Posts Tagged ‘bagworms’
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Garden Success Tip of the Week
Controlling Bagworms – Okay you’re out working in the landscape and you happen to notice cone-like structures hanging from your evergreens. As you look closer, you realize these structures are not cones but are actually moving! Well, guess what? You have bagworms! Bagworms are caterpillars that during June, July and early August, feed on the needles of your evergreens, while making distinctive bags of leaves, needles, sticks, bark, and silk. They live inside the bag and carry it with them as they move around the plants and feed on the foliage. And they largely do go unnoticed because they do resemble pine cones!
The female bagworm remains in the bag, mates with the male, and will have 300-500 eggs in one bag. She attaches to the branches for the winter with a silk like band, and waits for spring. The eggs over winter in that bag, and hatch out late May and early June, starting the entire bagworm process all over again. So, what can you do now? Well, most sprays may not be too effective as the bagworms have pretty much stopped feeding. If you observe that they are still feeding, you can try one last foliage soaking spray of Eight or Malathion. But for the most part, at this stage those silk bags have become impermeable to insecticides.
So your next mode of action is hand picking. Hand-pick all that you can find and destroy them. Being that most of the damages are already done, pick what you can between now and next May, which is when the new bagworms will hatch from the left over bags hanging on your plants. Sorry, but there are no preventative sprayings for preventing bagworm infestations. Hand-pick what you can now, and wait until next mid June to spray the newly hatched bagworms when they are most susceptible to sprays (try Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew!). Use this same tactic for controlling bagworms in the tops of tall evergreens that cannot be hand picked. Wait for hatching, and then spray as needed.
[Know what you get when you cross an evangelist with a hockey puck? A puck that saves itself.]
Tags: bagworms
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Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Garden Questions of the Week
“Do you know of a recipe for making a leaf shine for indoor plants?” -Yes, many. But they aren’t recommended any more. The best thing for your plants is to wash them off in the shower or tub and wipe down the leaves. I don’t recommend using leaf shines.
“My lantana had flowers, but now has small purple berries and no flowers. Any ideas?” -Yes, it went to seed. Cut off those seed heads, and clip back tips of the plant. Hopefully we’ll get it to re-grow and keep flowering.
“How do bagworms move from plant to plant?” -Each bag can contain as many as 500 eggs. In June, when they hatch, you can imagine how small they are! Well, they get into the wind, and fly to other plants (or stay put on the home plant). They can also move around the plant they hatch on (they just open the lid on top of their bag and using their front legs, crawl around on the plant or move to close by plants, all the while carrying their bag home), as well as onto neighboring plants if the branches overlap and touch.
“My Autumn Joy Sedum always flops over this time of the year. What can I do to prevent this?” -1.) Place a grow ring or peony ring over them before they start to grow in the spring (for support) 2.) Cut them in half in late May / early June. This delays flowering by a couple weeks, but keeps them shorter, stockier, and less apt to flop!
“Hi Ron Wilson: This is Xavier N. again. I still listen to your show every Saturday morning with my grandma. We grew tomatoes this year but they are white inside, and hard and kind of dry. What happened? Grandma said she has never seen this before. We are growing corn at my house.”
– Hi Xavier! I’ve had several folks complain about hard white cores in their tomatoes this year. This can occur from plant stress (too hot / too cold), too much fertilizer, and by variety. Older varieties produce fruit with 5 distinct cavities (filled with seeds and gel) and the walls between the cavities join together to form the core. That’s what’s getting white and hard. Some of the newer selections produce smaller but more cavities, and don’t have such a thick central core, and in turn don’t seem to have as much of a problem with the core being white and hard (or pithy) under stressed conditions. Good luck with that corn – and thanks for listening to our show!
“I’ve been seeing tomato hornworms and was looking for a way to stop them organically, if possible. Any suggestions?“ -Hand pick them and do the Buggy Joe Stomp. Seriously – the numbers are usually low enough that hand picking works. But if you do need to spray, look at ‘Bt’ – all natural spray to control many leaf eating caterpillars. It does take time to work, so you will get damage until it finally affects the hornworm. They can sometimes be hard to find – look for eaten leaves and for their hornworm poop (little black balls) underneath the area where they’re feeding. And yes, they will eat foliage and tomatoes, and will do it quickly! By the way, there are tobacco and tomato hornworms, both of which feed on tomatoes.
