Monday, September 24, 2012

Darn Sod Webworms!


Every once in while there is a pest that totally dominates the landscape. This pest could be a fungus, a weed, an insect, or something else. The pest is usually something we have faced before; however, for whatever the reason, one year it is more persistent than usual. Last year it was the nasty rascal the chinch bug. This year it is the sod webworm.

Sod webworms are usually very easy to control if identified correctly. This year control has not been as easy. Some people confuse the damage with fungus because they attack in the fall when fungus is usually an issue. Sod webworms chew on leaf blades, so if you look closely, you will see bite marks on the grass blades.

If you do not like to bend over, walk around your yard at dusk. Moths flying out of your grass or even your landscape plantings are signs that trouble is soon to follow. Sod webworm moths really seem to like Liriope (monkey grass) and Asiatic Jasmine. I’m seeing more moths than ever. The moths lay the eggs and about 10 days later the hungry little worm begins to chow on your grass.

In the recent past (I’m not writing about 20 years ago when you put down a product and you controlled insects for 6 months), usually one application of a control product would do the trick. You would apply the product and the product would kill the worms that were chowing. When new eggs hatched there was enough residual to kill any new worms.

As hopefully you have not seen, this year the same products that worked wonderfully in the past with only one application are taking 3 and 4 retreatments with no end in sight! Please be kind to your lawn care professional. If he or she is from the local area, he or she has never dealt with the amount pressure we are getting from this pest this year.

This year is the first time I have seen that you treat a yard and some areas get better, but new areas of damage show up. You treat again and in some areas you seem to have control; however, more damage shows up in another area of the yard… And the moths are in huge numbers – still laying eggs. When treating for sod webworms, always treat the whole yard.

Well, I have to run to Possum’s and get another product! Darn sod webworms!

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

To Do 9 17 12


Please register now for the upcoming Successful Tree planting and Establishment workshop sponsored by Trees SC and Possum's Landscape & Pest Control Supply. The workshop will be held Saturday, September 29 at the Horticulture Department building at the Trident Technical College main campus on Rivers Ave. in North Charleston. Both homeowners and professionals (landscapers, property managers, landscape architects, etc) are invited to attend. Topics and speakers to include:

Species Selection/Quality Nursery Stock: Tony Bertauski, Trident Technical College Horticulture Department
Learn how to recognize circling/girdling roots, identify root flare depth, and recognize good branching structure. Also learn about the Right Tree, Right Place approach to planting trees.

Proper Planting Techniques: Danny Burbage, City of Charleston Superintendent Urban Forestry
Learn how to properly plant a tree - proper hole size and depth, planting depth, backfill, and water retention.

Mulching and Irrigation: Nate Dubosh, MUSC Campus Arborist
Learn how to properly care for your tree once it has been planted– proper mulching techniques, irrigation, and fertilizing.

This is a FREE workshop. Space is limited to 30, so register today! Registration forms are at all three Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply stores. For directions for the store near you go to possumsupply.com. 

Bulbs? Plan now for great color early Spring. Daffodils and tulips put on a spectacular show while the grass is still dormant. The daffodils will come back next year. The tulips will not come back, but they sure do put on a show. Plant them with 04-04-04, bone meal, and flower bed amendment for the best results. Spray the foliage of the daffodils with18-18-18 Mighty Plant to insure a big bulb; and therefore, big flowers for the following year. Do not cut the foliage of the daffodil after it blooms. The foliage replenishes the bulb.

Have you applied preemergent herbicide lawns and beds? Prevent small seeded annual winter weeds now!

Planning to transplant a plant this winter? Root prune now to increase your success. Add some SuperThrive and SeaHume to encourage rooting.

Mosquitoes and sod webworms continue to terrorize the good people of the Lowcountry. Keep after them or they will win.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Sod Webworm "Flash Mob of Munchers"


The sod webworm is back! Chowing on the grass you put hours of work into all summer long! Eating at night while you sleep and on cloudy and rainy days, so birds and you will not catch them in the act of ruining your lawn you worked so hard on all summer! Sod webworms arrive in big numbers like a “Facebook Flash Mob” and eat so much so fast that they do not even leave the table to go to the bathroom! Nasty!

The moths that lay eggs throughout the lawn are easy to spot.  The moths fly very short distances in a zigzag pattern, most noticeable at dusk. The moths fly up right from your feet like a bobwhite quail. Once they lay the eggs, the eggs will begin to hatch in a week to ten days into the sod webworm larva, a voracious eater of turfgrass. 

