
What is a pest?
Obviously a pest is most often considered an insect. Technically though in this field anything that affects the health an organism is considered a pest, this not only includes insects and disease but also environmental causes of poor health such as sun scold, wind burn, over mulching etc.
Monitoring and Identification.
Far too many treatments are preformed on pests that are either not present, not properly identified, or not at the level that we call a threshold.
A threshold is the number of pests that have to be present to cause unacceptable damage.
There are different threshold levels for different people, situations and crops. The threshold for say a commercial rose grower that has to have a perfect product for sale may be a lot different from what you might consider acceptable in your garden. You can monitor your insect populations and learn. For example if you see a few aphids on a couple of plants, does this mean you have to go out and spray? Not necessarily. First you need to know if the populations are increasing. Check back in a day or two. Are predatory insects around and how many are present? Are you about to go into a spell of hot dry weather? Most Aphid species are done for when the weather gets around 80-90 degrees for a few days. So you have a few aphids, a couple of days later the populations are not really increasing, there are Lady Bugs, Parasitic Wasps, and Lacewing present. The weather report is for a hot dry period. Spraying here would be a waste of time.
Keep a record of past problems.
Different problems occur under different environmental conditions.
If you have for example a nice perennial bed that is prone to Botrytis, know what conditions favor the development of this disease.
There is no point in treating with a fungicide unless the conditions for development exist.
Use your Agricultural extension service.
Of course I don’t expect you to become experts on diseases and insects from a short talk, so make good use your Agricultural extension service.
This is the best recourse you have, it is cheap, and they are not in business to sell you anything so their advice is not tainted. I use them all the time, none of us know or remember everything. It would be nice when they help you out to drop a line to the legislators and Governor, as this is a greatly under appreciated service that is constantly under the budget axe
Timing of applications.
It is poor practice to treat an insect problem without knowing the pest stage and best control timing. Fungi for the most part are only effectively controlled before symptoms appear, hence the record keeping.
A lot of insects can be controlled in their juvenile stages very easily with soft chemicals such as Soap, Oil, or Bacillus thuringiensis. Later these become much harder to control and more toxic chemicals are needed.
Record keeping and dates of hatch can help in timing insect stages but the most reliable method is using degree-days, the next best method is using bloom time (phenology). This link is from Ohio but phenology and degree days are temperature and not location triggered. Some slight variation might occur due to variations in local insect genetics but I can't find a local guide that has this much information.
www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/Web/049DegreeDays.pdf
A simple description of Degree days is that it is the accumulated heat during a season. Scientists have calculated the hatch time of numerous insects for specific degree-days, but not for all.
More information about degree days and some degree-day records kept by UNH using volunteer stations can be found at this site.
http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/GDDays/GDDays.htm
Now I hear wheels turning in the members of my audience that are still awake.
But isn’t the use of any pesticide contributing to pollution of our environment? Well maybe not always. Take the example of an invasive species such as the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Assume that you have a nice stand of healthy Hemlock in your yard. How many tons of Carbon dioxide (Co2) and other chemicals are these trees filtering from the atmosphere?
http://www.coloradotrees.org/benefits.htm
How many birds and other creatures are they supporting? Are they shading a stream full of fish? Perhaps they are shading your house and reducing the amount of power you use for air conditioning? Now we have to weigh the use of a pesticide to kill this pest against the losses of all these benefits. Just the amount of toxic chemicals filtered by these trees in a year would far outweigh the small amount of pollution caused by chemical pest control.
Pesticide Use.
Pesticides are part of the IPM approach to healthy plants but they are used sparingly, at the right time and on the right target.
This is a huge and extensively complicated subject and once again your local extension service is the place for you to get specific information so am just going to give you a bit of advice if you do need to resort to their use.
As a rule the newer pesticides are much less hazardous than the older pesticides. These pesticides are generally much more specific to the insects that they kill, and break down more quickly in the environment.
How hazardous a chemical is is different from how toxic it is. Hazard is defined as the potential to cause harm to non-target organisms. For example a highly toxic pesticide that is injected into a tree, or breaks down quickly, or does not easily leach or evaporate may be much less hazardous than a pesticide that is low in toxicity, lasts a long time, leaches or evaporates easily.
Choose pesticides that are specific to the insect you need to treat. Broad-spectrum chemicals such as bifenthrin usually end up causing more problems than they solve. Treat only if the problem exists and the timing is right. Try to treat only the affected plants; you don’t have to treat the whole yard for a few Aphids on your Zinnia.
Two common misconceptions are one, that using a pesticide below the recommended rate will cut down the usage. It won’t, cutting the recommended rate is likely to lead to resistance to the product and the increased use of pesticides. And two, that using over the recommended rate will give you better control, it won’t these products have been extensively studied and using more is both wasteful and dangerous. Always read and follow the pesticide label.
Cultural/physical control.
Keeping your landscape healthy also involves cultural or physical pest control.
This can involve many things. When you rake up pine needles in the fall to control White Pine Weevil, put burlap around sensitive plants for the winter, or mulch, these are examples of cultural control of pests.
Plant choice.
Another part of a healthy landscape is the correct plant choice.
Sure you love that flowering crab that you see down at the local garden store, but is it good for where you want to plant it.