“I haven’t seen Late Blight on my tomatoes or my neighbors. Should I spray them just to be sure?” – Well, it won’t hurt. This has now been detected in Wisconsin, and is really spreading. So, it’s important that the word get out about Late Blight, what to look for, and what to do if you find it on your tomatoes or potatoes (visit ohioline.osu.edu for more info). So please make sure you know what to look for, and if you do get it, let the local extension office know. Important for them to track where it’s been found. – Closely inspect your tomato and potato plants at least once a week for lesions or other signs of late blight. – You can try using a preventive fungicide spray to treat your plants, which is what commercial growers are doing. Look for products that contain chlorothalonil or mancozeb. These sprays are not absorbed systemically by the plant, so they need to be applied thoroughly and then reapplied every five to seven days if there’s a lot of wet weather. If you’re gardening organically, you can try a copper spray, but they are not considered as effective against late blight. – Be prepared to destroy your plants if you get an infestation. – Do not compost any diseased portions of your plants. Put them in plastic garbage bags. – Although it does not over winter in the soil, still rotate your crops so you don’t grow tomatoes and potatoes in the same soil from year to year. -If found on potatoes, same rules apply. But, if any left over tubers grow back next year, those plants should be destroyed immediately as it could overwinter in an infected potato tuber!
[I studied a long time to be a doctor, but just didn't have any patience.]
Tags: bagworms, indoor plants, lantana, sedum, tomatoes
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Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
“Did I hear you say that I should water before it rains? Why is that?” -If the soil is very dry, chances are it’s also very hard. By watering a day before the rains move thru, you actually pre-moisten the soil, which actually wicks more of the rain water down into the soil. If it’s hard ands dry, much of the surface water runs off before it gets a chance to be absorbed into the soil. This can also be a good practice when watering really dry soils. Water for a little while, wait for an hour or so, water again. (The same principal for wicking in water.) By the way, folks who core aerate the lawn, or have had their larger trees and evergreens vertically mulched, will benefit more from each rain shower, as the open chambers in the soil help to capture the surface water.
“My yucca has finished flowering, and now there are what looks like seed pods on the stalks. Should I let them go to seed?” -I wouldn’t. Most those seeds rarely germinate. And producing those seeds, along with having just produced their spectacular flowers, really takes a lot out of the yucca. I suggest removing the flower stalk as soon as it finishes flowering, and let the yucca put the rest of its energy into being a better plant and that means more flowers next year.
“Now that the daylilies are finished blooming and looking yellow, should I trim them for a better appearance?” -Yep. Get rid of that yellow and brown foliage. If it gets to a point where it’s all yellow and brown, cut it all off. They’ll re-grow and look nicer for the rest of the season. Remember, although spring and fall are the best times to divide daylilies, it can be done anytime after they’re finished flowering, with exception to the re-bloomers, who I would leave alone so they’ll re-flower (deadhead, feed, and water to encourage the next flush of color).
“I love gladiolas. When are they planted?” -Glads are a summer bulb, planted May thru mid June, and dug up early fall and stored away indoors for replanting next year. Usually take about 75 to 90 days to flower. Try planting them on 2 week intervals so they aren’t all in bloom at the same time. They love good loamy soils and full sun – perfect for that narrow spot between the sidewalk and the house (prep the soil).
“What’s the name of the book you recommend for learning about birds and butterflies and other winged critters?” -It’s “Attracting Birds, Butterflies & other Winged Wonders to Your Backyard” by Kris Wetherbee. This really is a great book. Great pictures, projects, easy read, and very informative. Go to www.wingedwildlife.com to order the book. Great for you and a great Christmas present! Hey, who said “Christmas”?
“What do you recommend to get rid of tomato hornworms?” -Are they tomato or tobacco hornworms? Actually, it doesn’t matter, because control is best done by handpicking and destroying them. Look for eaten leaves of fruit with their feces underneath the area. You’ll find them, and then just pick them off. If you absolutely have to spray (there usually aren’t very many), use Bt or Captain Jack’s. By the way, they are the larvae of 2 types of sphinx moths. If you want to identify which is which, the tobacco hornworm has 7 diagonal lines on its sides and a curved red horn. The tomato hornworm has 8 – V shaped marks on its back, with a blue black straight horn. Both feed on tomato plants and the fruit.
“I have been picking off the bagworms from my blue spruce, but now I see them in the top and can’t reach them. Now what?” -Well, you’ll need to spray them. Too big for Bt, so now use Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew, Sevin, Eight, Malathion, Orthene etc; they all work for bagworms. (May take 2 applications.) Some hose end sprayers will reach 15-25′, which hopefully will cover your spruce.
