Slide 1: What’s Bugging you? Home and Lawn Problems Presented by Dr. Ayanava Majumdar NDSU Extension Service Steele County Finley, ND 58230-0316 Cell phone: 701-789-0545
Slide 2: Diagnosing a problem • Define the problem: record the abnormal & usual characteristics, ecological perspective • Look for patterns: – Found a pattern? – caused by nonliving or ABIOTIC factors (weather, pesticide, stress) – No pattern? – caused by living or BIOTIC factors (pests)
Slide 3: ABIOTIC PLANT STRESSORS BIOTIC PLANT STRESSORS
Slide 4: Weather Patterns of 2007 Avg Dep. air from temp. 2006 (oF) Avg Avg bare turf soil soil temp. temp. (oF) (oF) Avg wind speed (mph) Avg solar rad. (Lys) Total rainfall (inch) Dep. from 2006 rainfall Month April May June July 41 58 68 71 -8 +1 +1 -1 41 55 62 72 35 51 62 68 9 11 9 7* 439 404 484 570 1 4 5 2 0 +3.0 +4.7 +0.4 Highlights: cool wet spring, gradual increase in heat level, sharp decrease in rainfall, July – majority of lawn & garden calls
Slide 5: Abiotic stress to plants in 2007
Slide 6: More weather related issues Iron chlorosis: get soil tested!
Slide 7: Scorched plants?? Use organic mulch!! Stones under trees and shrubs can physically damage bark Stones get hot and give off a lot of heat Use organic mulch for all your needs… Heat-stressed Yew shrub
Slide 8: Chemical injury to trees • Trimec…a popular lawn herbicide for broadleaves, use with care around shade trees • DO NOT POUR HERBICIDE IN SOLUTION AROUND TREES!! Herbicide Injury to plants 2. 1. Pattern – abiotic causes No pattern – biological cause 3.
Slide 9: Incorrect pruning practices stress plants! Severe bark injury Sap ooze can be attractive to insects/pathogens
Slide 10: ABIOTIC PLANT STRESSORS BIOTIC PLANT STRESSORS
Slide 11: Needle cast in evergreens? Widespread disease in ND, many causes… FUNGI: 40 or more organisms cause this disease INSECTS may cause similar symptoms: Spruce sawfly, Pikonema alaskensis Cytospora canker Rhizosphaera spores
Slide 12: Yellowheaded spruce sawfly Overwinter as larva in subsoil cocoon Each adult can lay 80 eggs, early larvae feed in cluster Late stage larvae scatter, eat needles MANAGEMENT • Keep abiotic stressors to min. (water) • Some biological control agents active • Use a strong jet of water to dislodge larvae • Plant trees close to each other (exclude light) • Insecticides: – Imidacloprid products (Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub) – systemic and ready-touse – Carbaryl products (Sevin) – use with caution, bees and other nontarget insects
Slide 13: Cytospora canker of spruce MANAGEMENT: • Control insects (spruce gall adelgids and spider mites) to prevent stress • Water plants till 18-24 inch depth is moist • Vertical mulch to improve water penetration, prevent compaction • Avoid stem and bark injury
Slide 14: Spruce gall adelgid • Hosts: spruce, fir trees • Minute aphid like insects, females overwinter • Nymphs produce white tufts for protection • Suck plant sap, plant reaction – galls • Aggravate needle cast by stress • • • • • • • MANAGEMENT Keep abiotic stressors under control Use resistant varieties (nurseries) Prune galls on small trees Use of dormant oils (with care) Insecticidal soap – M-pede Insecticide control difficult – target overwintering stage Choice: acephate, imidacloprid
Slide 15: Spider mites (not an insect) • Hosts: spruce, fir trees, etc. • Sucking mouthparts, all life stages feed • Rapid lifecycle, overwinter as eggs • Make a fine silken web • Discoloration of leaves, bronzing • • • • • MANAGEMENT Keep plants watered during hot days Use water jet – dislodge mites, create humidity Natural control (lady beetles, predatory mites) Insecticide control – abamectin (Avid), bifenthrin (Talstar) Insecticidal soaps, oils
Slide 16: Boxelder bugs • • • • Hosts: boxelders, maple Sucking insects (adults/nymphs) Overwinter as adults May cause some injury to fruits but no treatment needed • Nuisance species: get into homes to overwinter • Management: don’t plant female boxelders, seal cracks, use cold water to dislodge the insects, vacuum off insects that enter home, some pyrethroid insecticides (lambda-cyhalothirn or Cyonara) for residual action • May resemble other insects
