Palo Verde Caterpillar

  Has your 'Desert Museum' Palo Verde tree suddenly appeared to have lost all its leaves? If so, it could be the work of the Palo Verde Caterpillar. This night-feeding caterpillar is difficult to find during the day, as it tends to find a cooler spot to hang out. A large number of these chompers can defoliate an established Palo Verde tree almost overnight.             Here's the good news. This caterpillar has a relatively short lifespan and established trees are rarely harmed. By the time [...]

By |2026-05-24T13:37:28-05:00May 24th, 2026|Insects, Trees|
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How to Attract Butterflies to Your Central Texas Garden

How to Attract Butterflies to Your Central Texas Garden (Year-Round Guide) If you want a garden that feels alive, colorful, and constantly in motion, butterflies are the answer. In Central Texas, you can attract a wide variety of butterflies by planting the right mix of native and well-adapted nectar plants that bloom across the seasons. With a little planning, your garden can support butterflies from early spring through late fall. Let’s walk through how to build a butterfly-friendly garden that works with our climate—not against it. Why Butterflies Love Native [...]

By |2026-05-11T10:17:43-05:00May 10th, 2026|Insects, Plants, Native Plants|
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Lightning Bugs in Central Texas

Lightning Bugs in Central Texas: Why Fireflies Belong in Your Garden Few sights capture a warm Central Texas evening like the soft glow of lightning bugs. Beyond their charm, these beneficial insects—also called fireflies—play an important role in a healthy landscape. If you want a garden that’s both beautiful and ecologically balanced, it’s worth making space for them. Why Lightning Bugs Matter Lightning bugs are more than backyard magic. Their larvae are active predators that live in the soil and leaf litter, where they feed on a variety of soft-bodied [...]

By |2026-05-06T11:37:30-05:00May 6th, 2026|Insects, Native Plants|
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Thrips in Central Texas Gardens

Thrips in Central Texas Gardens: Easy Identification & Control Guide If your flowers look streaked, your buds won’t open, or your vegetables have silvery scars, thrips may be the culprit. These tiny pests love our hot, dry Texas weather and can damage both flowers and food crops quickly. 🔍 What Are Thrips?   Thrips are tiny, slender insects that feed by piercing plant tissue and sucking out juices. They’re hard to see—but their damage is easy to spot. Tip: You’ll almost always notice damage before you ever see the insect. 👉 [...]

By |2026-04-28T13:39:37-05:00April 28th, 2026|Vegetable Gardening, Insects, Plants, Trees, Houseplants, Native Plants|
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Oil Products for Insect and Disease Control

Using Oil Products 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 |2026-02-02T13:13:12-06:00January 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|Plants, Native 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|Uncategorized, Plants, Insects|
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