I came out one morning and my driveway was covered in the tips of the branches from my enormous Cedar tree. (Actually, what we call a Cedar in Central Texas is really an Ashe Juniper.) I picked up one of the fallen branch tips. It was about 3-4” long. I examined the cut end of the twig. Yep. I could see the smoothly chewed groove that caused the twig to fall. It was Twig Girdler damage, all right! [...]
Soooooo many calls the past two weeks about “creepy crawlies” on lawn grasses! What is going on, and what can we do about it? Many lawns were visited a month or so ago by hoards of 1-inch-wide tan or mottled gray moths. The moths laid eggs and the Armyworms have hatched! The rains last month gave these pests the conditions they needed to reproduce and cause rapid damage to lawns. Typically, these Armyworm larvae feed and are most active at night and on overcast days. In daylight, they will hide [...]
There are a lot of perks that come with living near a lake or pond, especially in Texas. But in addition to swimming and boating, your summers might include large populations of mosquito-looking insects hatching in hordes! They infiltrate your outdoor spaces, fly in your mouth and up your nose, turn your patio into a dark mess of squashed bugs, hover around your porch lights, and generally cause a huge nuisance! Aquatic midges, also known as non-biting midges, are related to flies but look like mosquitoes. Females lay their eggs [...]
Watch for Lacebug damage on Lantanas! The leaves will appear “bleached-out”, and there will be black specks on the back of the leaves. Damage usually appears in July and August. Cut these plants back pretty hard and then fertilize them. When new growth appears, protect the new foliage by spraying with a product labeled for lacebugs. Come consult our knowledgeable nursery staff for recommendations on appropriate fertilizers and insecticides. Spots on the back of Lantana leaves caused by lacebugs. Lacebugs on the back of lantana leaves. [...]
It’s funny, we rarely get the question, “how do I control aphids on my Crape Myrtles?” More often, we are asked, “why are my Crape Myrtle leaves black?” Or, “what is dripping on my car from the Crape Myrtle trees?” Both of these questions refer to an infestation of an insect called a Crape Myrtle aphid. Yes, they actually are named after the tree. That, in itself, tells us something. It is one of the most common pests of Crape Myrtles in the United States. Apparently it was introduce from [...]
Do You Have Insects in the Vegetable Garden? As the temperatures warm, insects become more of problem in the home garden. We are seeing stink bugs hatching from their eggs, spider mites sucking sap from plant cells, and caterpillars munching on our crops! Stink bugs are most easily controlled when they have just hatched and are in the “nymph” stage. Actually, they are most easily controlled when they are eggs, and you can simply pick them off the leaf and place in a can of soapy water! The eggs [...]
Tree Borers Many tree boring insects are attracted to weakened, damaged, dying or dead plants. They are referred to as “secondary invaders” because they attack a plant only after it has been weakened by stress or injury. Wood boring insects that attack living, healthy trees are known as “primary invaders”, and may eventually kill trees. It is important to differentiate the two when implementing borer control methods. Borer infestations usually go unnoticed until the tree shows external signs of damage, such as browning leaves or dying branches. The [...]
The Agave Snout Weevils are at it again! The females have spent the past spring chewing into the Agaves and Yuccas and laying their eggs. They chew into the leaf bases, leaving behind a bacteria (Erwinia) as they go. That bacteria rots the heart of the plant. A small hole at the base of the leaf may indicate the entrance of the beetle. The eggs have now hatched into grub-like larvae, and have tunneled into the rotting heart of the plant. Damage to a Yucca caused by Agave Snout [...]
What Are Grubs? Grubs are a common nuisance in Texas lawns. There are actually 100 different types of scarab beetles in Texas that have a similar lifecycle and designated as white grubs, grub worms, June bugs, or May beetles. These bugs are harmless to pets and humans other than being a nuisance. The adult beetle does no direct damage to any plant, but its larval form can do significant damage to root systems of warm season turf grasses, vegetables, and ornamental plants. Plants damaged by grubs will have weak growth [...]
