Cogongrass seedheads are easily spotted this time of year. Photo Credit: Mark Mauldin
We are well into spring and a wide variety of plants are showing off their colorful blooms. As lovely as most of the blooms are, some springtime colors are an unwelcome sight. Such is the case with the showy, white seedhead that is produced by Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica). The presence of Cogongrass – a highly aggressive, invasive, perennial – in Florida is not news; it has been in Florida since at least the 1930’s. However, the white seedhead that it produces in the spring makes it easier to locate and identify. When the seedhead is not present, the somewhat boring looking grass has the ability to blend in with its surroundings. This makes it harder for un-expecting landowners to identify the new/small infestations which are much easier to eliminate than are larger, well established infestations.
While cogongrass spreads primarily by rhizomes the seedheads can make new infestations easier to find. Photo Credit: Mark Mauldin
Controlling cogongrass is not easy but it is necessary. If left uncontrolled cogongrass will continue to aggressively spread, displacing other desirable vegetation. Generally speaking, control is a multi-year process. Because the specific recommendations for controlling cogongrass can vary somewhat by situation it is highly advisable that you contact a UF/IFAS Extension Agent in your county if you suspect that you have cogongrass on your property.
“Cogongrass is a perennial that varies greatly in appearance. The leaves appear light green, with older leaves becoming orange-brown in color. In areas with killing frosts, the leaves will turn light brown during winter months and present a substantial fire hazard. Cogongrass grows in loose to compact bunches, each ‘bunch’ containing several leaves arising from a central area along a rhizome. The leaves originate directly from ground level and range from one to four feet in length. Each leaf is 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch wide with a prominent, off-center, white mid-rib. The leaf margins are finely serrated; contributing to the undesirable forage qualities of this grass. Seed production predominately occurs in the spring, with long, fluffy-white seedheads. Mowing, burning or fertilization can also induce sporadic seedhead formation. Seeds are extremely small and attached to a plume of long hairs.”
This is the time of year when cogongrass is the easiest to identify. Take advantage of this opportunity to locate new infestations and work with your county agent to develop a control plan. Once a plan is in place, follow it to the end. Stopping after the first year will practically ensure that control will not be achieved.
A relatively new patch of cogongrass recently found in Washington County. Photo Credit: Mark Mauldin
More information on cogongrass can be found by following the links below
European Honey Bees Photo: Ashley N. Mortensen; University of Florida
Bees have been disappearing at an alarming rate and continue to vanish without a trace. Why should anyone care? Well, they matter a lot more than most people think. Bees are the overwhelmingly dominant pollinator for most food crops. Native bees in the United States are responsible for pollinating over $15 billion worth of agricultural commodities annually. However, native bee populations are in decline due to habitat loss. At the same time, managed colonies of European honey bees have suffered a 50% decline over the past few decades. Numerous other pollinating insects are facing the same fate.
As the spring planting season is upon us, it’s exciting to think about all the wonderful produce we will have this summer. But, without pollinators many of these crops would not be available. The majority of fruit and vegetable food sources we eat are dependent on insect pollinators. One of every three bites of food Americans consume comes from a plant visited by bees or other pollinators.
As declining numbers of farmers work to meet the needs of an increasing population, they are forced to make choices on alternative to chemicals for pest control. “Good bug blends” of flowers can help attract pollinators as well as beneficial insects that suppress harmful pests. Establishment of these meadows can be done on a small or large scale and in any habitat. One approach to “bringing back the pollinators” is to intercrop with blooming plants that attract insects. Selecting a diversity of plants with different flower sizes, shapes and colors, as well as various plant heights and growth habits, will encourage the greatest numbers of pollinators. It is important to provide a continuous source of pollen and nectar throughout the growing season. At minimum, strive for three species to be blooming at any one time; the greater the diversity the better.
To enhance the garden, choose flowering plants that also provide shelter for beneficial insects. Many companion plants are suitable habitat for predators and parasitoids. Research in Florida has demonstrated that predatory minute pirate bugs can build to high numbers in sunflowers. The favorite food of minute pirate bugs is Western flower thrips. So, planting sunflowers on the perimeter of vegetable crops, such as peppers, can greatly reduce the damage caused by the thrips. Similar results were found with the planting of sorghum to attract beneficial mites and intercropping with buckwheat to house syrphid flies and parasitoid wasps. The garden vegetables experienced fewer spider mite, whitefly and aphid problems. Crimson clover, Hairy vetch and cosmos are other annual seed crops that can aid in attracting pollinators and harboring beneficial insects.
