Get Out of Here, You're Bugging Me July 20, 2006 In the summer, our thoughts turn to flowers, green grass, and the joy of being outdoors. It seems that all of Mother Nature thinks that way, too! With the warmer temperatures, it is helpful to walk about and look at your lawn and gardens on a daily basis. Damage from insects seems to happen overnight, but if you are alert, use restraint and preventative measures, you can control them. Did you know that over-watering and over-fertilizing your lawn can create a welcome mat for hungry bugs? Watering each day, particularly for a short time, encourages a shallow root system since the roots do not have to grow as deep to obtain water. These shallow roots make a very attractive lunch for hungry bugs. Watering daily also encourages disease and less drought tolerance, particularly if you experience high humidity in the summer. Forcing grass to need daily watering will ensure that if your water is restricted due to drought, your lawn will be the first in the neighborhood to suffer. Applying more than the recommended nitrogen applications to your yard encourages rapid leaf and chlorophyll growth. This is almost tantamount to being a neon light to the insect world, announcing a new lawn buffet opened on your street! Be conservative with your fertilizer and you will not run the risk of inviting strangers to dinner. Also, do not cut your grass shorter just because you are going on vacation or because you think you will have to mow it less. The longer length of the grass leaves helps keep bugs out of your lawn and helps the grass retain moisture. Grass that is mowed too often and too short can become burned. Plant or grass damage can differ widely depending on the pest. Deciding what causes the problem will help you choose the best control. Spots or yellowing discoloration can be a sign of insects but the major sign to look for is chewing or speckled leaves which indicates insect troubles. Small green, black, orange, or pink insects called aphids can cluster on new leaves, which will cause them to pucker and drop. On azalea leaves, look for tiny colored dots on the bottom that leave the tops speckled. This may be a sign of lacebugs or spider mites. Using a horticultural spray will get rid of aphids, lacebugs and spider mites quickly. You may need to repeat application. Stunted rose buds or flowers are usually a sign of thrips, a silvery insect that is almost too tiny to see. A good way to prevent these hungry insects from making snacks out of your roses is Bayer's All-in-One, a combination of three systemic, fertilizer, insecticide, and fungicide in one product. Good for six weeks, this 9-14-9 analysis can be found at most garden centers and DIY stores. When you are walking your gardens, run your hands over the top of your shrubs. Do little white fluttery insects rise up? If so, you may have whiteflies. They are very common in the summertime, especially with crape myrtles and citrus trees. The black sooty mold, which is left by the whiteflies, will wash off easily with a water hose. This is honeydew, which is excreted by the insect. It becomes moldy and prevents the leaves from receiving sunlight and oxygen, and will cause the plant to become stressed. Are the leaves slimy, or can the stains be wiped off? This could be a sign of disease. Disease comes for many reasons such as poor air circulation, stress, over-watering, bad landscaping practices, and humidity. Using fungicides or pesticides as preventative measures is a waste of time and money. It is best to be aware of your lawn and shrubs, so that at the first sign of trouble, you will be able to catch it quickly with a recommended fungicide. Please don't use homemade recipes. They are not evaluated for use in the landscape and you could harm your plants and soil even more than the disease or insects. Pick up all diseased leaves and branches and throw them away. Do not discard them into a compost pile, especially any roses with black spots. The spores for the fungus are airborne carried and can re-infect your bushes if you leave them on the ground under the plants. Also, if you plan on using a commercial or organic spray, read the instructions carefully. Adding more chemicals than necessary may do more harm than good. If you have a question regarding the safety of a chemical or directional use, contact your local Extension office or look at the back of the product for a toll-free number that you can call for assistance. Remember- if you use organic or chemical products, you also run the risk of hurting your beneficial bugs and butterflies. If you would like to have the beneficial insects to help you maintain a pest-free environment, patience is a virtue. Ladybugs will arrive in droves to eat your aphids if you can wait. There are also parasitic wasps that will attack caterpillars, given enough time to arrive on the scene. Praying mantises are very useful in the garden, as are earwigs. Earwigs are amazing, under-appreciated insects that can devouring mole crickets and eat up to fifty chinch bugs a night! Be aware that if you see earwigs, it may be a sign that you have lawn-eating bugs, too! So, if you are meandering around in your beautiful lawn and you become aware of a problem, don't put it off until the weekend or your next day off to take care of the problem. Immediately cut off and destroy severely infested branches. If you only notice a few aphids, then you can dispel them with a strong blast of water sprayed directly at them. If after a few days, the insects are not gone, then you can try using your Extension office's recommendation. Repeat every two to three days for two weeks until the insects disappear. Please be mindful that you can still harm plants with home remedies very easily! More is not better! Make sure you do not spray your plants in the heat of the day. Plants are extremely susceptible to the heat and by using an oil spray you will almost always do damage if you are not careful. Water the plant or shrub well the day before treating it so that it is not dehydrated and more susceptible to shock. Keep in mind that no matter how organic you want to keep your environment, sometimes it is necessary to use a commercial product. Don't let the insects destroy the plant by withholding a cure. Commercial sprays and pesticides available for retail use on the market are considered safe if used correctly and occasionally. By visiting your lawn and garden on a regular basis and keeping a watchful eye out for hungry pests, you will help your plants keep a step ahead of the dinner bell. I know they will appreciate all the help they can get.

---

Jeff Radel, CRS 'Make a Smart Move' House of Brokers Realty, Inc. 1515 Chapel Hill Rd. Columbia, MO 65203 Phone: 573-446-6529 Fax: 573-446-5408 jefrealtor@aol.com Website			Donna Adams, GRI, ABR 'Make A Smart Move!!!' House of Brokers Realty, Inc. 1515 Chapel Hill Rd. Columbia, MO 65203 Phone: 573-446-6530 Fax: 573-446-5408 dadams@houseofbrokers.com Website
Cyprus company