Horticulture Hotline 07/17/17
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
With the rain, we are seeing a lot of ‘yellowing’ of grass
at the stores. Some from fungus, some from chinch bugs (time of year – not
rain), and most of the yellowing I’m seeing is from the soil being depleted of
minor nutrients. Many people that fertilized in the spring are now due for some
more fertilizer. If your grass is growing good, Excell, Perk, Possum Minors, or
SeaHume would add minor nutrients without encouraging a bunch of new growth
that could be susceptible to fungus attack. 07-00-14 + Allectus is a 100% slow
release nitrogen product that would help with chinch bugs and many other
insects. Hopefully in a month, it will be getting cooler and the grass will
slow down.
Fleas (roaches, mosquitoes, and bedbugs) are very persistent
insects that are a challenge to control. The use of an adulticide and a growth
regulator (ie cocktail) will increase your odds of success greatly.
Adult biting fleas only account for about 2% of the
population, the rest are in the egg, larva and pupae stage. If you are using a
product that only controls adults, you are going to have to spray regularly to
kill the new adults as they emerge. This constant spraying is a battle most
people do not want to fight. However, if you mix in a growth regulator (many
aerosol products have a growth regulator already mixed in), within about 2
weeks (it takes a little time for fleas to emerge and for the growth regulator
to break up the life cycle) your flea population should ‘crash.’
There are some cultural steps (part of the cocktail if you
will) that would help you with your flea control success as well. Vacuum,
spray, let area dry then vacuum again. If your vacuum has a bag, be sure to
take it outside to remove it and put it in another bag in the garbage can, so
any fleas (eggs, adults, larva, pupae) you might have sucked up will not re-infest
your home. Vacuum often, at least daily, for best results.
Treating your animal will also add to your success. Prefurred One or Prefurred Plus are post
patented Fipronil products that you apply directly to your dog or cat every 30
days. Being a “generic”, the price has dropped significantly (customers tell us
30 to 50 percent off). Petcor, Biospot or a flea collar will also protect your
animal.
Treat your yard and bed areas with IC3 (National Organics
Program compliant), Essentria G (National Organics Program compliant), Bug
Blasters, or Sevin. Pivot is a growth regulator that you can use outdoors to
break up the life cycle of many pests. Pivot works on many different flies,
mosquitoes, fleas, roaches and many other pests.
By treating the family pet, the home and the yard
proactively, you should have good success against the flea. If this sounds like
too much work or something you would rather have a professional tackle, there
are many good Pest Management Professionals in the area. If you call a Pest
Management Company, give his products 2 weeks to work before you call him back
out to your house (unless the company tells you otherwise). The process simply
takes that long.
If you are thinking about aerating later this summer while
the grass is still actively growing, while you have the holes open in your
lawn, some good additives are: SeaHume G, 04-04-04 Bolster, Mule Mix, BGK 7500,
Crab Shell and / or Cotton Burr Compost. Get the full benefit from the
aeration! Sounds like another cultural / product cocktail!!
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