Insectary meadows can be created in the landscape and along roadways, not just in the garden. For more permanently planted areas, native wildflowers, grasses and woody plants serve as larval host plants for butterflies, and also provide nesting and overwintering sites for bumble bees, predacious beetles and other beneficial insects. Native perennial wildflowers such as blanketflower, tickseed, black-eyed Susan, partridge pea, narrowleaf sunflower, milkweed, beebalm, goldenrod and silkgrass can be installed in the spring as potted plants or seeded in the fall. Seeds require exposure to cold temperatures and damp conditions before germination can occur. In Florida, the best time is November to February.
Though grasses do not offer nectar or high-quality pollen, it is often useful to include at least one native bunch grass or sedge. Short, clump-forming grasses are preferable to large, spreading grasses. Hedgerow planting of woody species is a way to provide winter-blooming plants vital for supporting pollinators. Woody plants and grasses provide more than forage for pollinators, as many native bee species nest in the stems of plants or in the undisturbed ground underneath plantings. Suitable grasses include: beaked panicgrass, purple lovegrass, Muhly grass, broomsedge,little bluestem, wiregrass and toothache grass. Favored woody species that make good “beetle banks” include: fetterbush, American beautyberry, saw palmetto, Chickasaw plum, red maple, sparkleberry, Dahoon holly, redbud, blackgum, magnolia, buttonwood and sourwood.
Regardless of whether the objective is to establish herbaceous or woody vegetation, the time and effort spent on eradicating undesirable plants prior to planting will result in higher success rates in establishing the targeted plant community. Choose level, open sites that receive full sunlight and have limited weed populations. If perennial weeds are a problem, the use of herbicides that have no soil residual (e.g. glyphosate) may be necessary.
Cogongrass Photo Credit: Chris Evans, Illionois Wildlife Action Plan, www.bugwood.org
Cogongrass is one of the 10 worst weeds in the world. This grass is an aggressive grower and forms colonies causing loss of productive forest areas, severe degradation of habitat, and economic issues. Since its introduction in the 1900s, Cogongrass has spread to most of the counties in Florida. Reproduction occurs through seed production and the creeping rhizome system. This plant is prolific once established with the creation of a very dense rhizome system that retains water and releasing of allelopathic chemicals reducing competition from other plants.
Cogongrass is yellow/green in color with an off-set midrib and a fluffy white seed head. Cogongrass is drought and shade tolerant. Once this grass invades, it will quickly displace the native species and requires frequent and intensive controls.
Early detection is best since a small infestation is easier and cheaper to treat. The larger infestations become more time intensive, expensive, and difficult. There are treatment options for these infestations, make sure that specific instructions are followed and treatment is repeated.
For more information on the biology of this plant and various treatment options visit http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wg202. Also, by contacting your local UF/IFAS Extension office for assistance and information.
Cogongrass is a fire-adapted species, thriving where fire is a regular occurrence. In fact, the threat of wildfires greatly increases with the presence of cogongrass, a non-native invasive species. Cogongrass fires burn hotter and faster than native grass fires. This footage, shot in Baldwin County, Alabama, demonstrates how destructive a cogongrass fire can be to native vegetation.
Tawny Crazy Ant (Nylanderia fulva):
Cleaning up large piles of dead ants are a daily cleanup chore for this homeowner. Photo: Dan Culbert, UF/IFAS Extension Okeechobee County
Nylanderia fulva is part of the group of ants called “crazy ants” due to their erratic and quick movements. These ants are medium to small and goldish brown to reddish brown in color. The Tawny Crazy Ants nest in large numbers in leaf litter, soil, rotten logs, under potted plants and along underground electrical conduits.
Nylanderia fulva is a nuisance to humans. They infest gardens, sidewalks and other areas of human traffic. They cause damage to electrical lines. They also displace other native ant species due to their large colony size.
This ant, Nylanderia fulva, has been confused with several other ants such as the Nylanderia pubens and Nylanderia guatemalensis.
Controlling the bug population in your garden and around your home will help decrease the likelihood of Tawny Crazy Ants invading. Avoid transporting plant material, mulches and such to uninfested areas. Granular baits can be used to control smaller populations but large populations will probably need a professional pest control service.
The Tawny Crazy Ant was a Featured Creature by UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology. Also, the UF/IFAS School IPM has some good information about controlling Tawny Crazy Ant.
The Cuban Treefrog:was introduced into Florida as a stowaway on vehicles and plants in the 1920’s. As of 2013, breeding populations have been recorded as far north as Georgia. Cuban Treefrogs have larger toepads and eyes than any of the native species. Being larger in size, the Cuban Treefrog out-competes other treefrogs for resources, to the point that they are predators of Florida’s treefrogs and inhibitors of native tadpoles.
