Oil Products for Insect and Disease Control

Using Horticultural Oils as Effective Alternatives to Synthetic Pesticides Gardeners today can choose from a wide range of oil-based products that serve as effective alternatives to synthetic insecticides and fungicides. These products include oils refined from petroleum as well as oils extracted from plants and animals. In Central Texas landscapes, horticultural oils offer reliable pest and disease control with minimal environmental impact. Petroleum-Based Horticultural Oils Petroleum oils, including mineral oils, consist of highly refined paraffinic oils commonly sold as horticultural spray oil, summer oil, or white mineral oil. These modern [...]

By |2026-01-11T10:09:36-06:00January 11th, 2026|Insects, Disease|
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Lace Bugs on Texas Persimmon

Are your Texas Persimmon trees looking sickly and dropping leaves? Many customers have reported that their Texas Persimmon trees are looking worse for wear in the heat of the summer. Not unexpectedly, Lace Bugs are showing up on Texas Persimmon this summer. The leaves appear "mottled" from the insects feeding on the undersides of the leaves with their sucking mouthparts. If you inspect the undersides of the leaves you will see little black "dots", which are the insect's excrement. This insect is tiny but visible to the naked eye. It [...]

By |2025-12-28T14:34:20-06:00December 28th, 2025|Native Plants, Plants, Insects|
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Webs on Ends of Tree Branches-Friend or Foe?

Webs Forming at Tips of  Tree Branches     Has anyone seen tips of tree branches that are covered in spider webs? We have! Ground spiders will often form disorganized webs at the tips of tree branches and raise their brood of thousands of tiny spiders there. Fortunately most of these webs are made by these harmless and beneficial spiders, and not by pests at all.  This web was made by a spider on a leaf of a young Live Oak.           We have seen examples [...]

By |2025-10-12T12:55:47-05:00October 12th, 2025|Trees, Plants, Insects|
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Lace Bugs on Texas Persimmon

  We've had a lot of samples of Texas Persimmon brought into the nursery lately with Lace Bug infestations. The leaves appear "mottled" from the insects feeding with their sucking mouthparts. The undersides of the leaves will have little black "dots" which are the insect's excrement. This insect is tiny but visible to the naked eye. It is named for the lacey appearance of its wings. It may be helpful to know that this insect is also a pest on Bur Oak and Lantana in Central Texas. Keep an eye [...]

By |2025-07-16T13:45:40-05:00July 16th, 2025|Plants, Insects|
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My Ruellia is Fuzzy

What is that white "fuzz" on my Mexican Petunia?     The first thing you should check for is mealy bugs. They are known to infest Ruellia and can be difficult to control.  If you do find mealy bugs on your Ruellia it is best to trim the plants back hard, bag the clippings and seal the bags before disposing them.            If the temperatures are between 45°-85°F you can spray them will All Seasons Oil after new growth appears. Consult labels on other products to [...]

By |2024-11-30T16:00:45-06:00November 30th, 2024|Plants, Insects|
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Aphids

Aphids can be difficult insects to control. But how much do we really need to control them? This article explores the aphid life cycle and some different ways to reduce their population without using toxic chemicals. Where do we see aphids?     Aphids are sucking insects which feed on fleshy new growth and the undersides of leaves. We look for them at the top of Crape Myrtles where new growth is abundant. We might find them on the flower buds of Tropical Hibiscus, new growth on any species of [...]

By |2023-11-04T12:38:57-05:00November 1st, 2023|Plants, Insects|
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Mealy Bugs

Mealy bugs are one nasty insect. You should really familiarize yourself with these destructive, hard to control insects. Catching them early may be your only chance at control.  Finding Mealy bugs any time of the year is unwelcome. If you have a greenhouse, you can depend on them showing up when the plastic goes on and the plants go in. If you find mealy bugs on your plants in late summer/early fall, get to work-you MUST control them before bringing them inside or putting them in a greenhouse for the [...]

By |2023-10-16T15:48:54-05:00October 16th, 2023|Insects|
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Lantana Flower Gall Mite

  Have you seen deformed growth at the tips of your Lantana branches this summer? If so, your plant may be infested with a mite called the Lantana Flower Gall Mite.  This microscopic mite breeds inside the developing flower buds, stunting vegetative growth and preventing flowering and seed production. The distorted growth appears as a "witches broom" at the location of the tips of the branches where the flowers usually appear. This mite is destructive to ornamental plantings of Lantana in the landscape and affects the seed availability for birds.  [...]

By |2023-10-17T10:40:17-05:00October 16th, 2023|Plants, Insects, Uncategorized|
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Yucca Plant Bugs

Are your Yucca plants looking tired?   Are the leaves lighter in color than usual? If so, they might be infested with Yucca Plant Bugs. These relatives of Stink Bugs and Leaf-footed Bugs have piercing-sucking mouth parts. They feed on the plant by extracting juices from the leaves. The leaf will appear "stippled" with tiny light colored dots. You may see black specks on the leaves, which are the feces of the bug.         Yucca Plant Bugs overwinter as fertilized eggs that have been placed inside the [...]

By |2023-04-17T12:02:53-05:00April 17th, 2023|Insects|
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How to Check for Spider Mites On Evergreens

CHECK FOR SPIDER MITES EARLY!!!!!!     Don't wait for your Italian Cypress or other evergreens to turn gray, then completely brown before determining if they have spider mites. By then it will be too late. This is one pest that you want to stay ahead of. If you wait until you see the symptoms, it will likely be too hot to spray. The best time to treat for spider mites on Italian Cypress or other evergreens is in February.              Even if your Cypress [...]

By |2023-02-12T09:08:01-06:00February 12th, 2023|Insects|
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Galls

Plant galls are fascinating to me. They are all around us, yet we seldom notice them unless they appear in a favorite landscape tree. Plant galls are produced by a variety of organisms which include mites, wasps, midges, thrips, fruit flies, moths, psyllids, and aphids, as well as bacteria and fungi. Most plant galls are not harmful to the host plant, with the exception of some formed by bacteria and fungi. Many plant galls are produced by the host plant in response to the egg laying activity of the insects [...]

By |2023-02-28T08:27:30-06:00October 2nd, 2022|Trees, Insects, Disease|
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Squash Bugs

Squash bugs are appearing in numbers now on leaves of squash and related plants such as pumpkins, melons, and cucumbers.     Nymphs hatch from eggs laid on the underside of leaves near the crown of the plant.           Nymphs are green and red, about 1/8” long and appear clustered in groups at first. As they develop into adults through five instars (stages) they disperse themselves on the plants.         Adult Squash bugs are grayish brown, with short orange stripes around the edge [...]

By |2022-04-18T11:58:45-05:00April 18th, 2022|Vegetable Gardening, Insects|
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