Slide 17: What’s happening to my lawn? Cutworms: variegated, bronze, black Armyworms: feed after dark
Slide 18: What’s happening to my lawn? Sod webworm damage: Adults flutter when you walk (late July) Use a soap drench Look for larval excreta on soil surface Cultural and natural control are effective
Slide 19: Bronze birch borer • • • • Metallic wood boring beetle (adult) Flat-headed borer (larvae) Adult emergence – late June to August Branches <1 inch diam. infested first (top branches) • Larvae grow inside & overwinter in galleries • D-shaped exit holes • Management: – Destroy heavily infested branches (look for bumps) – Brown-barked river birch is resistant – Permethrin (Bonide, Hi-Yield) on bark – June (1), Aug. (2) – Insecticide injection by professionals
Slide 20: Emerald ash borer • Shiny, green beetle, first reported in 2002 (MI) • Has killed >40 million ash trees, 7.5 billion trees at risk! • Quarantine in six states • D-shaped exit holes • Has not been reporter in ND (MN on high alert, 1-888-545-6684) • Management: – Plant different types of trees – Alternatives: maple, horse chestnut, hackberry, white/bur oak, basswood – Don’t move firewood! – Insecticides: imidacloprid soil injection (April), cyfluthrin spray (June)
Slide 21: Cankerworms • Two distinct type (count abd. legs) • Spring CKW overwinter as larvae • Female moth is wingless • Larvae move by looping • Extensive defoliation of leaves • Management: – Tanglefoot: 3-4 inch band to trap females – Insecticides: acephate, bacteria (Bt), permethtrin Fall CKW – 3 prs of abd. prolegs Spring CKW – 2 prs of prolegs M F
Slide 22: Cottony maple scale • Hosts: boxelder, elm, honey locust, linden, maple, poplar • Female scales overwinter and produce “crawlers” in June • Male scales are active flyers, mature late in season • Sap suckers: immatures feed on leaves, adult on branches • Branches may cover with sooty mold (fungus) due to honeydew • Management: – Difficult insects to control due to wax – Dormant oils before bud break (may injure plants) – Insecticides: Merit (WSP), Bayer Tree & Shrub (imidacloprid)
Slide 23: Eastern tent caterpillar Tent caterpillars • Prairie TC most common, hosts: chokecherry (aesthetic damage) • Prairie TC: lay eggs at base of plants that overwinter, one generation/year • Larvae black with a white mid-dorsal line, some hair, fall to the ground on touch • Moths fly to light in mid-summer, stout-bodied and hairy adult male • Management: break-off the infested forks, keep the lawn clean of leaves (prevention better than cure) – Natural control: tiny parasitic wasps – Insecticides: bacterial formulations (Bt), spinosad (Fertilome), Sevin Forest tent caterpillar Prairie tent caterpillar
Slide 24: European elm bark beetle • Host: elm • Adults feed in the crotches of living twigs • Adults transmit spores of Dutch elm disease • Female makes breeding gallery for eggs • Larvae make galleries perpendicular to the breeding gallery • Two generations per year – overwinter as adult/larvae/pupae • Management: – burn elm firewood, – heavy pruning from the infested area – plant resistant elm varieties (Sapporo Autumn Gold Elm, New Horizon Elm)
Slide 25: Aphids • Numerous hosts, often difficult to know species • Overwinter as eggs • Eggs>>nymph>>females>>lay nymphs not eggs • Double in nos. in 5 days, multiple generations per year • Management: – Let natural enemies eat them! – Use water jet, insecticidal soap – Use safe insecticides, beware of insecticide resistance – Products: imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced), cyfluthrin (Tempo), esfenvalerate (Ortho Bug-BGone) phids come in all colors and sizes! Common crop pests: English grain aphid, bird cherry-oat aphid, greenbug, corn leaf aphid
Slide 26: A confusing situation! Upper leaves of dogwood Lower leaves of dogwood Skeletonized leaves at the bottom Upper leaves with shotholes
Slide 27: Diagnosis after through search… Dogwood sawfly (white larvae) Lower leaves of dogwood Management: scouting, hand-picking, Oil and soaps for small larvae Anthracnose develop late in season, spots may merge collapsing the whole leaf, center of spots may or may not drop out Upper leaves of dogwood
