Still Dry - Chinch Bugs

 

Horticulture Hotline 05/09/22

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

The wind and the lack of rain has kept brown patch in check for the most part; however, powdery mildew, localized dry spots where irrigation is not reaching, and roaches that would normally be happy outside are coming inside for water as well as rats, are keeping us busy. When it is this dry for this long, insects that are usually happy in the woods begin to attack plants in people’s yards that are irrigating. Plants need water, so scout for insects. Snakes are out and about. With dry weather mole cricket damage is extra bad. Mole crickets separate the soil from the roots, drying out the grass plant. Wetting agents have been a big hit – a great product that saves you money. As predicted, chinch bugs are sucking the life out of certain grasses.

 

‘The Nasty Rascal, The Chinch Bug’ is about impossible to see (about the size of fine ground pepper), the damage can be confused between fungi, dry areas, and just dead areas, and although they are easy to kill once identified, the chinch bug keeps coming back. Chinch bugs preferred diet is St. Augustine grass (AKA Charleston Grass); however, it will attack zoysia, Bermuda, and centipede. As St. Augustine grass is getting replaced by zoysia, this switch in diet makes a lot of sense.

 

In the old days (Dursban, Diazinon), you could put out a product in May and pretty much control chinch bugs for the season. Now depending on the product, if you get two to three weeks control you are lucky. Most of the products work on the adults and do not affect the eggs that are waiting to hatch.

 

 There are a lot of cases of resistance to certain control products in Florida, so be sure to rotate chemical families of your products (not just product names). Since some of our sod comes up from Florida, we have also experienced these resistant chinch bugs as well.

 

‘The Nasty Rascal, The Chinch Bug’ got this designation from attacking family’s lawns during the summer while families were taking their summer vacation. The fact that this very small insect and a lot of its buddies can wipe out a beautiful yard in a very short period of time is ruthless. Hard to control weeds like bermudagrass and Virginia button weed always seem to move in on the weaken areas.

 

There is a fungus in the soil that controls chinch bugs. When the soil dries out the fungus in the soil that keeps chinch bugs in check dies. When the fungus dies, the chinch bugs go crazy. The reason you see chinch bugs along the road, driveway, sidewalks or in the sunniest part of the yard is because that is where the fungus dies out first. Chinch bugs rarely attack grass in the shade (notice attached pictures) because the fungus keeps them in check. With about 50 people moving to the Lowcountry a day, I wanted to make people aware of ‘The Nasty Rascal, The Chinch Bug’.

 

Since chinch bugs attack the grass along the road, driveway, and sidewalks, when people treat for them, they often throw product on hard impermeable surfaces (roads, driveways, and sidewalks). Always be sure to sweep or blow any particles back into the grass to avoid any unwanted runoff into storm water drains or marshes and waterways. This particular runoff situation would be another reason to refer to this pest as ‘The Nasty Rascal, The Chinch Bug’!

 

If you have active chinch bugs, be sure to use a product that ‘controls’ them not ’suppresses’ them. Sevin is a good choice with the resistance issues.

 

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

 

Dry / Save

 

Horticulture Hotline 05/02/22

 By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

Alright, I’m going to give one of those Captain Obvious predictions. With this very dry weather with wind and if the nighttime temperatures warm up just a little bit, chinch bugs will attack St. Augustine Grass early this year. Be sure to protect your grass because they can do a lot of damage quickly, and the “Nasty Rascal, the Chinch Bug” knows when you go on vacation!

 

Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants (PWAB) is a product that helps water move deeper into the soil. PWAB will help soften clay for water penetration and get rid of those localized dry spots in your lawn. Sandy soils will hold water longer and prevent those localized dry spots. Wetting agents have shown to reduce watering needs from 33% to 66% in Arizona and other areas where water is limited. If you could go from watering three times a week down to once a week or not at all, think of the savings!

 

 The benefits of using a wetting agent would be far greater than just the savings with the water company. Since the water would penetrate deeper into the soil, the root systems of your grass and plants would grow deeper. As the roots of your grass and plants slough off and are replaced by new roots, organic material is increasing in the area where these roots are shed, creating a deeper topsoil area.

 

 A deeper root system will help in times of drought and can collect more nutrients from the soil. If you use fertilizer, a deeper root system can absorb more nutrients before they leach away; therefore, you can use lower fertilizer rates. If you use root absorbed systemic fungicides or insecticides, a deeper root system will also “catch” these products more efficiently giving you more “bang for your buck”.