You need to know, is it the right plant for where you want to put it?
Are the soil conditions, light and exposure right for the plant?
Pieris is often planted in a sunny exposure, which leads to lace bug troubles where the same plant in partial shade gets almost no lacebug.
Is this a disease and insect resistant variety? If not maybe there is a different variety that is almost as nice and is resistant?
Is this an alternate insect or disease host to something that is already there?
I see far to many Crab Apples that get treated every year for Cedar Apple Rust because they are planted in Juniper beds, Junipers are the alternate host for this disease.
Spruce and Douglass Fir are frequently planted close to each other without regard to the fact that these trees are alternate hosts for Spruce Gall Adelgid. Though this pest can reproduce independently on Spruce, Douglass Fir nearby greatly increases the problem.
If you are looking at a new planting consider using native species, these are less likely to need extra care.
Predators.
Predators play a huge role in keeping your garden pests down.
Though some success has been achieved by releasing predatory insects, predator release is a tricky and an often-disappointing adventure. This is not to say that they don’t work, but so many factors are involved in successful releases that you should be aware of the pitfalls and be familiar with the success rate of the particular species. Research is continuing on improving the survival rate of released predators, but it is still a bit of hit or miss at the moment.
It is far more advantageous to encourage the predators that are already there and help with their survival.
Keeping something flowering in your yard all season will definitely help encourage predators, and help them survive. Nectar from flowers is used by many predatory insects, either as a juvenile stage food source, or as a sustaining food when prey is scarce. There are many good lists on the web to tell you the best plants, some are weeds, some you may not like. However almost any flowering plant is better than none.
A good clean water source can help encourage beneficials.
You must change this frequently or have it flow to avoid mosquitoes.
A good pile of rocks is an excellent way to encourage predators.
The Chinese have used this method for centuries.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/wildlifegarden/atoz/r/rockstonepile.aspx
If you search the web for information most sites you find are about how to get rid of spiders and suggest removing rock piles. But I want spiders. Rock piles can also be used to attract toads and snakes depending on how and where they are built. Slugs, snails and weevils are also attracted to rock piles for shade, but overall these benefit predators more and can kill every slug in the neighborhood with beer traps if you need to. If you are worried about spiders going from these piles to your home, build them as far away from the house as you can. I consider giving a little shelter in the house during the winter to anything that eats biting flies, mosquitoes, aphids and other pests all summer long more than a fair trade. I have had roommates that have done a lot less for their shelter.
Don’t use Bug Zappers.
Bug Zappers though fun are awful. Bug zappers are indiscriminate killers and good bugs are just as attracted to them as bad bugs. In fact research has shown that the majority of insects killed by bug zappers are not pests.
Learn to recognize some of the predatory insects.
The majority of insects are not plant pests. These links show some but not all of the many predators in our gardens.
http://umaine.edu/publications/7150e/
These were not included on the above pamphlet.
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2082.html
Is this a good bug? (just for fun)
Type Preying Mantis eats Hummingbird into your browser for a view of this generally good predator being very bad. No point in buying more than one egg mass unless you have a large garden. The first few to hatch usually eat all the rest.
Watering.
Watering too frequently wastes water, encourages shallow roots, and weak, insect and disease vulnerable plants. Water established plants at the most once a week and water until the soil is saturated but before runoff. This includes lawns. I frequently see irrigation lines wrapped around trees and shrubs in landscape beds. The irrigation waters these plants at the same rate as annuals and perennials that need more frequent watering. Established trees and shrubs only need to be watered during long droughts. If at all possible irrigation should be the drip type, sprinklers that hit plant leaves spread and facilitate diseases.
Fertilizing.
Don’t indiscriminately fertilize plants that look in poor health. In many cases especially for trees and shrubs, these plants have other problems and not the lack of fertilizer. Unfortunately too many people fall victim to the fertilizer sales pitch to fix unhealthy looking plants; a waste of time for plants with other problems.
Trees do not as a rule ever need to be fertilized. Do not use nitrogen fertilizer on any newly planted tree or shrub for at least one growing season, two is better. Always soil test to see if fertilization is needed, and what is the correct makeup and rate of application. Use slow release formulations.
Check Your PH.
Plants growing where the PH is out of the proper range for the species do not benefit much from fertilizer and a lot of this gets wasted.
It really makes no difference to a plant whether or not the fertilizer is organic or chemical. But organic fertilizers have other benefits. They break down slowly and often supply needed organic matter. In addition these products are made from waste that would otherwise have to be disposed of. Organic fertilizers also help in suppressing some diseases.
Mulching.
Mulch goes on thin and wide 2-3” deep and never touching the trunk.
Proper mulching reduces the amount of water and fertilizer needed to keep plants healthy. Incorrect mulching actually increases the need for water, encourages poor root development and harbors insects and diseases.
Planting.
The number one problem with planting is that plants are planted too deep. Planting too deep is without a doubt the number one problem causing the decline of landscape plants that I see every day. The butt swell and the top of the first major roots where they meet the trunk should always be above the soil surface. Backfill with the same soil that came out of the hole. New research shows that filling the hole with amended soil causes the roots to stay in that small area of good soil. If the soil is really poor then top dress the area with compost, but remember to keep the total fill including the top dressing no higher than the root collar.
Conclusion.
Healthy plants need much less care and use fewer resources than stressed plants, so keep your plants healthy.

