Gypsy Moth

Gypsy Moth

What is it?

The Gypsy Moth is another species of pest that was brought to the U.S. by accident. Since it's introduction, it has devastated much of the eastern states and caused roughly $868 million in damages. Starting as an egg being laid anywhere with protection during late fall, they hatch in the spring.

The larvae stage

What does it do?

During the first three stages of it's life (seperated by molting and growing in size), the larvae feed on the leaves of their host tree. In the first stage, they take tiny bites out of the leaves, just as much as they need. In the second and third stages they eat the leaves, from the edges to the center. This is the time that they are most damaging to hardwood trees, especially Oak trees. You usually won't see them active during the day unless the infestation is very dense. On minor cases, they feed on the top of the tree at night and rest during the day. If there is a large amount of them infecting the tree, you may see them active all hours of the day. In early to mid June they start building a cocoon. Usually these are located in bark flaps, under branches, basically anywhere providing good protection. When they emerge 7-14 days later, they are fully matured adults. They have now become the moths that we all know and hate. The males emerge first, and fly around look for a mate. The females (in most species) are flightless. Once the females emerge, they emit a pheromone to attract the males. After reproduction, they both die. And so the cycle repeats.

Adult male Gypsy Moth

Adult female Gypsy Moth

How to manage it:

You're best bets are killing the egg masses that you find on the trees or in some cases, anywhere else that provides protection. Destroying one egg mass can kill up to 1000 potential caterpillars. But there are actually a few ways to get these guys:

                                               

Hire an exterminator. Usually your local tree care professionals know how to deal with them and when.

Buy a gypsy moth trap. They can be pricey, but the may be worth it. 

Short on money? Luckily there's a few homemade tricks you can do to help:

Wrap duct tape around the tree at chest height, then smear "tanglefoot" on the duct tape. The caterpillars can try to cross it, but they wont get far before they get stuck.

Wrap some burlap around the tree and spray it with insecticides. As they cross it, it will soak into their bloodstream and kill them.

Using burlap again, wrap it around the trunk and flip the top half down, creating a barrier for them to rest during the days. Each day, go lift the flap and kill whats under it. This is the cheapest method, and works decently well.

Big thanks to http://www.gypsymothalert.com/control.html for the pictures and methods of removal!

Aphids

Aphids are some of the most destructive pests in your average landscape. Since they have spread worldwide, it's possible that you might have them in your garden. In this post I'll help you figure out if you have them, and I'll tell you how to kill 'um.

The Aphid (pictured above) usually only feed on a specific type of plant, depending on the species. There are some species, however, that will eat hundreds of different kind of plants. Without being an expert on them, odds are that you won't know what species is attacking your growth. Aphids feed on sap. Sap, although appearing to be a slow moving liquid, is actually under high pressure which after being punctured by the aphid forces it into the bugs food canal. If the feeding itself doesn't stress the plant, the virus's that they introduce in the process sometimes will. To get to the sap, Aphids have long, sharp mouthparts that allow them to pierce the soft parts of the plants. Below is a picture of an aphid feeding on a plant, showing the mandibles piercing a stem.

Aphids are most damaging between 65-80 degrees Fahrenheit. This would be the best time to see if you've got them on your plants.

KEEP IN MIND: A small level of Aphids on your plants is actually normal, as this pest is very widespread. It's when there is a mass of them causing damage that the plant can't keep up with that you need to take action to have them removed. 

How to tell if you have a damaging level of aphids:

• Curled, yellow, or distorted leaves
• gall spots
• Stunted shoots
• honeydew on leaves (a fluid produced by the aphid)
• when looking for the aphids themselves, look on the underside of the leaves or inside curled leaves

Now, how to get rid of them:

Biological controls include parasitic wasps that mummify aphids after laying eggs inside of them. If you see this happening, there's a good chance the aphid population will be decreasing in the next few weeks. Another natural predator is the common ladybug. They feed on the bugs while the bugs are feeding on the plants. This is good because it interrupts big outbreaks.

Mostly, the best option for control is insecticides. There are several brands available to take care of Aphids, but they are sometimes specific about the type of plant it can be used on. Make sure you read the label. Or you could always call your local tree care company and have them take care of it!

Emerald Ash Borer

The Emerald Ash Borer is a BIG problem in the Northeast region of the United States, and the problem is getting bigger daily. These pests attack all species of Ash trees here in the US. Fortunately, they only attack Ash trees, and nothing else. They are believed to have come from China, Russia, Japan or Korea. They have only been around in the US since 2002. Since then they have spread to Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Quebec and Ontario. Efforts to keep them contained thus far have failed. However, there are ways to combat the EAB.

