Crazy Ants on the Horizon for Katy

Recently I attended a meeting designed to alert all Gulf Coast AgriLife extension agents of the pending infestation of the Rasberry Crazy Ant, RCA. Evidence of the interest in the new invasive specie, Tom Rasberry, the Pest Control Operator for whom the ant is named, attended as did representatives of the USDA-APHIS, TDA, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas A&M, University of Texas, and some political dignitaries.

The ant does not sting or bite humans: they are a significant pest, however, because their sheer numbers overwhelm homes, lawns and businesses. We are talking colonies numbering in the billions per acre. These colonies can double monthly during its foraging season April - November.

The Current treatment protocol uses 4 to 5 insecticide formulations and maintaining an insecticide residual by treating monthly. House keeping for the homeowner is imperative, that is sweeping away the dead. The insecticides kill many ants but the survivors crawl on top of the bone pile; consequently no insecticide touches thse ants. After all, if you have a billion ants and you kill 20 million, you still have 980 million left.

To date, the ant has been positively identified in 11 Texas Counties to include Harris and Ft. Bend and nothing has worked to control their advance. It is widely believed they are transported on agricultural products such as hay bales and nursery stock. I recommend before planting new plants to hire our company to inspect your plant material for this ant. There is desperate need for funding for the Entomologists to research these insects, to scientifically determine how they're spread and where the State should use its quarantine powers. I encourage you to contact your State officials and express your concern about this insect.

I invite you to the following TAMU website to learn what we know. There are some good video on the website of the ant http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/ants/exotic_tx.cfm. Another blogger made an informative video of this meeting that I also recommend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oUbzvlQB0U

Katy Hibiscus Attacked By Mealybugs

We have a number of customers who cherish their hibiscus and have us fertilize and maintain an insecticide residual to protect them from aphids and the like. Recently we were called to a residence located behind Katy Mills Mall to asscess a problem which has taken over their entire stand , about 500 square feet, of hibiscus. It was not pretty. The leaves were gnarled and covered with black sooty mold which had developed on the sweet honeydew released by some insects.

In this case, the insect proved to be our first true infestation of Pink Hibiscus Mealybugs in Katy. The insect was discovered in Florida in 2002 and was identified in our area last year. Protected by white scaly deposits encircling the stems of the plant lives this pale little insect; pink not even a Mary Kay lady could love and lacking the common courtesy to confine itself to hibiscus plants.

Best to attack this insect through the use of systemic insecticides. If you have hibiscus and other plants you care about, perhapes you should have JNJ Pest Control and Grounds Care begin a preventive program for them.

Irrigation 101 for Katy Summers

Watering you lawn in this extreme heat and long daylight is important to keep your turf alive. Remember you want to water the soil. Little water is absorbed by the leaf. You should water seldom but heavily. This will cause the grass roots to go deep to search for more water. Daily sprinklings create shallow root system making the turf vulnerable to drought and traffic. The first 5 minutes will probably evaporate by the time it reaches the soil.

Just because you have an irrigation system does not mean it is working efficiently. When you have brown spots in the lawn it can easily be the lack of water at that particular spot.

I am recommending 2 inches of water on the entire lawn twice a week. Below are steps to insure successful irrigation plan.

Step 1: Place shallow containers, like cat food cans, throughout you lawn. Run the irrigation system or sprinkler apparatus until you have filled a container to 1 inch. Typically in Katy that will take 20 minutes. So 40 minutes will put out 2 inches of water. Check the remaining containers and determine the deficiency. Sometimes it can be as simple as a shrub limb has moved into the path of the water stream or the grass runners have covered the pop up head of the sprinkler. If not easily determined contact a qualified irrigation repair company. We have numerous names to refer you.

Step 2: Watch your system and determine how much water your soil can absorb until it begins to run down the drive. Typically that will take 15- 20 minutes. This becomes the maximum run time per zone for this session.