Juvenile Cuban Treefrogs can be distinguished from natives by their red eyes and hind legs with blue bones. Three-foot-long sections of 1.5 inch diameter PVC pipe can be placed in the landscape to monitor for treefrog species. Should Cubans be found, they should be reported and euthanized. For additional details visit: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw259.
Would you like to be a Citizen Scientist? You can help Dr. Steve Johnson at the University of Florida Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation by reporting suspected Cuban Treefrog sightings. For more information on how you can become a Citizen Scientist, visit The Cuban Treefrog Citizen Scientist Project.
For more information contact the author Sheila Dunning, UF/IFAS Extension Okaloosa County Commercial Horticulture Agent 850-689-5850.
Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata):
Hydrilla is a perennial submerged plant that grows in dense mats up to the surface of freshwater habitats, including ponds, lakes, springs, and rivers. Growing at the rapid rate of an inch a day and up to 25 feet long, hydrilla shades out beneficial native plants and clogs waterways, preventing flood control, boating, and fishing. In dense populations, the plant can alter oxygen levels and water chemistry and survive in a wide variety of nutrient conditions, sunlight availability, and temperatures.
Hydrilla Photo Credit: Vic Ramey, UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.
Originating in Asia, it was introduced to Florida (likely through Tampa and Miami) in the 1950’s as part of the worldwide aquarium trade. Hydrilla has become a very expensive problem for the state. Millions are spent annually on chemical and mechanical treatment simply to maintain the plant. Adding to the problem is the fact that it is still available commercially, even though it has been placed on the US Federal Noxious Weed List. In the United States, the plant is found as far north as Connecticut and west to California and Washington.
Methods of control include mechanical harvesters and chopping machines (although fragments of hydrilla left in the water can regrow), introduced insects and fish (particularly the Chinese grass carp), aquatic herbicides, and lake drawdowns. Hydrilla is often transported from one body of water to the other by unknowing boaters moving fragments of the plant left on boats, trailers, or live wells, so learning to identify the plant and cleaning boats before leaving the ramp are helpful in prevention. Visit the Extension Hydrilla IPM site for more helpful tips.
For more information contact the author Carrie Stevenson, UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County Coastal Sustainability Agent at 850-475-5230.
Giant Tiger Prawn: This large shrimp, also known as the Asian Tiger Shrimp and the Black Tiger Shrimp, can reach lengths between 8-12 inches. It resembles are native edible penaeid shrimp but differs in that it has distinct black and yellow stripes. It was brought to the U.S. from the Indo-Pacific region as an aquaculture product. There was an accidental release of 2,000 animals from a South Carolina farm in 1988.
The nonnative Giant Tiger Prawn – also known as the Black Tiger Shrimp. Photo by David Knott, Bugwood.org
Reports of this shrimp in the wild have increased over time. They have been found in all Gulf coast states and there has been at least 1 record in each of the Florida Panhandle counties.
The impact of this shrimp to our area is still unknown but they have a high tolerance for salinity change and consume many types of benthic invertebrates. It is thought that they could become serious competition for our native penaeid shrimp and could possible transmit diseases.
If you think you have found one of these shrimp, record size location (GPS preferred), and email information to ExoticReports@MyFWC.com. To learn more about this species view the USGS factsheet.
For more information contact the author Rick O’Connor, UF/IFAS Escambia County Extension – Sea Grant and Marine Science Extension Agent, 850-475-5230.
Climbing Ferns (Lygodium japonicum and Lygodium microphyllum):
Japanese Climbing Fern (Lygodium japonicum) and Old World Climbing Ferns (Lygodium microphyllum): are presently the only non-native invasive ferns in Florida. Both ferns reproduce and spread readily by wind-blown spores. A single fertile leaflet can produce 28,600 spores. Animals, equipment, and even people that move through an area with climbing ferns are very likely to pick up spores and move them to other locations on the property or even to other properties.
Japanese Climbing Fern Lygodium japonicum photo by Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org
Japanese climbing fern is a delicate looking perennial climbing vine. It is capable of forming a dense mat-like thatch capable of covering trees and shrubs. Initially, it was introduced from Japan as an ornamental. It is scattered throughout the lower portions of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and south into central Florida. Further planting or cultivation of this vine is prohibited by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It climbs very quickly to the crowns of pine trees, which can move fire into the growth points during controlled burns, making it a concern on forested lands.
Old World climbing fern has been a problem for many years in central and south Florida but it is currently moving north. The first plant was documented in 1958 by a nursery in Delray Beach. By 1965, it was found in natural areas of Marion County. The northern edge of its advance by 2012 was Hernando County on the Gulf side and Duval County on the Atlantic coast.