Predicting insect stages using Degree days

Simply put a degree day is the accumulation of heat after a set temperature. Insect development is usually calculated on a base of 50 degrees. Degree days are a more accurate way of predicting insect development than are dates because temperatures vary each year. For many of our common pests scientists have calculated what stage of development an insect is in for specific degree days. Knowing what stage a pest is in is important because most insects are much more susceptible to control measures in one life stage than in others. Scale for example is very difficult to control as an adult, yet fairly easy to control in its juvenile stage (called a crawler). Some universities and other agencies have monitors in various locations that calculate and report degree days. The university of New Hampshire does this for where I live.
The only way I could get the chart to show up formatted is using a Google presentation..
This is a link.

How to build your own air spade for around $50

My air spade turned out to be about 5 1/2’ long. I find it useful for most applications, but a bit long for tight quarters like under low branches. I keep meaning to build myself a shorter air spade but have not gotten around to it. For $50 bucks it is no big deal

Note that the pictures are not to scale they are just to show what things look like.
Note that pipe lengths are approximate.

Parts:

A. One ¾” female npt air coupler I bought mine from the place that rents me the compressor. If you can’t find one buy one on line. Aprx. $4






B. One steel pipe ¾” About 2’ Long. Npt threaded both ends. Aprx. $8







C. One ball valve. If you can find one that has a ¾” to ½” npt thread reduction then you don’t need the reducer. Aprx $14





D. One Steel pipe ½” about 3’ long. Npt threaded both ends. Aprx. $8





E. One ¾” to ½” npt reducer . $2.50








F. One thin ½” npt nut. Aprx 50 cents. No picture.


G. One round electrical ceiling box cover. I have heard people use a funnel here but this works well for me and I could not find a funnel I could attach.You will have to remove the center knock out. Aprx. $2.50




H. One “supersonic” nozzle.I.e. a brass hose barb, just a little smaller diameter then the ½” pipe. These are cheap so you can experiment with
different sizes. Buy a couple of these, they do wear out. Aprx. $2.00




Pipe wrap. The foam insulating stuff
that you put on hot water pipes. Aprx. $2.00
Duct tape and Teflon tape. Aprx. $1.00s worth.

