Azaleas: Have you noticed your azalea plants lately? Look on the underside of the leaves for lace bugs. This is the first generation of lace bugs on the plants and will cause the foliage to be a pale green to white mottle-scaly looking. Use the insecticide Acephate, or Bayer Advanced, to effectively control lace bugs on your azalea plants.

In the Lawn: During this time of year, many homeowners are bringing to my office samples of two of the worst weeds to be found in the home grounds. These two weeds will drive you crazy trying to control them. The weeds in question are: (1) lawn burweed/spurweed and (2) Florida betony/rattlesnake weed. All the green you now see in the yard is not grass, but may be some of these weeds.

Lawn Burweed/Spurweed: This is a low-growing winter annual with small inconspicuous flowers. The weed resembles a parsley plant. Fruit clustered in leaf axils have sharp spines that cause injury when walking in the lawn without shoes. The key to control is not to let this weed flower. To effectively control this weed, use ONE of the following:

Weed-B-Gon 6 Tablespoons per gallon of water

Ferti-Lome Weed-Free Zone 3 Tablespoons per gallon of water

Atrazine 3 Tablespoons per gallon of water.

Use any one of these now.

Florida Betony/Rattlesnake Weed: This is one of the worst in the parish. It is a smooth to hairy, freely-branched perennial forming slender underground stems with white segmented tubers resembling a rattlesnake’s “rattles.” It flowers white to pink with purple spots. It is found in turf, flower beds, gardens, and shrub borders. Control with the following chemicals: Atrazine or Round-Up by painting or swabbing it on.

Be extra careful when using Atrazine and read the label on ALL chemicals.