Here's a quick video about what's being done to help slow down the spread of EAB:

Is your Ash tree dying? Here's how to tell if it's the EAB. As you can see in the picture above, the bug is very easily identified. It is almost fluorescent in color, and glints in the sunlight, making it somewhat easy to spot when on leaves. The problem, however, is that it bores into the trunk of the tree, eating away at the inside. The bug destroys the layers under the bark that transport water and nutrients, which makes the tree start thinning from that point up. In most cases, the top of the tree starts to thin out first, working its way down. This can happen as fast as half a tree in one year, and within two years it can completely kill the tree. When the tree can no longer handle the stress of trying to keep the top alive, it often starts pushing out new branches on the trunk. This is a good indication that there is an infection. Another sign that you've got an EAB problem is seeing "D" shaped exit holes in the bark of the tree.

What to do if you have an EAB infection:

Unfortunately, treatment for this issue is very limited due to it's somewhat sudden impact. All agencies involved in treatment recommend certain insecticides, however they are mostly only available to tree care professionals. You're best, and seemingly only, option for treatment is to call your local tree care company for an assessment and estimate. It can be pricey to save these trees, but without treatment the tree will die. Once the EAB starts a colony in the tree it's only a matter of time before it's chewed inside out.  

Source: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/05/14/ash_borer_found/

Pine Needle Scale

Pine needle scale is a very common pest found in the US. It affects mostly Scotch and Mugo pines, but it may also attack firs, red and Austrian pines, and spruce trees. When looking at a mugo infected with scale, it looks like it has a light layer of snow on the needles. When you look closer, however, you'll see that the white specks on the shrub are actually shells, casing the scale inside.

Source: http://urbanext.illinois.edu/hortanswers/detailproblem.cfm?PathogenID=74

The scale starts off its life being hatched out of the mothers old shell around mid May. The first stage of their lives, they are flat nymphs that are known as crawlers. After hatching, they move to a suitable part of the same tree to hunker down and make their own shell. Some or them may fall off the tree or be taken by wind to another tree, which is usually how the infection spreads.  After finding a needle to call home, they create their own shell and molt inside of it, allowing them to grow for up to three weeks. At this point, the males emerge from their shell as a winged adult, and the females, after mating, lay as much as 40 eggs under their shell. Depending on where you live, they work two hatching seasons into a year. One in mid-May and one in late July. This can make containment difficult.

This picture shows the hard white shells of the adult scale, as well as the new-born nymphs, which apear here as small red dots. Source: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/pine_needle_scale_crawlers_should_be_hatching/

As far as treating scale goes, most effective controls have been systemic insecticides. They should be sprayed in June and in August, right as the newborn nymphs are trying to settle in, before creating their shells. Also effective horticultural oil sprays. Dormant oil sprays have proven for the most part ineffective. If you plan on trying these methods, contact your local pesticide dealer and ask for more information.

Evergreen Bagworm

The Evergreen Bagworm is a pest found in almost all of the US, as far west as Nebraska, North to New England, and South to the Gulf of Mexico. Although it's called the Evergreen Bagworm, it doesn't necessarily attack only evergreens. It attacks cypress, pine, juniper, spruce, locust, birch, black locust, apple, oak, willow, sycamore, poplar, maple, and several other species of plants and trees. Red Cedar and Arborvitae are their favorite food, and are attacked most often. In my career I've seen them on just about everything, from a metal stop sign to a plastic eves trough. They can wiggle themselves anywhere, but they only feed on plant material.

They start life out as a black larva, growing brown and tan as they mature. Inside the mothers empty sac from the previous season, up to 1000 eggs can be hatched. They hatch between early April and June, depending on the weather and the temperatures. When they hatch, they drop down from the mothers sac on a small piece of silk string, which usually gets caught by the wind, carrying the larvae to their host tree. Once they reach their new host, they immediately start forming their own case to live in, feeding off the tree and using its leaves to build its sac. It wraps its' silk around the branches of the tree, sometimes so tightly that it can hurt the tree just from the squeeze.

These are some pictures of bagworms that I found just today. They were on an arborvitae.

Adult males come out of their sac around late August, and look like a black moth with a 1 inch wingspan. The females, however, never leave their sac. They die in it, surrounded by the eggs that will be hatched in the next season.

The sac that you may see hanging off of your trees is made of silk, fecal matter, and pieces of the tree that the Bagworm is latched onto. Often times that sac is hard to spot to the untrained eye. Especially on spruces, they look just like pine cones and blend in very well. The camouflage tactics that the Bagworm uses is very effective in keeping away predators.





Ways to stop Bagworms from destroying your trees: 
If you find that you have bagworms, one of the simple solutions is to simply pull them off the braches you find them on. It's best to do this right before spring, as the female is already dead and the eggs haven't hatched yet. Make sure to throw them away in a sealed container, so that the hatching eggs have nowhere to go. Another option: fire. Burn the sacs as you pick them off.

The chemical solution is insecticides, and they should be sprayed mid to late June. Bagworm feeding slows in August, which means insecticides won't be as effective during late summer/fall. Make sure to cover the entire tree with the insecticides because you usually will not be able to see all of them. New larva are very small and hard to spot.