Total cost about. $50

I have not included the price of the hose here as I rent it along with the tow behind diesel compressor. It costs me about $90 per day. If you don’t own the compressor then there is no point in buying the hose, and even a used compressor in good condition will run you several thousand dollars.

Assemble as seen below. Use the teflon tape on the threads and cover the pipe wrap with duct tape. Red Green eat your hart out. If you want to get fancy, instead of the pipe insulation and duct tape you can go to a good bike shop and get some of those wraps with Velcro covers that you see on kid’s bikes. You will need insulation for comfort and protection from the heat build up.

She isn’t pretty but works great.
See how this works on this video.
Compare it to the real thing.
Maybe it does not dig quite as fast as the real deal but I have used both and I can’t tell the difference.

If you build one have fun and let me know how it turns out. Also if you come up with anything better then the electrical cover let me know that as well.

Oh I almost forgot. Build and use your air spade at your own risk. I can’t be responsible if you use shoddy materials or put it together wrong. Mine is tough as nails and takes a constant 150psi with no trouble. Always wear appropriate safety gear when using an air spade.

Field Reports. What problems I am seeing in NH, MA and ME

05/28/2011
The sun finally popped out and so did the aphids. Other then that I have been getting calls about the jelly like growths on Junipers. They are Cedar Apple Rust fungus and do no damage to Junipers. Junipers, Cedar and Arborvitae are the alternate hosts for this fungus which will then transfer to Apples where it can do damage but is unlikely to kill. Planting alternate hosts of the same fungus or disease should always be avoided.
I have seen a lot of early signs of Red Thread on lawns this week.
Leaf Rollers are present on Hydrangea, if you see leaves stuck together cut them off with the caterpillar inside and get rid of them.

05/082011
The bug scene is still quite. I expected to be seeing a good deal of Aphids by now, but have seen only a few. Lily leaf beetle have hatched in southern NH, are everywhere and having a good time feasting on Asian Lilies. I have seen some Tent Caterpillars but so far the populations are low.

04/22/2011
Still cold and miserable around here and really nothing much is out yet. I saw the first Lily Leaf Beetle of the season in Newburyport MA, and a few aphids.
I checked some Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in Kittery ME., I know this was a small sample and not a scientific study, but it looks like the cold winter killed quite a few, but far from all of these pests.
I was expecting a lot of Pink and Grey Snow Mold on lawns this year but have seen none yet.

See old field reports for previous posts.

Oh that lawn again

So you have finished chipping the ice, shoveling the roof and removing ice dams.
Perhaps you are looking out the window thinking about your lawn buried under three feet of snow.

So lets talk about lawns.

The days of treating lawns as a chemical test plot are waning and that is as it should be. True it is fairly easy to make a lawn almost insect, weed and disease free by adhering to a strict chemical regiment, but do we really want to do this anymore?

The second choice is the Integrated pest management approach to having a nice looking lawn. This method balances correcting the growing conditions, seed source, predators and many other factors to achieve that desired lawn. In integrated pest management the use of chemicals is part of the program but their use is greatly diminished. Using this approach you can achieve a lawn that is every bit as nice looking as the old chemical plant that was once called a lawn.

The third approach is to go strictly organic. Here you may asking, can I have a insect, weed and disease free lawn using this method? And the answer to that is no. But you can have a lawn that meets your needs.

The question is do I want a lawn that looks like a golf green or does a lawn with a few weeds disease or insects really meet my needs? My own lawn looks like a weed farm with some grass growing in it, but I pay no attention to it other then mowing, and I live in the country where my neighbors are distant and don't care. Also I am comfortable in my status so I don't need a lawn as a monument. That's right, that is actually what a lawn started out to be, a status symbol.
When the English moved out to colonize and landed in hot dry areas, lawns were used as a bragging piece. As it was hard and expensive to maintain a lawn in these areas a large perfect lawn told everyone you were rich and powerful.