“My lilac’s leaves have become covered with a white film. How do I get rid of it?” -The lilac or the white film? Sorry, I couldn’t resist. That’s a very common problem on lilacs, and it’s called Powdery Mildew. This usually becomes evident in mid to late summer and persists through fall. As mildew progresses, it takes on a dirty gray appearance. Powdery mildew is an opportunistic fungus, that is worse on plants growing in too much shade or that are too crowded. The disease also loves moisture and high humidity. Shrubs sprayed by sprinkler systems are also prone to mildew.
Although powdery mildew is unsightly and is a slight stress to the plant, it isn’t life-threatening to most woody plants. And once on the plant, it cannot be cured. But, Powdery Mildew can be minimized or put into check with routine sprays of a fungicide, but that isn’t usually advised. You can spray at the beginning of the season to help prevent it. Raking and disposing of infected leaves might be of some value, but there are spores for powdery mildew everywhere and if conditions are right, a susceptible lilac will probably get it whether the leaves are removed or not. Powdery mildew rarely becomes a serious problem on woody plants, but it can wipe out perennials, annuals and vegetables – especially cucumbers, squash and melons. So, monitor those plants regularly, and as soon as powdery mildew appears, start your fungicidal sprays to keep it in check!
[The sky is blue for a reason. If it were green, you wouldn't know where to stop mowing.]
Tags: bagworms, birds, butterflies, daylilies, gladiolas, lilac, tomato hornworms
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Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
Questions of the Week
“My Knock Out roses flowered great earlier, but not flowering now. What should I do?” -Be patient, for they will come. Deadhead if you’d like, feed a bit, water in, and wait. They take a couple weeks break, and then kick back into gear for the rest of the summer.
“Can I grow kohlrabi from seed?” -Yes you can, but it is a cool season crop so plant early spring or for the fall (early to mid August). By the way, I think kohl means cabbage and rabi means turnip?
“How can I prevent bagworms on my spruce?” -You can’t prevent bagworms, but you can pick off any hanging around over the winter to help lower your chances of getting them. Spray once you notice them with Bt or Captain Jacks and you’re good to go. Look for them right now on your evergreens.”
“My wife and I are arguing about whether or not to throw the grass clippings back into the lawn. I say yes, she says no. Who’s right?“ -Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll use this for the Success Tip down below. Read the tip together, while relaxing on the couch together, maybe doing a little kissy face / huggy body, sipping on a little wine, and then the two of you can make a final decision together about those grass clippings. Enjoy the weekend!
Tags: bagworms, grass clippings, Knock Out Roses, kohlrabi
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Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
Problems In the Garden
Before we hear from Buggy Joe Boggs, I am happy to report that the Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew stopped the bagworms dead in their tracks – or dead on their branches. The pine I sprayed was covered with thousands of them, and I can’t find one still moving. Next up – finding some Japanese beetles to try it on! Woo-hoo! Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of Captain Jacks!
This week, Buggy Joe Boggs (OSU Extension) is reporting lot’s of bugs and diseases floating around, as well as plenty of fireworks and grilling going on this weekend. Okay, enough said here, too.
Tags: bagworms, captain jack's deadbug brew, japanese beatles
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Thursday, June 25th, 2009
My favorite bug, the bagworm, has hatched and are beginning to secretly reek havoc on unsuspecting evergreens and some leafy plants. They are small right now – maybe only a 1/4 of an inch long – but the just keep getting bigger every day and eating more and more until the needles are gone! I have discovered them on a large planting of weeping white pines (you have to look close, but the browning needles were a hint to look), and when they’re this size, they are very susceptible to sprays of Bt, or the new Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew (both a form a Eco-friendly bacteria). So this morning, we will spray the weeping pines with the new spray and see what the Captain can do! I’ll report back next week. In the meantime, check your evergreens for these miniature needle eating machines! (Junipers, pines, spruce, chamaecyparis, arborvitae, etc.) PS – I found a few on the closely planted Knock Out rose leaves as well, so they will get on leafy plants. But, its usually not as much of an issue as those plants recover – many of the needled plants do not (after severe damages).
