by Matthew Orwat | Nov 18, 2014
Many homeowners and gardeners think of mothballs as a quick fix when trying to control indoor pest problems or wildlife incursions. There are problems with using mothballs for this purpose.
Mothballs are made up of Naphthalene. The EPA has the following statement about Naphthalene, the active ingredient in mothballs:
[notice]”Naphthalene is associated with hemolytic anemia, damage to the liver, and neurological damage. Cataracts have also been reported in workers acutely exposed to naphthalene by inhalation and ingestion. Chronic (long-term) exposure of workers and rodents to naphthalene has been reported to cause cataracts and damage to the retina. Hemolytic anemia has been reported in infants born to mothers who “sniffed” and ingested naphthalene (as mothballs) during pregnancy. Available data are inadequate to establish a causal relationship between exposure to naphthalene and cancer in humans. EPA has classified naphthalene as a Group C, possible human carcinogen.” Source: epa.gov website [/notice]
The use of mothballs in gardens or around the house to deter nuisance wildlife is problematic at best; harmful to pets, children and adults at worst. When mothballs are placed outdoors they can contaminate edible garden crops, runoff into ponds, streams and lakes and leach into ground water as a pollutant.
Here are a few things to consider when using moth balls:
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Outside use of these products is prohibited
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Applications are limited to an airtight space or well sealed container such as a garment bag.
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Application locations not listed on the label, and therefore not allowed, include
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attics
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walls
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voids
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crawl spaces
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gardens
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closets
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plastic garbage bags.
Moth balls are a pesticide and regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Contact information: FDACS (850) 617-7882, National Pesticide Information Center (800) 858-7378, Poison Control Center (800) 222-1222, Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology, Pesticide Surveillance Program (800) 606-5810.
by Les Harrison | Oct 20, 2014
Appearing clumsy and bumbling at first glance, these exotic invaders quickly damage landscapes in search of tasty insects.
It can be pretty discouraging to step out one morning to find a lawn pock-marked like the lunar surface. Stunned surprise then anger is usually the owner’s response.
The offender is not the neighborhood teenager with a reputation for inappropriate practical jokes. The offender is most likely an armadillo, sometimes identified as a Florida-speed-bump or a Possum-on-the-half-shell.
Armadillos eat mostly adult insects and their larvae. They incessantly dig holes in lawns and landscapes in their search for food, many times uprooting plants and turf in their food search. Their holes are approximately one to three inches deep and three to five inches wide.
Using insecticides to decrease the armadillo food supply is not guaranteed, but may help reduce the digging. In cases where there is a large, and always ravenous, armadillo population this reduction of food may increase digging activity as they search more diligently for a smaller food supply.
Another consideration is all chemical treatments have to be re-applied on a permanent basis for impact. Always read and follow label instructions for safe use of insecticides.
To add insult to landscape injury, armadillos burrow under driveways, foundations and patios potentially causing structural damage. Additionally, their burrows in pastures pose a potential leg-injury hazard to livestock.
Burrows openings are approximately seven to eight inches in diameter, about the size of a one-gallon plastic jug, and up to 15 feet in length. The sandy soil is piled up right outside the burrow entrance. Armadillos usually rest in a deep burrow during the day and are most active after dark.
Because armadillos are nocturnal, trapping techniques designed to capture them as they emerge from their burrows should be applied late in the afternoon and checked several hours after darkness. Fencing is another potential option to discourage the presence of armadillos.
Several live-trapping techniques can be used to capture armadillos as they exit of their burrows. One method is to firmly insert a six-inch diameter PVC pipe into the entrance of an active burrow. Adult armadillos will get stuck in the pipe as they try to exit. Another option involves a nylon throw-net staked down to cover the burrow entrance. Armadillos will get tangled in the net as they emerge.
Some can be discouraged from returning to their burrows by filling the hole with a mixture of dirt and mothballs after they have departed for a night of foraging. Laying chicken-wire along a patio, driveway or house foundation will discourage burrowing.
Armadillos can also be trapped using a raccoon-size metal trap, available from local pest control, feed and home improvement stores. These animals are more likely to enter a cage trap with leaf litter or soil placed over the wire bottom.
Suggested baits for the trap are live earthworms or meal worms in surrounding soil placed in hanging bags made of old nylon stockings. Overripe or spoiled fruit which will attract insects may be used as bait. Poison baits are illegal and no chemical repellents or fumigants are registered for use in Florida.
Relocating problem animals is not recommended because it only transfers the problem elsewhere and can spread disease.