The wealth of knowledge concerning lawns is staggering as any Internet search will show.
I intend here to give you the basics of a good lawn maintenance.

Watering. This is the single most important thing that people get wrong.
Shallow frequent watering promotes disease, insects and poor shallow roots.
Most lawns, even in the grips of a drought, need water only once a week. Once every five days at the most. Water deeply and get between 1 to 2 inches on your lawn once a week, all at once if possible. (amount depends on grass type and soil).
If you have soil or slope problems and get puddling or run off before achieving this rate you may have to break the time up. Here is where you may want to go to the five day schedule and alter the amount to achieve the correct amount per week. It is easy measure how much water the lawn is getting by putting cans or other straight sided vessels out in various locations, running the irrigation for 15 minuets then measuring and averaging the amount of water collected. Remember rain counts in the weeks water total. Most good irrigation companies have systems that adjust for rain, but I can't tell you how many times I see irrigation systems watering while its raining.

There are two exceptions to this rule, and that is if your lawn develops either a disease called Fusarium Leaf Blight or Necrotic Ring spot. A light daily watering can be used to reduce the severity of these diseases. This watering technique may then cause other problems so get more advice before using this practice to control these diseases.

Soil. Lawns like a rich well drained moderately high organic loam. If your lawn is rock, sand, gravel and or clay. You can have the whole thing torn up and replaced, or you can amend the soil a bit each year. Use organic fertilizer. Top dress with compost 1/4" spring and fall. Aerate as many times as you can stand, and afford until you have changed the soil compaction. Once you have accomplished a better growing soil, aeration will only need to be done as needed. This is usually every couple of years depending on use and soil type.

Use a mulching mower. Return your clippings to the lawn using a mulching mower. This will increase the organic mater faster then almost any other means and reduce your need for fertilizing. Clippings will also return up to 1/3 of the lawns nitrogen needs back to the roots.I also prefer to run my mulching mower over my leaves rather then rake them. This also feeds and conditions the lawn. You will have to adjust your lime needs if you do this but I find it much easier to adjust my lime than rake leaves. A lot of lawn experts will tell you not to do this but I always did when I had a nice lawn and it works. Other then the PH adjustments no one can tell me why they say it is not good to do, so you decide. I recently found this paper that states mulching leaves of some species can reduce Dandelion populations.


Seed source. Annually over seed with different seed types that are compatible with your lawn composition and likes. Different seed varieties offer different resistance to insects disease and environmental conditions. Seed producers are constantly developing new varieties of grass. A good place to get these new varieties is a real garden center such as Agway that has seed in bins that you can mix. The problem with newer houses is that the lawns are usually from sod farms and not seeded. Sod farms grow the best grass for their needs, usually a few varieties that grow fast, look good and do well in on their farms. They also intensely manage this crop. This is not to say that establishing a lawn with sod is wrong; it has its benefits, but it is even more important to introduce other varieties of grass to sod established lawns.

Fertilize and correct the PH. Grass will grow anywhere and so will weeds. But by adjusting your fertilization and PH to the optimum for grass you will help the grass out compete the weeds. Randomly fertilizing is pretty useless, wasteful and can increase diseases. My advise is to use your Agricultural Extension Service. Bring in a sample of soil and have it analyzed and they will give you the correct fertilization and pH adjustments. This is much too cheap for the service given, and absolutely invaluable if you want a nice lawn. Note that PH is as important if not more important then fertilizer. Plants can not effectively use fertilizer if the PH is wrong. Use organic fertilizer. I am not a one hundred percent organic practitioner, I do use chemicals where needed, but in this case I am fully on board with this practice. The reason for this is that organic fertilizers not only supply needed organic material but also Scientific studies show that they reduce disease. Basically the process of decomposition competes for the same nutrients that some diseases need. (Way to deep for this overview. Here is some research)