This week, Buggy Joe Boggs is reporting bagworm hatch (duh, Joe, we already covered it!), increased reports of wild turkey damages in suburban gardens (another reason why you don’t drink and garden), iron chlorosis showing now in many trees including oaks, river birch and sweetgum, black medic showing up in many thinned out lawns (looks like clover with a yellow flower), pear sawfly on, nope not pears, crabapples (got cha!), arborvitae leafminer tip damage, mites on junipers, needle blight on Austrina pine, canker on Witchita Blue juniper, abiotic problems of holly leaf drop, leaf scorch on dogwood and red oak, and iron deficiences in river birch, gypsy moth caterpillars out and about, hickory tussock moth feeding on, nope, American elm leaves (got cha again! – they actually feed on a wide range of trees including hickory), magnolia serpentine leaf mining caterpillars on, yes, you got it this time, magnolias, WARM SEASON MITE populations now starting to rise, with the most notoriuous being the two-spotted spider mite (symptoms include tiny yellow spots on leaves which produces leaf chlorosis, browning or bronzing, and subsequent defoliation (burning bush deal with this every summer – also seeing it more and more on roses), sod webworm cases (looks like a cigarette wrapper on the grass) showing up in lawns, as well as the adult moths flying out of the lawn, masked chafers have begun to emerge, reports of tiny pockets of Japanese beetles are starting to come in, and last but not least, a reminder to NOT over feed your tomato plants, which could result in the over abundance of foliage but not tomatoes (or smaller fruit set).
Catch The Buggy Joe Boggs Report every Saturday at 8:42am on 55KRC The Talk Station (550AM).
Helpful Links: www.emeraldashborer.info and www.gardenswithwings.com
Tags: bagworms, bagworms hatching
Posted in Bugs, Diseases | No Comments »
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Hey Ron, is it Grub Ex time?“ -Why, yes, yes it is! Grub preventers can actually be applied anytime mid May thru sometime in July. Mid May also covers a few nasty bugs that can affect bluegrass lawns. Remember to make sure you’re using a “Grub Preventer” not a “Grub Killer”. Preventers (kill grubs at an early stage) last all summer (about 90 days) where as the killers are a one shot application (used early or late in the season). ‘GrubEX’ by Scotts and ‘Annual Grub Beater’ by Bonide are the products you’re looking for to be used a season long grub preventers.
“I remember reading about a fungus that looks like vomit on mulch beds. I have sprayed with a fungicide, and seem to remember you saying chlorox would work as well. Should I remove it after I spray it?” -That fungus is actually a slime mold and is called “Dog Barf (Vomit) Fungus, also known as egg batter mold. Despite being commonly referred to as the dog vomit fungus, it is not a fungus at all. Slime molds can be described as yellow, slimy, multinucleate bodies called plasmodia, simply stated; a big colony of slimy blobs! The reason the yellow slime appears to move across our flower beds or lawns is because it really does. If enough moisture and food is available the slime could move up to several feet a day. As the environment around the slime mold dries out the movement stops and so to does the slime. As it dries it develops spore-producing structures and its color fades from the bright yellow to a dull earthy brown. As the new spores develop they are disbursed into the wind and the entire organism disappears. Because slime molds do not cause diseases of plants or turf, there are no pesticides available or other products recommended for their control in the landscape. The best way to get rid of slime mold is to break it up and dry it out. If the slime is still moist, simply rake it up with the substrate it is growing on and dispose of it in the garbage. Do not use fungicides NOR Chlorox to get rid of these slimy blobs!
“The bottom leaves on my container tomatoes are turning yellow. Should I be spraying for a disease?” -Not necessarily, especially if they’re growing in containers and you’re using potting soil. Chances are its just a natural thing happening. Mine will do that as well. By the time mine are 3 feet tall, I will have picked the bottom 10-12 inches of leaves off the plant. This is actually a good practice if you’re growing them in the ground, as this keeps the bottom leaves away from the soil and the possibility of soil born diseases splashing up onto the plant. Limbing them up, as well as a good mulching around the plants, can really help reduce leaf diseases (soil born) on tomatoes growing in the ground. But again, they will naturally yellow a bit on the bottoms. Just to be sure, you can always take a leaf to your local garden store for someone to see.
“Hey Ron – have you set the dates for this year’s Nursery Outlet Sale yet?” -Yes we have, but we don’t usually let the cat out of the bag until a little later. But if you’ll keep it to yourself, the sale opens to the public Sept. 18,19,20,25,26,27. We added an extra day this year. But that’s between me and you. Okay?
Readers Comments:
“For the lady with the hydrangeas that don’t bloom – too much shade will cause that to happen as well.” (-Good point! I forgot to mention they were on the SE side of the house. But you are right – that can be an issue!)