 

When it rains, a yard treated with a wetting agent like Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants has less runoff. The rain penetrates the ground much easier, keeping the rain in your yard and not in the storm water drains. If you have ever poured water out on a dusty dirt road, and watched the water bead up and not penetrate the road, you have witnessed a hydrophobic soil condition. If you add a little wetting agent to this water and poured it on the same road, the water would penetrate the dusty dirt road. By keeping the water in your lawn, you will have the benefit of the water and we will have less runoff into our marshes.

 

The biggest savings from using a wetting agent will come from reduced use of fungicides. Most fungi like water. By watering less fungus populations should decrease.

Brown patch / large patch and gray leaf spot definitely comes to mind.

 

Many people travel over the summer. PWAB is great to add to hanging baskets or pots. Whether you are travelling or just want to increase your intervals between watering, PWAB should help you with a more uniform distribution of water and better hydrated plants.

 

If you prefer a granular product over a spray, try HumGranWet. HumGranWet is very cost-effective product that combines a wetting agent and humic acid. If you would rather spread than spray, check it out. HumGranWet has a very low use rate (1.15 pounds per thousand square feet 4 times a year or 2.3 pounds per thousand square feet every 6 months) and long residual making it very affordable!

 

People come into Possum’s and say that the savings on their water bill more than pays for the Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants. All the other benefits are an extra (free) bonus!

 

Mole Crickets, fire ants, mosquitoes, gray leaf spot, aphids, scale, chinch bugs, white flies, sooty mold, snakes, ticks, rats, palmetto bugs, fruit flies, and have you smelled a magnolia bloom… – ahh the Lowcountry!

Late April Observations

Horticulture Hotline 04/25/22

  Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

This column is mainly observations about some Lowcountry yard situations.

 

The Magnolias are blooming! One of my top fragrances in the landscape and a symbol of the Lowcountry. Beautiful!

 

Magnolias, gardenias, azaleas, and many other evergreen plants are losing leaves right now. They have many yellow leaves often confused with a nutrient deficiency. Evergreen plants lose their leaves as new leaves are replacing the old leaves. The lack of rain makes this transition a little more pronounced, especially in the shallow rooted magnolias. Give your plants a little 17-00-09 plus water, and they should green-up nicely for you.

 

As people are getting outside more often and leaving their door open, the cockroach seems to be making a mad dash inside for water and cooler weather. I have been getting a lot of questions about the good old Palmetto Bug. A good perimeter treatment outside of the house usually does a good job of keeping them out of the house.

 

The windy, dry, cool, low humidity days and cool nighttime temperatures have slowed the greening-up of many lawns. Brown patch fungus hasn’t been too bad – unless you have it! As the nights warm up and if we get some steady rain, brown patch will be more of an issue. Brown patch was very bad last fall so look out. Remember fungicides are like the flu shot, you want to put them out before you have the disease. Powdery Mildew, the only fungus that likes cool, dry conditions, is flourishing. If you haven’t been watering, your trees and grass would appreciate a drink to help them form new leaves.

 

In 2022 try to remove fertilizer and other control products from hard surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, pool decks, and streets before these products are washed into the storm water.  This will help protect the beautiful area in which we live.  Since a lot of storm water ends up in our marshes and waterways, this will also help protect our natural resources (fish, oysters, clams, crabs, shrimp, etc) and recreation areas (boating, swimming, skiing, paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, etc). 

 

Buy a pack of disposable nitrile gloves.  These things are great!  You can use them when handling control products and fertilizers, when changing the oil in your lawn mower, while spreading Cotton Burr Compost, while painting or taking out the trash, cleaning and yard work….  These gloves are very inexpensive and can save you lots of hot water while trying to remove things from your hands.  These gloves are also good at keeping the human scent away from mole, mice and rat bait.

 

This past week while I was in my different Possum’s stores, there were several recurring problems that appear to be plaguing the Lowcountry.  The main problems that I was hearing about were related to moles, carpenter bees, mole crickets and winter weeds. 

 

Moles are a huge problem in the Lowcountry.  Kill the mole (Mole Patrol, trap or Talpirid), control its food source (Sevin) and put out a repellant (No Moles, Mole and Vole Repellant) to prevent re-infestation from other moles.

 

Mole crickets’ over-winter as adults and they are mating now.  Sevin will also control the mole crickets and grubs this time of year as a bonus.  

 

Always read, follow and understand product label.