Weed control. You will not eliminate all weeds in your lawn even with a full chemical regiment. But once you establish a healthy lawn you might find that you can be comfortable with the amount of weeds that remain with just spot treatment or popping them out with a tool. If you have a stubborn weed problem it is usually not productive to randomly treat it. Here again use your Agricultural Extension Service. They will be able to identify the weed and steer you to the right solution whether you want to use weed killer or another method. Vinegar will kill weeds. It will also kill grass. It will not kill the roots of perennials so treating every time they re-appear is necessary. Pulling will kill weeds but any part of the root of some weeds will re-grow like Hydra heads. A propane blow torch also kills weeds, I am sure you can figure the negatives of this one by yourselves. It does work though. Corn gluten can in some circumstances act as a pre-emergence. It does this by applying a very thin high nitrogen layer at the soil surface which burns the sprouting weed. It is not very effective, is very short lasting and is really dependent on weather and other factors. Most independent research is not favorable to this product as a weed control option. It does at least supply nitrogen to your lawn so try it if you like. It is expensive and you will have to adjust your nitrogen applications respectively.
The best weed control is a healthy lawn. Grass has the second widest natural range of any plant, and it did not get this way by not competing with weeds. Guess what plant has the widest range and win a prize.*

Mowing. The best overall height for healthy lawns is 2 1/2 to 3 inches. Mowing frequently is better for the lawn then letting it grow long then cutting it way back. Keep lawn mower blades sharp. Dull blades leave ragged cuts that contribute to water loss and disease. If you have a service that cuts your lawn be sure that they clean their equipment before they cut your lawn. One of the fastest ways diseases move from one lawn to the next is by hitching a ride on a lawn mower.

Thatch. A little thatch is healthy, up to about 3/4 of an inch. Heavy thatch harbors pests and stops water reaching the roots. Most lawns if cut and fertilized correctly will not have a thatch build up. Over fertilization is the leading cause of thatch build up.

Disease. This is too short a piece to get the full scope on diseases. Just remember that weather, your watering, fertilization and seed selection will have a marked effect on the presence and destructiveness of diseases. Disease prevention should usually be left to these factors. If you do have a problem that occurs each year a preventative treatment might be warranted. Before you treat for any disease: First it must be correctly identified. Second it has to be determined that correcting the growing environment is not the right cure. Third, is this disease an infrequent occurrence that happens due to just the right weather conditions? Forth, can you introduce a resistant grass variety for this disease? And lastly if you wish to use a chemical control, is there an effective chemical control and is the timing right for application. If you use a service and they treat for diseases ask them what diseases they are targeting, what treatments they are using and are there any cultural treatments that will reduce the frequency and severity of this disease. If they don't know or are miffed at your question hire someone else.

Grubs and other insects. Before you treat for grubs or other insects make sure you have a problem. Too many lawns are treated for problems that don't exist. By treating for problems that don't exist not only are we needlessly polluting the environment, but killing predators and chancing that the actual target insect will build resistance to the insecticide. Also it is a waste of money. Your Agricultural Extension Service will have information on how many of a particular insect per square foot must to be present to show any visible effect on your lawn. For example Japanese beetle need to be around 8-10 grubs per square foot to have any noticeable effect on a well maintained lawn. So there is no point in treating if the number is less then this. If you hire a service and they suggest treating for grubs, it is not an unreasonable question to ask how many grubs per square foot do I have and what insect are they. Sound really smart and ask if they are at the visible damage threshold. If they don't know or are miffed at your questioning hire someone else.

Most grub problems until now have been treated with chemicals such as Dylox or Imidicloprid (merit). Both work. Both have to be applied right and at the right time. Both are toxic and can move to none target areas. There is a new chemical on the market that has just been incorporated into a granule. It is far less toxic to none target organisms and it works for all lawn pests. It is expensive and not widely available yet. My local Agway in Hampton knows about it. I may be lucky that it is run by a knowledgeable person who keeps up with new products, his name is Keith.
The name of the chemical is Acelepryn.

Remember always follow the label and treat only if you actually have a problem.

Here is a link to a lot more information then covered here.