Adequate control of both climbing ferns has been achieved with multiple applications of glyphosate and/or metsulfuron. Other herbicides, such as triclopyr and imazapic have also been used to
control Japanese climbing fern. However, when the plant is growing in areas adjacent to wetlands or water, fewer herbicides are registered for those sites. Hand digging is also an option, except when the fern is producing spore covered leaflets. Disturbing it then would propagate more plants.
Old World Climbing Fern has moved northward from South Florida into Central Florida. Photo by Peggy Greb, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org
As with most invasive plants, repeated and correctly timed treatments are likely to be necessary. For more information about climbing ferns contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Office and read the following publications: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr133 and http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag122
For more information contact Les Harrison, UF/IFAS Extension Wakulla County – Agriculture & Natural Resources Extension Agent by phone at 850-926-3931.
Attractive red berries entice homeowners to use as a landscape plant but coral ardisia can quickly dominate adjacent natural areas. photo courtesy of Les Harrison
Coral ardisia is also known as coral berry, spice berry, and scratchthroat. It was introduced into Florida in the early 1900’s for ornamental purposes.
In the ensuing years, it has since it escaped cultivation and has become established in hardwood hammocks and other moist woods of natural areas and grazing lands. Populations can currently found in Florida, Louisiana and Georgia.
This evergreen sub-shrub reaches a height of 1.5 to 6 feet and tends to grow in multi-stemmed clumps. Leaves are alternate, 8 inches long, dark green above, waxy, without hairs, and have scalloped margins and calluses in the margin notches. Flowers are typically pink to white in stalked axillary clusters, usually drooping below the foliage. The fruit is a bright red, globose, single-seeded berry, measuring approximately 0.25 inches in diameter. White-berried populations are also known to exist.
Coral ardisia is classified a Category I weed on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Invasive Plant List. Control of coral ardisia may be accomplished by two methods. A low-volume foliar application of Garlon 4 or Remedy provides suppression of this plant. Complete foliar coverage is essential to success and re-treatment will be necessary for complete control. Basal bark applications with Garlon 4 or Remedy in an oil carrier can also be utilized for suppressing this invasive weed. Do not apply more than 8 quarts of Remedy or Garlon 4 per acre and treat no more than ten percent of the total grazed area if applying greater than two quarts per acre.
For local assistance, contact your county UF IFAS Extension office.
For more information contact Les Harrison, UF/IFAS Extension Wakulla County – Agriculture & Natural Resources Extension Agent by phone at 850-926-3931.
Will Sheftall Natural Resources Agent with UF/IFAS Extension Leon County exams the impacts of invasive coral ardisia on local urban forests in Northwest Florida.
Wild Hogs(Sus scrofa):
Wild Hogs, also called Feral Hogs, are not native to the U.S. Wild hogs are highly adaptable and can find suitable habitat easily. Wild hogs can be all shapes, sizes and colors since they are hybrids of many different breeds. Wild hogs sometimes resemble their domestic relatives but sometimes resemble their Eurasian backgrounds.
Wild hogs are probably the most prolific large mammals in the world. They reach sexual maturity at a young age. Females have multiple litters of 3-8 piglets per year. Natural mortality rates are low. Wild hog females and young live and travel in groups called sounders. Sounders typically have 1 to 3 adults and several young. When females reach maturity, they either stay with the sounder or they go out and form a new sounder with other young females. Young males leave the sounder alone at about 16 months.
Wild hogs are opportunistic omnivores that feed by rooting and grazing. This rooting behavior is why we consider them to be a pest. The impact of wild hogs on the environment is soil erosion, decreased water quality, spread of other invasive plants, damage to agricultural crops, and damage to native plants and animals. They have been documented as threats to threatened and endangered species. They can significantly impact populations of reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, ground nesting birds and even deer.
Wild hogs pose a health risk to humans because they can carry numerous diseases and parasites. Care should be taken when handling wild hogs. Wear gloves, cover any open wounds, and wear clothing that can be cleaned thoroughly.
Wild hog damage to pond bank. Photo by Jennifer Bearden
Human hunting is the most significant cause of mortality in wild hogs, although hunting alone will not control hog populations in a good habitat. The most effective way to remove wild hogs from a location is a combination of trapping and shooting.
In Florida, wild hogs may be hunted year round on private land (with permission of the landowner) and at night with no permit required. Hogs may be trapped year round. Wild hogs cannot be trapped and released onto public land. Trapped wild hogs can only be transported with a permit from FDACS) to slaughter or to an approved Feral Swine Holding Facility. For more information on Wild Hogs, go to: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw322 and http://www.myfwc.com/hunting/by-species/wild-hog/ .
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