Spidermites

A spidermite is a little, tiny bug in the arachnid family that is a massive pain to a lot of homeowners. These pests are capable of attacking just about any kind of plant material, from your spruces outside to your flowers inside. I was googling more information on them, and found out that it's a huge problem for people who have indoor grow rooms as well (shame, shame). Let's get the facts about spidermites:

• There are thousands of different species of spidermites, so diagnosing them is tricky.
• They are almost impossible to see with the unaided eye, making it trickier.
• They can be brown, yellow, red or green depending on the species and the season.
• They're certainly not easy to get rid of, but we're going to try to anyways.

 Southern Red Mite

Two-spotted mite

Source for pics: http://spidermite.info/

HOW TO SPOT SPIDERMITES: 

When you look at the underside of the leaves of your plant, you might see tiny, light colored flecks that almost look like dandruff on the plant. This is a good indication that you've got an early infestation. Granted, the type of plant will likely show different symptoms. Some examples, spidermites on an alberta spruce will look something like this:

While the same damage on an arborvitae will look like the botton leaf in this picture:

 And on a boxwood:

Pictures courtesy of http://woodypests.cas.psu.edu/FactSheets/InsectFactSheets/html/Spruce_Spider_Mite.html

The most noticable damage that I deal with in my day to day at work is the damage they do to spruces. They basically eat the tree from the inside out:

Source: http://treegreen.co/Pages/spider-mite.aspx

When spidermites start to injure any of these plants, the leaves/needles start turning a gold, gray, or bronze color. This makes matters worse because the changing color of the plant means it will be absorbing a different amount of sunlight than usual, most times scorching them and causing early leaf/needle drop.

There are a few ways to get rid of these pests, preferred tactics include:

 Chemical: if you are in or near any decent sized city, there is likely a tree company that can take care of this for you. If you're a DIY'r like myself, you can try using a horticultural oil or an insecticidal soap to trap them and their eggs, killing them off. As with any kind of chemical, make sure you read the labels. Also beware, some of these hoticultural oils can take the blue color out of a few species of spruces. Not a big deal, but something to think about.

The bully method (or mechanical, hehe): push um around! If your 5 foot spruce is covered in spidermites and you don't want them there, then do the logical thing. Grab a hose, put it on jet, and blast them out of the tree. While this does NOT kill a lot of them, it does give the predators in the grass more of a chance to catch them, giving your tree a brief respite. This method, if being used alone, should be done 2-3 times a week. Every time they set up camp, destroy it. 

Biological: Every creature on the planet is prey to another creature. Spidermites are no different. Their natural enemies are ladybugs, pirate bugs, other kinds of mites, and dusty wings. Unfortunately, by the time these predators start breeding and getting ready to take out the spidermites, the spidermites have already been breeding for a month or so. Therefor, it's not a very effective means of control to release more predators into your yard hoping for drastic effects.

Something else to remember, spidermites thrive on trees that are under stress from heat or drought. Easy way to fix that, though, just read my article about keeping your trees from heat stress: When/Why/How to Water! 

Why so many bugs?

Let's scratch the surface on this years pests. As my last post pointed out, we are going through the driest year since we started documenting it. The heat has obvious effects on your plants, sure. But there's some more bad news that isn't as obvious.

With higher temperatures, a lot of those bugs that drive you nuts are thriving, and here's some reasons why. Bugs like it hot. Most species of bugs reproduce faster with big-time heat. Grasshoppers and crickets seem harmless enough, but with the temperatures so high, they are breeding far quicker than in past years. This may not strike you as a big deal, but it is to farmers. They feed mostly on Tobacco, Alfalfa, and a lot of veggie crops. With their numbers as large as they are, that means they're eating more than usual. And that's just the start of the problem. The extremely mild winter we had last year had a few negative effects as well. Without a hard frost, a lot of bug populations survived the cold months, meaning there were more to start off the next season. Let's hope we get a colder winter this year, we're gunna need it!

Mosquitoes Also thrive in high temperatures. Around here it's not too big of a pain, because we don't have much sitting water, which mosquitoes require to reproduce. But if you go to Florida, for example, where it's humid AND hot, expect to get a few bumps. All it takes is 1/4 inch of water for them to do their business. This wouldn't be such a huge problem if it weren't for the fact that they, again, are carrying the West Nile Virus, and have already infected 47 humans this year, with one fatality.
Source: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-07-23/summer-bugs/56442572/1

Something to remember about this years bug problems is that a lot of bugs think if they can't find any water outside, then they'll come right in and chill out in YOUR house. This could be why a lot of you have noticed that there seems to be an ant parade going down your hallway. You can solve this by either watering your lawn, getting some residential use insecticides such as Raid or Ortho, or bug-bombing your house. If you decide to use any chemicals, make sure you read the labels. It may seem pretty self-explanatory, but some of these compounds can pack a dangerous punch. It is poison, and should be treated as such.

To sum it all up, higher temperatures = more bugs. There's not much we can do about that, other than pray for a freak snowstorm in August. Maybe you could do a rain dance or sacrifice your first born to Tlaloc. (I wouldn't recommend this option)

Thanks for reading!
-Roach