News Article for May 5, 2008:
I was seeking relief from the sun last week under the shade of a pecan tree and could already see the little knots on the twigs and leaves. This is the damage caused by the insect phylloxera.
Most people do not see the damage yet because it is a green gall the same color as the leaves. Later this month the knots will mature and turn dark brown or black and people will begin to notice them. Unfortunately there is no control for the knots now. The insect must be controlled at the first sign of new growth in the spring.
The insect will appear in the early spring just as the leaves begin to come out of the bud. The insects feed on the foliage and are engulfed by the leaf tissue forming the gall. Within the gall the insect completes the life cycle for more insects to emerge.
Next year you can control the insects with sprays such as Malathion, Lindane, Provado, Warrior, Centric or Proaxis. Spray when the bud begins to open and approximately one-half inch of growth begins to appear.
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We had some torrential rains last week and it sure stirred up the fire ants. Seems to me that every time it rains they decide to divide and conquer.
May is an excellent time to go out and do a little conquering yourself. Fire ants are survivors so we can just forget about eliminating them. What we can do is to control their populations to a level we can live with.
The shelves are full of fire ant control materials and most will work to some extent. The problem is finding the ants so we can actually treat them. You treat the nest you can see but there are many others small enough they we cannot see them. Another problem is that ants have no idea of property lines. Ants can’t read and don’t stop at the property borders. They readily move back and forth in search of food.
This is why I really like the broadcast materials best because the ants will go and find it and take it to the nest. Within this class of compounds you have growth regulators, biological controls and baits.
The growth regulators are my favorite. They take about 4-8 weeks to completely work but they work to interrupt the life cycle and therefore control the workers. Without workers no one eats and they all die. For this control you need a few days of dry weather (dry ground) and a few days after the treatment of dry weather. Broadcast rates of 1 to 1.5 pounds per acre. The material is impregnated in a small grit. Ants love it and share it. The retail products include Extinguish, Extinguish Plus, Award, Logic, Spectracide Fire Ant Bait and Firestrike.
Baits can be broadcast or used as a mound treatment. Baits would include Amdro, Combat, Max Force, Raid Ant Bait, Seige, Ascend, Chinch and Varsity.
Spinosids are biological controls that affect the nervous system of the ant. It can be purchased as Eliminator Fire Ant Bait with Conserve, and Penn Kill Ant Killer.
In the vegetable garden you can use Extinguish as a broadcast or use Sevin or Malalthion as a drench. You will need about 2 gallons of solution per mound to get control when drenching. You can also use boiling water; it works great but will kill grass and vegetables if boiling water comes in contact with the plants or their roots.
For more information on these or related topics contact Kenny at 686-3020.