To learn more about controlling armadillos contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Office or read Baiting the Nine-banded Armadillo at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw362
by Taylor Vandiver | Sep 9, 2014
What’s eating my lawn? Does your grass look ragged in areas, as if someone randomly used a weed-eater here and there? Are you noticing brown patches that have a closely clipped appearance compared to other areas of your lawn? Your turf may be playing host to Tropical Sod Webworm.
Sod webworm damage in a home lawn. Photo courtesy UF/IFAS.
Sod webworm damage is subtle at first. You have to look closely to notice larval feeding damage. However, an easy indication of their presence is the light tan/brown colored moths, which are the adult stage of the pest. You may see them fly up as you walk through your lawn or if you disturb a nearby bush. The moths do not cause any damage to the turf, but they are depositing eggs, which will result in their offspring, the caterpillars, who do all the chewing damage.
The larvae are gray-green and have spots on each segment. The mature larvae can be up to 1 inch in length. Larvae will curl up in the soil during the day and feed at night. So if you happen to notice caterpillars feeding during the day, it’s probably not sod webworm. You will notice chewed notches along the leaf blade, holes in the leaf and even leaf blade skeletonizing. The older the larvae are, the more they will eat. Damage may start out as a ragged appearance in your turf, which can be hard to diagnose. However, if left unchecked, sod webworm can cause considerable injury to your lawn.
Sod webworm larvae. Photo courtesy UF/IFAS.
If you are uncertain of their presence you can always use a soap drench to flush out larvae. Mix 2 tablespoons of dish soap with 2 gallons of water and pour it over a damaged area (about 3 square ft.). The soap mixture will irritate the pest and bring them to the surface so you can easily identify them. If nothing appears in the area tested move to another damaged site and try again. Here is a link to a video that will give more information on identifying Tropical Sod Webworm.
Tropical Sod Webworm is considered a pest of all warm-season turfgrasses. However, St. Augustinegrass is most commonly affected. The best way to prevent a pest infestation is to use proper cultural maintenance practices for your lawn type. However, if the pest does appear, chemical control should be targeting the larvae stage of the pest. There are multiple products marketed to control lawn caterpillars. However, you may want to consider using B.t. (Bacillus thurengiensis), which is a bacterium that will only harm caterpillars and not bother beneficial insects that may be in your lawn. For more information you can contact your local extension office.
by Sheila Dunning | Aug 19, 2014
Pine bark beetles are frequent pests of stressed pines in the southern United States. The five most common southern pine bark beetle species include three in the genus Ips. Ips beetles usually colonize only those trees that are already stressed, declining, or fallen due to environmental factors. Infestations may occur in response to drought, root injury, disease, lightning strikes or other stresses including flooding.
Ips calligraphus usually attacks the lower portions of stumps, trunks and large limbs greater than 4” in diameter. Early signs of attack include the accumulation of reddish-brown boring dust on the bark, nearby cobwebs or understory foliage. Ips calligraphus can complete their life cycles within 25 days during the summer and can produce eight generations per year in Florida. Newly-emerged adults can fly as far as four miles in their first dispersal to find a new host tree, whichever one is the most stressed.
Most trees are not well adapted to saturated soil conditions. With record rainfall this past April, the ground became inundated with water. When the root environment is dramatically changed by excess moisture, especially during the growing season, a tree’s entire physiology is altered, which may result in the death of the tree.
Water saturated soil reduces the supply of oxygen to tree roots, raises the pH of the soil, and changes the rate of decomposition of organic material; all of which weakens the tree, making it more susceptible to indirect damage from insects and diseases.When the ground becomes completely saturated, a tree’s metabolic processes begin to change very quickly. Photosynthesis is shut down within five hours; the tree is in starvation mode, living on stored starches and unable to make more food. Water moves into and occupies all available pore spaces that once held oxygen. Any remaining oxygen is utilized within three hours. The lack of oxygen prevents the normal decomposition of organic matter which leads to the production and accumulation of toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide and nitrogen oxide. Additionally, within seven days there is a noticeable root growth loss. Roots only develop when soil oxygen levels are at 5% -15%. Over time, the decaying roots are attacked by pathogens. The loss of root mass from decay and fungal attack leaves the tree prone to drought damage. After only two weeks of saturated soil conditions the root crown area can have so many problems that decline and even death are imminent.
When a tree experiences these anaerobic soil conditions it will exhibit symptoms of leaf loss with minimal to no new leaf formation. This usually appears two to eight weeks after the soil dries out again. Many trees will not survive, especially the more juvenile and mature trees. However, well established trees may still decline several years later, if they experience additional stresses such as drought or root disturbance from construction.