Step 3: Now you know how long to run your system to reach 2 inches and how many start times you will need to accomplish your goal. Give at least 90 minutes between start times to allow the water to percolate into the soil strata. Irrigate from 4am-10am. If you have many zones break the run times for different days. Example of 12 zones: On Thursday run zones 1-4 for 20 minutes with a start time 4 am. This will take an hour and 20 minutes. Set a second start time at 5:30 am and repeat 1-4 zones for another 20 minutes. Set to repeat zones 1-4 on Sunday. On Friday and Monday run 5-8 zones like suggested and then Saturday and Tuesday 9-12 zones. Make the day off the day you mow. You will probably maintain this schedule through August.

Not using correct watering practices can be responsible for insect invasion from the stress of the grass. Stressed turf can cause a fungus indigenous in our soils called Take All Patch to become active. If you feel these pest have selected your lawn it is time to call us for our expert identification and curative practices.

Chinch Bugs Kill Katy Lawns

When temperatures begin reaching 90 degrees the chinch bugs come marching out of the thatch layer to feed on St. Augustinegrass. Chinch bugs quickly run up the leaf shaft and inject their sucking mouthpart into tissue to inject an enzyme which breaks down the cells so they can suck the juices. This is toxic to the cells and subsequently kills the grass. The damage typically begins near concrete where the plant is more stressed by effects on the soil, particularly pH, attributable to the concrete.

We recommend preventive insecticide applications against this devastating insect. Once the damage appears, immediate curative action to arrest the spread should be taken.

There are a number of tricks to identify the chinch bug in action, or go to agrilifebookstore.org to learn more about this prolific summer insect. However, birds pecking at the lawn are probably foraging on the chinch bugs: conclude research; do something!

That could include a call to our office to schedule service to verify the diagnosis and make appropriate product applications to cure the problem.

Let say it is too late and the lawn is dead we can paint it like nothing happened.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes not only annoy people, they transmit disease-causing organisms to humans and animals. The information which follows may help in combating this irritating insect.

The mosquito has four distinct stages in its life cycle, three of which require standing water. They feed on nectar, plant sap and other sources of liquid carbohydrates. The female requires a blood-protein meal to produce eggs. Adults typically live no more than a month and they seldom travel more than a couple hundred yards from their breeding sites. Logically, control efforts should be focused on areas where they breed and where they feed.

They breed in standing water: eliminate as much of that as possible and treat the rest. I recommend Mosquito Dunks; a solid briquette which contains a bacterium called BT. They dissolve gradually in water and kill immature stages of the mosquito. They can be used in dog water bowls, horse troughs, and bird baths and “installed” in ditches and areas where rain water collects.

They have two food sources: animals and plants, which complicates the issue. Wildlife and birds (where they may get West Nile Virus) are on their own. Humans can reduce exposure by staying indoors during heavy feeding times (morning and dusk), using insect repellents that contain DEET, and not inviting birds into the yard with feeders and baths.

Plants should be treated with an insecticide labeled for that purpose. Mix the product per the label directions and apply it to the underside of vegetation where the insects rest and collect food during the daylight. Also apply it around decks, eaves and gutters

For the best, long-term control use a microencapsulated insecticide formulation. Microencapsulated means the insecticide is enclosed in a microscopic “bead” of sorts, which protects it from rain and UV rays as it sits on the plant surface, where it is easily picked up by insects. The particle surface soon cracks and releases the insecticide. I recommend pyrethroids such Cykick CS or Demand CS, which can be purchased at Estes, Inc. or Katy Chemical (other locations as well, but probably not the hardware or home improvement stores).

You may have found yourself admiring the beautiful white blooms on trees that line the Grand Parkway in Katy. These trees are Bradford Pears or, as some call them, Fruitless Pears. In bloom, the plant is really pretty and, unfortunately, vulnerable to a virus that can be carried on the wind or by insects. The virus enters through the blossom and kills the circulatory system of the leaves on the branch, causing the leaves to turn a copper brown color. While a few infected limbs probably will not affect the overall health of the tree, it surely can make it look awful.

The disease is called Fire Blight and the only remedy is a spray application of agricultural grade streptomycin, which should be made now. In a few weeks it will have no effect, so now is the time to call JNJ Pest Control and Grounds Care to treat your Bradford Pears.

Termites Celebrate Spring Break in Katy

March is the time that college coeds have taken to the sandy beaches at some tropical destination where they frolic in the surf at day and dance all night after gorging themselves on island fare for their right of passage for the spring vacation break.