Tags: bagworms, dog barf fungus, grub preventer, tomatoes containers
Posted in Diseases, Questions of the Week | No Comments »
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
June 25, 2009
During late June and July, you seem to notice a loss of needles on your evergreens, and an increase in cone-like structures hanging from the branches. Upon closer inspection, you realize the cone-like structures are actually moving, and devouring your evergreen’s needles! The culprit – the common Bagworm.
Description – Bagworms are caterpillars that during June, July and early August, make distinctive spindle-shaped bags comprised of leaves, needles, sticks, bark, etc, and actually live inside the bag (mature bags can reach 1 ½ to 2 inches long). They carry it with them as they move around both deciduous plants and evergreens feeding on the foliage. They are especially damaging to evergreens (juniper, spruce, pines, arborvitae, cedar, cypress, etc.) as stripping the plants of their foliage may result in death of the plant. And they largely go unnoticed as they do resemble pine cones! The female remains in the caterpillar form, but the male eventually develops into a winged bee like creature (August). He mates with the female, resulting in the fertilized female laying from 300-1,000 eggs in her bag. The bag is then attached to a plant branch with a silk-like band, to hang in place over winter. Those eggs over winter in that bag, and hatch out late May and early June, starting the entire bagworm process all over again. These tiny bagworms are so small, they are carried in the winds to other evergreens (ballooning stage) or they may stay on the plant where they hatched.
Control:
1.) Hand Picking – Physical removal is a great way to rid your plants of bagworms. Whether during the feeding times or over the winter and early spring before the eggs hatch (which happens late May thru mid June), picking the bags off the plants and destroying them stops the bagworms before they ever get started. Destroy the bags by smashing, soaking in soapy water, or burning.
2.) Chemical Control – There are no preventative sprayings for preventing bagworm infestations. You can only spray for control after the bagworms have been noticed actively feeding on the plants. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) and Captain Jacks Deadbug Brew are very effective against the early stages of bagworms, and very much environmentally safe. Spray these towards mid to late June after all bagworms have hatched. Other insecticides will also control bagworms, and remember that earlier sprays against younger larvae are more effective rather than later against older larvae. And the silk bags will become an impermeable protectant for the bagworm, so spraying means making sure the foliage is soaked. Orthene, Eight, Sevin, Malathion, Rotenone, etc are a few of the many insecticides listed for bagworm control. For all sprays, two applications may be needed for total control. If you do not realize that there is a bagworm problem until late in the season, forget the sprays. Hand pick what you can, and wait until next mid June to spray the newly hatched bagworms when they are most susceptible to sprays. Use this tactic for controlling bagworms in the tops of tall evergreens that cannot be hand picked. Wait for hatching, and then spray as needed.
Tags: bagworms, evergreens
Posted in Bugs, Success Tip | No Comments »
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
Time to keep an eye out for bristly rose slugs on roses, bagworms are ready to hatch, aphids are sucking the new growth of roses, burning bush, annuals and perennials so watch for those (blow them off woody plants with water!), blackspot and powdery mildew now showing on roses, and Emerald Ash Borer adults have started to emerge.
This week, Buggy Joe Boggs (OSU EXTENSION) is reporting slime molds making several appearances in mulched landscape beds near you (also show up in turf, natural areas, etc) and one of the most common seen here is the ever popular “Dog Vomit Fungus” or also known as “Egg Batter Mold” (it is actually a mold, not a fungus). Give the spores the right moisture and organic matter, and this stuff can float along the the wet surfaces several feet a day! (Yellow – slimy – turns orange, brown, etc) No controls – doesn’t affect plants – scrape up and throw away of fluff up and let it dry out. Buggy Joe Boggs is also reporting yellow nutsedge showing up in beds and turf, borer moths fluttering around, roughstalk bluegrass showing up in lawns (turns brown in heat and drought), root rot on Norway spruce, crane flies showing up (look like mosquitoes on steroids), mosquitoes starting to bite and bother folks, masses of midges menacing homeowners, viburnum leaf beetle defoliating viburnums (Arrowwood and Cranberry Vib.) in NE Ohio (a new beetle to the area!), pine spittle bugs on, yes, pines, elm flea weevils feeding on, yes, elm leaves (Siberian and Chinese elms), apple scab defoliating regular apples and flowering crabapples, ambrosia beetles doing their thing targeting stressed trees, and calico scale is getting ready to hatch and crawlers will be moving around (good time to spray).
Catch The Buggy Joe Boggs Report every Saturday morning at 8:42AM on 55KRC The Talk Station.
[Indicators the economy is bad - CEO's are now playing miniature golf.]
Tags: bagworms, EAB, egg batter mold, rose slugs
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