*(Just kidding no prize it is the Willow tree)

Bed Bugs

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are now in the news all the time.
I was going to write a blog to filter the Bed bug hype from facts, but find this unnecessary.
In this case I will just send you to this Bed bug link that I have read and find to be accurate and informative.
http://www.medicinenet.com/bed_bugs/article.htm#tocb
There is a lot of Bed bug information on this site so I will just give you a quick few of important snippets here.
1: Bed bugs at this time are not known to spread any human diseases.
2: The best way to deal with the Bed bug problem is not to invite them into your home.
So when you visit somewhere (such as a hotel) that may have Bed bugs keep your clothes, purses, luggage or whatever, off the bed or any other area that may host Bed bugs. A closet, or draw are good places to keep your items. You may want to travel with some large garbage bags and keep your things in them during your stay. Wash; or put all cloths that may have been exposed to Bed bugs in these bags, shower and put on clean unexposed clothing before returning home.
Visitors to your home that may be from infested areas should be made aware that they are to wear and bring only cleanly laundered cloths. Also you may want to keep anything they bring in an area other then a bed room.
3: The quality and cleanliness of a room do not have any influence on the chances of it harboring Bed bugs.
4: Bed bugs can only travel to your home if something gives them a lift.
5: There are no repellents or chemical preventatives at this time for this pest so don't fall for any sales pitches of these.
6: Once you have Bed bugs in your home they are difficult to get rid of. I usually try to recommend stuff you can do yourself, but sorry in this case I have to say it would be best to use a professional.
7: One good thing about Bed bugs is that they are the perfect excuse to refuse visits from that crazy relative.
PS (crazy relatives don't be offended, I am one.)

Disclaimer: If and when I send you to a site I am only saying that to the best of my knowledge I find the information accurate and valuable. I am not vouching for the site, nor specifically any of the advertisements on said site.

Howling at the moon while wearing a tutu and other miracle cures.
Before I go on, know that I am fully in favor of natural ways to control diseases and insects or to keep plants healthy and I always like to find ways to substitute such methods for conventional chemicals. That said it also annoys me to see the amount of snake oil sold to the uninformed.  That said it also annoys me to see the amount of snake oil sold to the uninformed.

So how do I determine if a new miracle product is worth a try?
First through my experience and education I look for a reasonable explanation of why it might work.
Second I look for independent scientific studies and if I can find more than one or two I look for a consensus.
Third I look to other trusted people who have tried the method or product.
And fourth because I am in business I look at cost benefit analysis to other methods. This may not be important to someone else, and indeed in my own yard is not a big factor.

Lets take three scenarios and see how this works for me.
1. A few people have told me that applying Wilt Pruf periodically before rain will help control Black Spot on roses.
My experience and education tell me that there is a reason why this could work. Black Spot is a water transmitted disease, thus if a waxy coating is on the leaf when the spore hits it the hyphae might not be able to grow through it.
I checked for scientific studies and can find none for or against this claim.
I talked to some people I trust and found that they do believe it is a benefit.
Wilt Pruf is expensive, but for reasons not relevant to this writing it was worth a try.
I have tried it and believe it does what I have been told. When I tell others of this claim I tell them that I believe it works but that my experience is not by any means scientific.
By the way applying any product not for the use intended is against the law so apply Wilt Pruf to deter wilting, as I did, and if it happens to control Black spot then all is good.

2. I hear that Corn gluten is a good pre-emergence weed killer.
My experience and education tell me that there is no good reason this will work, but also I know nothing of the theory so have no solid reason why it will not.
I checked for research and can find one study from the University of Iowa that claims it works. (Hmm interesting, what do they grow in Iowa?) The majority of studies give no credence to this research. The consensus is that though it has some limited control on some weeds it is a poor pre-emergence weed killer.
I checked with people who have actually tried it and I gathered from what I heard that the only way this product might work is if they left the unopened bag on the ground, no weeds would grow underneath it.
Corn gluten is expensive and I like my wallet full more than I dislike weeds.
I have no intention of trying this product unless I hear compelling scientific evidence that I am wrong.

3. I read on the Internet that howling at the moon while wearing a tutu will stop Borers infesting my Pumpkins.
Through my education and experience I see no reasonable reason why this would work and can think of many reasons why it won’t.

I checked for scientific studies and surprisingly enough could find none.
I asked people I trusted and they are now inquiring about having me committed.
I don’t think that tutus are very expensive so cost is not a factor.
Once again there is no reason to try this method except that it might annoy my neighbor who is a perpetual pain in the but.

So in conclusion do your research before spending your hard earned cash on the newest miracle product.