Slide 28: Honeybees and wasps Honey bees service $15 billion annually Bees may swarm in your lawn but for a short time (no action needed) They could be aggressive in late-summer Q. I want to picnic outside with my friends but wasps are a nuisance to these activities. What should I do? • Know what is attractive to the wasps… • Don’t waste money on repellents and traps… • Do not swat bees and wasps… • Serve food and beverages when everyone is ready to eat… • Deposit empty beverage cans in one garbage bin placed farther from the crowd • Dispose garbage to avoid attracting more insects…
Slide 29: Nightcrawlers in lawn?? • Related to earthworms but longer, quick moving animals • They are nature’s rototillers, beneficial worms • In large nos. make lawn uneven • No specific chemical registered • Well maintained lawn that uses fertilizer, herbicides, and insecticides have lower problems • Keep the subsoil moist to move them away from top soil • Treat for grubs (Sevin or carbaryl), kill 1/3rd popn
Slide 30: Lace bugs or tingid bugs Many host plants Bleaching of foliage Management: natural pyrethrins, insecticidal soaps, systemic or contact product
Slide 31: (Unwanted) Visitors in your home?? Accidental pests: usually outside but migrate for protection from bad weather, essentially harmless! • Root weevils: common garden pest, brown to black, many species, larvae in soil, handcollect adults, use pyrethroids IF NEEDED Adult Larva
Slide 32: (Unwanted) Visitors in your home?? Nuisance species: • Ground beetles: very common, may look like carpet beetles or other wood borers, predatory or beneficial Numerous size and color variations in ground beetles
Slide 33: (Unwanted) Visitors in your home?? Nuisance species: • Pillbugs/sowbugs: related to crayfish, shrimps and lobster, harmless, moisture-loving organisms, may become pest in garden
Slide 34: (Unwanted) Visitors in your home?? • Multicolored Asian Lady beetles: in different colors, beneficial insects, pests status controversial, unique aggregation behavior Larva of lady beetle
Slide 35: Other insect issues… Fly control Trapping methods: Fly paper Window trap Electronic trap with light Trap with bait Vertical sticky traps Stable fly
Slide 36: Insecticide Mode of action
Slide 37: Insects vs. Human Beings • Similar cells, tissue structure, muscle types • Similar oxygen utilization in muscles • Similar reproductive system • Similar NERVOUS system – simple structure, protected by a sheath
Slide 38: Why should you be concerned? Three modes of action: • Target the nervous system – action on neurotransmitter in insects • Energy production or balance • Growth Neurotransmitter – broken down by inhibitory enzymes
Slide 39: Insecticide classes – nerve poisons • Organophosphates– acephate (Ortho), malathion (Fertilome) • Carbamates – carbaryl (Sevin) No inhibitory enzyme - overaccumulation of neurotransmitter The insecticides can have the same action on human >>> convulsions, paralysis, death
Slide 40: Insecticide classes – Neonicotinoids • Molecule similar to nicotine • Examples: imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced) Mimic the neurotransmitter – over excitation The insecticides can have the same action on human >>> rapid breathing, exhaustion, death
Slide 41: Bt transgenics • • • Bacillus thuringiensis: common bacteria in soil Actual toxin is the crystal (“cry”) protein (arrow) Very specific in action (buy the correct product and follow instructions) Midgut disruptors in insects Act only in alkaline pH (acidic pH not suitable) Some non-target effects are debated Product: Bonide BT • • • •
Slide 42: Toxicity of formulations Source: Penn State Univ. IPM Program
Slide 43: Let’s walk through the store… DEET: • repellent for many insects, short residual time • developed by U.S. Army in 1946, 53 products • LD50 on skin = 1800+ mg/kg body weight but 75 mg/kg oral • be cautious if product has over 15% active chemical
Slide 44: Let’s walk through the store… TERRO ANT BAIT (Senoret Chem., MO): • Registered in 1983 by EPA for cockroach, ants, weevils • Liquid bait contains borax – long residual action, takes time to kill insects • Has insecticidal, fungicidal, herbicidal action • Terro Ant Dust contains deltamethrin – be careful!