The sod webworm larva is an insatiable eater of all types of grass that we have in the Lowcountry. Seeing groups of birds feeding in your yard is a good indication you have sod webworms. Another way to tell is that your yard appears to have been mowed really short; even though, you have not mowed your grass in a week. The blades of grass have been chewed, giving the turf a very ragged appearance. If worms of any type (sod webworm, army or cut worms) are attacking your grass it will appear that you have mowed your grass with a very dull mower blade at a slow speed and a low cutting height.

If you have any doubts, a soap flush of one ounce dish detergent in five gallons of water poured over a four square foot area, should bring them to the surface. You can see the worm if you get into the border between the good grass and the munched on grass and spread the grass blades apart. The blades of the grass are tattered and have been chewed, so they are missing parts of the leaf blade.

If you see damage, be ready to apply control product, or they will do a lot of damage very quickly to your turf and weeds will move in. One good thing is that they are very easy to manage, since their entire body is in contact with the ground.  Bt, Essentria G, EcoPCO WPX and Spinosad are organic controls that are very effective against young sod webworms. Sevin, Bug Blaster, and Cyonara will easily control the voracious chow-hound.

Since mole crickets and grubs (including grubs that become Japanese beetles and grubs that are mole food) are up near the surface, I just used Sevin 7G on my yard. This formulation of Sevin is easy to apply and kills young mosquitoes (another pest on my kill list), “the nasty rascal, the chinch bug”, ticks, fleas, and many other lawn pests.  

Register now for the upcoming Successful Tree planting and Establishment workshop sponsored by Trees SC and Possum's Landscape & Pest Control Supply. The workshop will be held Saturday, September 29 at the Horticulture Department building at the Trident Technical College main campus on Rivers Ave. in North Charleston.
Species Selection/Quality Nursery Stock: Tony Bertauski, Trident Tech.
Proper Planting Techniques: Danny Burbage, City of Charleston.
Mulching and Irrigation: Nate Dubosh, MUSC Campus Arborist.

This is a FREE workshop. Registration forms are at all three Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply stores. For directions for the store near you go to possumsupply.com.  

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Mosquitoes and Tree Seminar


Here is a comment about last week’s Horticulture Hotline about mosquitoes (available at possumsupply.com if you missed it) from a local doctor. Since I didn’t ask for permission use his note to me and he might lose his medical license if it is found out that that he reads the Horticulture Hotline, I altered his identity.

“Bill, I had the first case of West Nile Virus identified in SC, 2 years ago! From Wallenburg Rd. (In the middle of West Ashley, no ponds or creeks near.) She presented in the office thinking she had a stroke but didn't look "quite right". I'm now VERY CONCERNED about mosquitoes EVERYWHERE and carry repellant in the cars for use on the kids at any outing.
Thanks for the posts,
Dr. D. H., FAAFP”

Do your part. Kill mosquitoes when you have some free time. Cyonara, Bifen, and Cyzmic are a few products that will help you manage mosquitoes and other pests in your yard.

Scout for breeding areas and alter them, so they will not hold water. If you have a ditch or low areas that hold water, try Altosid or the Bt donuts. These products kill the larvae before they become adults and bite you or breed more.

Please register now for the upcoming Successful Tree planting and Establishment workshop sponsored by Trees SC and Possum's Landscape & Pest Control Supply. The workshop will be held Saturday, September 29 at the Horticulture Department building at the Trident Technical College main campus on Rivers Ave. in North Charleston. Both homeowners and professionals (landscapers, property managers, landscape architects, etc) are invited to attend. Topics and speakers to include:

Species Selection/Quality Nursery Stock: Tony Bertauski, Trident Technical College Horticulture Department
Learn how to recognize circling/girdling roots, identify root flare depth, and recognize good branching structure. Also learn about the Right Tree, Right Place approach to planting trees.

Proper Planting Techniques: Danny Burbage, City of Charleston Superintendent Urban Forestry
Learn how to properly plant a tree - proper hole size and depth, planting depth, backfill, and water retention.

Mulching and Irrigation: Nate Dubosh, MUSC Campus Arborist
Learn how to properly care for your tree once it has been planted– proper mulching techniques, irrigation, and fertilizing.

This is a FREE workshop. Space is limited to 30, so register today! Registration forms are at all three Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply stores. For directions for the store near you go to possumsupply.com.  

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.