Termites have the same biological urges, but they have selected Katy, TX as their venue. The termites attracted to over watered wood mulched beds that cover weep holes making easy access to wood structure of residences. At this time of the year the reproductives, dubbed swarmers, are empowered to jump into the wind to finally be discovered on the hard wood floor of their new vacation spot.

What to do to insure the safety of people and property you care. The children I cannot help but termites I can. First walk around your house and look for mud shelter tubes about the size of a strap on a string bikini coming out of the ground to your structure. Another tail-tell sign are mud protrusions on sheetrock walls which are built by termites workers to provide jumping off ramps for swarming winged termites like the divers in Acapulco..

JNJ Pest Control and Grounds Care can arrest termites from your structure. And like a conscientious parent JNJ is best at preventing the unfortunate consequences.

Deweed Weed and Feed

Temperatures are rising; hours of sunshine increasing. St. Augustine-grass is slowly coming out of dormancy. Last years chinch bugs left some lawns nearly bare ground and the ugly faces of weeds dominate. A weed is any plant that ain’t supposed to be there, whether it’s a grassy or broadleaf variety.

Faced with the unsightly mess, homeowners purchase some brand of “weed and feed” in hopes of accomplishing two goals with one pass of the spreader. Multi-tasking has its place, but this isn’t one of them. The herbicide – “weed” component in the mix - cannot differentiate between a dandelion and a begonia. Further, the commonly-included herbicide Atrazine has some residual effect in the soil that will kill new runners of St. Augustine attempting to move into the bare areas. Most fertilizers recommend immediate, heavy watering: Atrazine is very water soluble chemical. If applied near a tree or shrub it will leach into soil or mulch and damage those plants.

The recommended strategy for dealing with the problem is: (1) mow the lawn; (2) three days or so later, apply a slow release nitrogen fertilizer with a 3-1-2 ratio and micronutrients; (3) apply a selective liquid herbicide directly to the weeds. Don’t spray weed killer over the entire lawn: the same problems as with the granular product may occur, amplified by wind-drift onto foliage. Attack the weeds one-by-one, using a pump sprayer with something as simple as a paper cup to prevent drift of the liquid mixture onto non-targeted plants.

Promoting a healthy and dense lawn is the best prevention for weeds; next September, use a preemergent herbicide to reduce the number of spring weeds.

Using the services of a licensed lawn care professional such as JNJ Pest Control and Grounds Care will eliminate your bothering with the chemistry and give you the desired beautiful green lawn.

deweed

Deweed Weed and Feed

Temperatures are rising; hours of sunshine increasing. St. Augustine-grass is slowly coming out of dormancy. Last years chinch bugs left some lawns nearly bare ground and the ugly faces of weeds dominate. A weed is any plant that ain’t supposed to be there, whether it’s a grassy or broadleaf variety.

Faced with the unsightly mess, homeowners purchase some brand of “weed and feed” in hopes of accomplishing two goals with one pass of the spreader. Multi-tasking has its place, but this isn’t one of them. The herbicide – “weed” component in the mix - cannot differentiate between a dandelion and a begonia. Further, the commonly-included herbicide Atrazine has some residual effect in the soil that will kill new runners of St. Augustine attempting to move into the bare areas. Most fertilizers recommend immediate, heavy watering: Atrazine is very water soluble chemical. If applied near a tree or shrub it will leach into soil or mulch and damage those plants.

The recommended strategy for dealing with the problem is: (1) mow the lawn; (2) three days or so later, apply a slow release nitrogen fertilizer with a 3-1-2 ratio and micronutrients; (3) apply a selective liquid herbicide directly to the weeds. Don’t spray weed killer over the entire lawn: the same problems as with the granular product may occur, amplified by wind-drift onto foliage. Attack the weeds one-by-one, using a pump sprayer with something as simple as a paper cup to prevent drift of the liquid mixture onto non-targeted plants.

Promoting a healthy and dense lawn is the best prevention for weeds; next September, use a preemergent herbicide to reduce the number of spring weeds.