Slide 45: Let’s walk through the store… RAID (S.C.Johnson): • First marketed in 1956, RTU products • Contain cyfluthrin (pyrethroid) + synergist • Kills ants, cockroach, mosquito, wasps, hornets • May irritate lungs, keep away from children
Slide 46: Let’s walk through the store… RAID Disposable Yellow Jacket Trap (S.C.Johnson): • Attract and trap strategy • Effectiveness in population control doubtful • If allergic, stay away from the traps
Slide 47: Let’s walk through the store… Bayer Advanced Home Pest Control (RTU): • Beta-cyfluthrin: a general purpose insecticide • Long residual (9 mo), rainfastedness • May have some nontarget effect on insect pollinators Bayer Advanced Rose & Flower (RTU): • Imidacloprid, Beta-cyfluthrin • Taufluvalinate, Tebuconazole
Slide 48: Let’s walk through the store… Ortho Max Lawn & Garden Insect Killer: • Bifenthrin – contact poison • Ready-to-spray formulation • Can be used on many vegetables, trees, shrubs, lawn (check label) • Very toxic to pollinators, fish and aquatic invertebrates
Slide 49: Let’s walk through the store… Ortho Home Defense Max: • Has more bifenthrin • Protect foundations, wood piles, tree stumps, stored lumber • Do not use near water bodies! • Do not use on edible plants or ornamentals
Slide 50: Note of caution about insecticides • • • • • • • Choose the right insecticide (least toxic) Never use Restricted Use Pesticide (RUP) in homes Tolerate some level of infestation Read the label – any first aid information Wear PPE, protect yourself & children Watch for nontarget applications Protect the pollinators
Slide 51: Diagnosing a problem • • Define the problem: record the abnormal & usual characteristics, ecological perspective Look for patterns: – Found a pattern? – caused by nonliving or abiotic factors (weather, pesticide, stress) – No pattern? – caused by living factors (pests) • Scouting procedure: get the big picture and then zoom in • Monitor spread over time: mark the area and keep watch, spreading? – biological cause/s • Determine cause of injury – ask the experts, send samples in Ziploc bags for analysis: – Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory, Box-5012, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58105
Slide 52: Monitoring techniques $24 Mosquito trap $114 Carpet beetle trap - $30 Yellow sticky trap - $5 Moths Controlled with Pheromone Traps: Indian Meal Moth Angoumois Grain Moth Clothes Moth Beetles Controlled by Pheromone Traps: Red Flour Beetles Lesser Grain Borers Saw-tooth Grain Beetle
Slide 53: What’s Bugging you? Home and Lawn Problems Thank you for your patience! Please complete & return the survey before you leave this room! Contact: Dr. Ayanava Majumdar, NDSU Extension Service, Finley, ND 58230-0316, Cell phone: 701-7890545, Fax: 701-524-1519