There is little that can be done to combat the damage caused by soil saturation. However, it is important to enable the tree to conserve its food supply by resisting pruning and to avoid fertilizing until the following growth season. Removal of mulch will aid in the availability of soil oxygen. Basically, it is a “wait and see” process. While water is essential to the survival of trees, it can also be a detriment when it is excessive, especially for drought tolerant pine species such as Sand Pine, which is prevalent throughout the coastal areas.
For urban and residential landscape trees, preventative strategies to avoid tree stress and therefore reduce the chances of infestation include the following:
1) avoiding compaction of, physical damage to, or pavement over the root zones of pines,
2) providing adequate spacing (15-20ft) between trees,
3) minimizing competing vegetation beneath pines,
4) maintaining proper soil nutrient and pH status and
5) limiting irrigation to established pine areas.
When infested trees are removed, care should be taken to avoid injury to surrounding pines, which could attract the more harmful pine bark beetle species Dendroctonus frontalis, the Southern Pine Bark beetle.
There is no effective way to save an individual tree once it has been successfully colonized by Ips beetles. In some cases, the application of an approved insecticide that coats the entire tree trunk may be warranted to protect high-value landscape trees prior to infestation. UF/IFAS Extension can assist with recommendations.
by Julie McConnell | Jul 1, 2014
Panhandle residents have seen caterpillars in abundance this June. One common visitor to pecan trees is the Walnut Caterpillar Datana integerrima. The walnut caterpillar has a very narrow host range and feeds only on trees in the Juglandaceae family which includes walnut, pecan, and hickory trees. They are sometimes seen on other plant material, but feeding on non-host plants is unlikely.
Walnut caterpillar feed on the leaves of host trees through several growth stages and molts until they have reached the final larval instar and are ready to pupate into an adult moth. Their color changes from light green when newly hatched to reddish-brown to almost black with long white hairs as they mature. The caterpillars group together in large masses and may hang from each other and dangle from the tree branches when molting. Instead of creating a cocoon in the tree, the walnut caterpillar moves to the ground beneath the tree and burrows into the soil or leaf litter to pupate and emerges later as a moth.
What can you do if your pecan tree is hosting walnut caterpillars?
Although the numbers seen on trees may be alarming, a healthy tree can tolerate some feeding damage. Stripped branches may increases the chance of a lower yield of fruit because the removal of leaves does reduce the amount of energy the tree can produce, but overall health of the tree should not be significantly affected. However, many homeowners find falling caterpillars and their excrement unappealing and may decide to take steps to manage the population.
There are several natural enemies that feed on caterpillars, so avoid using a broad spectrum insecticide that might harm predatory insects and other animals. Consider using a biological control product such as Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) that is only lethal to caterpillars. Other methods are “pick and squish” or drowning in a bucket of soapy water. Next year, in the spring, watch for masses of tiny green eggs on the underside of leaves and remove and destroy them before hatching.
For more information visit USDA Forest Service Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet 41 “Walnut Caterpillar”
by Alex Bolques | Jun 17, 2014
Homeowner accounts of white fluffy woolly masses on woody ornamentals have been on the rise. They can appear on the ends of a wide variety of woody ornamental branches in the landscape. A closer inspection of these white woolly masses can provide the curious observer with a startling surprise. “It’s Alive!” It moves and seems to jump at you, most likely jumping away from you. Once you have recovered from the mildly frightful encounter, you ask yourself, “What was that?”
Adult citrus flatid planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa
(Say). Credits: Photograph by: Lyle J. Buss, University of Florida
They are planthoppers (Metcalfa pruinosa), an insect in the order Hemiptera. The common name for this woolly looking planthopper is the citrus flatid planthopper (CFP). As the name implies, they occur on citrus but can also be found on many woody ornamentals and fruit trees. The adult planthopper wing arrangement is tent-like, meaning that the forewings are held over the insect abdomen in a tent configuration.
Nymph of the citrus flatid planthopper, Metcalfa
pruinosa (Say). Credits: Photograph by: Lyle J. Buss,
University of Florida
The nymph, young immature insect, produces the white woolly material that is characteristic of CFP. At first sight, they can be mistaken for mealy bugs, which may look similar since they are covered with cottony white filaments. They can also be mistaken for cottony cushion scale.
Mealybugs. Credits: James Castner, University
of Florida
Cottony cushion scales, Icerya purchasi, on twig.
Credits: James Castner, University of Florida
In both of these cases of mistaken identities, the insect will not jump or hop around. No chemical control is necessary although sooty mold can occur on heavily populated plants. In that case, a soapy water treatment can be applied.
Follow these links to more information on the citrus flatid planthopper, mealy bugs, and cottony-cushion scale.