Using the services of a licensed lawn care professional such as JNJ Pest Control and Grounds Care will eliminate your bothering with the chemistry and give you the desired beautiful green lawn.

Feral Hogs in Katy Texas

You may have noticed a seriously damaged lawn, golf course, or community common area and wondered what caused so much damage – Roto-Tiller run amuck??? More likely the culprit is Sus Scrota: Feral Hogs, termed bulldozers on hooves. They are omnivores who eat tender grass roots, grubworms and earthworms in moist environments such as landscapes in areas that abut Bush Park, the Westpark Dam and similar “wild” areas. They were there long before the landscapes: Spanish explorer Hernando Desoto probably dropped off a few; plenty have escaped or been released from farms since and they’re doing just fine, thank you.

One sow can be responsible for 2 litters of as many as 12 piglets a year, beginning when she is 10 months old. It is estimated there are 1.5 million feral hogs in Texas, and they damage $52 million worth of agricultural, residential and hunting environments. The 58 trapped along Bush Park in 2008 was hardly a drop in the bucket.

So, what to do if porky and his pals show up in your yard? Nothing and don’t encourage your dog to do anything, either. No amount of shooing and/or barking is going to disrupt the feeding frenzy and it’s a really bad idea to tangle with a 250-pound animal with tusks and an attitude!

Give the dog a treat, scout around for some bleach or other serious bactericide to spray the “leavings” when this joy of life not in the big city ends; might call the landscaper to arrange a little reclamation work but don’t bother to call animal control or any other government entity: no State or County employee will be dispatched post haste to remove the animals from private property. Suppose you could shoot them if there’s some serious fire-power around, but that’s darned un-neighborly and probably illegal.

Feral hogs are dangerous animals. They are huge disease and tick vectors: an invading pack may destroy the lawn and rub bark off the pine trees to access the pitch, a natural tick repellent. In addition to tick-borne diseases, they can carry Brucellosis, rabies and E-coli bacteria; hence the aforementioned bactericide spray.

You can contact the Agricultural Extension Service (AgriLife Center) in your county who can arrange the capture of hogs on public property.

Then there is hunting in permitted areas: have at ‘em; no license, no limits. Will need a big bullet to penetrate the shoulder area and don’t forget to include the cute little piglets.

White Pock Rot

As you stored your holiday decorations in the attic you may have seen damage to the rafters similar to that in the picture. The wood looks as though it has acne or has been worked over with a meat tenderizer, which was the case for a customer who lives in Mason Creek Park subdivision. He thought he was seeing damage from carpenter ants or termites. Fortunately, it was benign Pock Rot attributable to bacteria that infects live pine trees.

After the wood is cut and seasoned or kilned the bacteria, mycelia, which produces the white color in the pockets die, halting further damage. Not an actual “rot,” this condition is prevalent in the studs used in construction of older homes in Katy suburbs. It would be unacceptable by the current standards set by the Residential Construction Code. It definitely causes the wood to be brittle. This infected lumber has been in houses for some time and no catastrophic event caused by the condition has been reported. Few inspectors performing Wood Destroying Insect Reports identify Pock Rot as a problem, since the damage is done and there is no corrective action. There is no advantage to filling in the pockets with wood putty.

With wood destroying beetles, ants, bees, or termites there will be some wood filings collecting below the infested wood. If this is seen call us for an inspection.

Fire Ants on the Move

News flash - the Texas Department of Agriculture has added 28 counties in West Texas to their official list of areas of Fire Ant infestation and, consequently, to the list of Fire Ant Quarantine areas. By my count, that makes 190 of the State’s 252 counties where commerce is affected.

Movement of hay and nursery/floral commodities from the quarantine area into a non-quarantine area will be disrupted as businesses attempt to jump through the Agriculture Department’s inspection hoop to distribute their products.

Those of us within the quarantine area are free to swap our ant-laden commodities at will, but you may feel compelled to do your part to lessen the agony from this stinging nuisance insect by treating your property for Fire Ants now.

Better yet, help organize your community or neighborhood to have a Fire Ant Eradication Week where all residents are to do something to rid their surroundings of this dreaded ant. Please contact JNJ Pest Control and Grounds Care for ways to accomplish either approach.