Archive for June, 2012

Three garden pests to control in June – The Westerly Sun

Three garden pests to control in June
The Westerly Sun
Three of the more insidious garden pests, which can be controlled now, include the black vine … With a bit of education you can learn how to control these pests.

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Pests in the NewsJune 26, 2012

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Ash tree spreading in Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE, June 22 (UPI) — An invasive pest that has killed millions of ash trees in the eastern United States and Canada has been found in yet another Wisconsin county, officials said. Emerald ash borers, which have been found in 11 Wisconsin …

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Pests in the NewsJune 26, 2012

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Pesticides sprayed in El Monte neighborhood Friday to combat … – Whittier Daily News

Pesticides sprayed in El Monte neighborhood Friday to combat …
Whittier Daily News
EL MONTE – The battle against invasive Asian tiger mosquitoes reached a new level Friday morning when pest–control officials fogged an entire neighborhood …

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Pests in the NewsJune 26, 2012

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Jun 24, 2012 – Pine Needle Damage

QUESTION:

I got a call from a client who is having pine tree problems. The pines have a little worm eating the inside ‘tips’ of the pines. Here in New Mexico I thnk we call them tip moth but I could be mistaken. I have never dealt with a problem like this one before and asked a friend in the pest control industry what to do. He said to spray the pines with Talstar P. Is this correct advice? He also mentioned a “second flight” and timing them right. He also said I might need to use a ‘systemic’ product such as Cygon or merit? Any advice would be very helpful.

ANSWER:

You could well be correct that these are tip moth larvae feeding on those pine needles,  and a number of species of these moths in the genus Rhyacionia occur in the western states. Some of these have only a single generation per year, but because of the various species as well as some other pine tip moths in other genera it is possible that you could see the adult moths present at different times of the year. In the most common species the fully grown larvae creates a silken cocoon on the trunk of the tree just at or below the soil surface, and then pupates here and spends the winter in the pupa stage. The adult moths emerge with warm weather in the spring and begin laying eggs on the fresh shoots of the pines in April and May, and larvae may be feeding on the needles for the next few months. 

A species in a different genus, Dioryctria, may find adult moths ovipositing in midsummer rather than early spring, and this could be that “second flight” you mention. However, the larvae emerge from these eggs and immediately create a cocoon for the winter, resuming their feeding in early spring along with the other kinds of tip moths. The feeding from all of these moths can result in die-back of the growing tips of the pines, with dead needles and distorted tissues resulting. However, rarely does this cause any serious damage to the trees, but it does cause brown areas that may be unacceptable and overall can reduce the healthy growth of the tree. 
In general you want to apply insecticides for the control of these moths as soon as the new growth is appearing on the trees, timing the application for the first feeding of the larvae in the spring. At this point a contact insecticide such as bifenthrin (Talstar and others) can be very effective, and the residual of that active ingredient may be several weeks, depending on the weather. Once the larvae have made their way into the needles or the other tissues a systemic product may be more effective, as these will enter the tissue of the plant and be consumed by the feeding larva. I don’t know if you will still find Cygon (dimethoate) available, but Orthene (acephate) definitely is and it is another locally systemic product. Systemics also may have a longer residual as they are within the plant tissue and not as exposed to weather that may degrade other products. 
Merit is another systemic and one that can be applied to the soil as a highly effective material taken up through the roots and moved into the foliage. It is specifically labeled for pine tip moth larvae and should be a good choice. For other foliar insect pests a single application to the soil may be effective for the entire season, but you would need to get the material in the soil around the base of the tree fairly early and well in advance of the hatching of the eggs. It takes a little while for the active ingredient to move up the tree and into the foliage where it can then be consumed by the larvae. For hardwood trees this may take several weeks, but for softwoods (pines) it is faster. If you do go with Merit and the soil application be sure to carefully read the label so you apply the proper amount for the size of the tree. The advantage of a soil-applied product like Merit is that it is then specific to the insects that are actually feeding on the tree. 
Because of that second species that lays its eggs in midsummer it may be necessary to do a second treatment that is timed for the emergence of these larvae, and careful observation of the trees can tell you when new larvae may be appearing. If you can capture some of the adult moths you also can get the ID’d and will know better which species you have and what the timing is for their eggs to hatch. 

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

Pest QuestionsJune 26, 2012

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The new AIDS – stubborn infection, Chagas, spread by

(NaturalNews) Chagas, a potentially deadly disease that experts say is spreading like HIV once did in its earliest stages, has been labeled “the new AIDS of America” by a number of tropical disease experts in a recently published editorial. The authors …

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Pests in the NewsJune 25, 2012

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How overcoming the yuck factor can help save the world.

But equal urgency needs to be devoted to simply broadening our appetites. Two food sources that strike many as unpalatable– and seaweed–could play a critical role in not only feeding the 2.5 billion extra humans expected by 2050 …

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Pests in the NewsJune 25, 2012

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Jun 25, 2012 – Sticking to What You Know

QUESTION:

I have an residential account where I only spray the inside every third month using CY-Kick CS. My client went to his doctor, who diagnosed him as having some kind of “bug bite”. The doctor asked if he had pest control service and how often we spray? He told the doctor that we spray each month on the outside, but only every three months on the inside, and the doctor’s reply was that “we are only spraying the inside every three months to cut back due to the economy”! My Question to you is this. How long does the chemical (CY-Kick CS) last on the inside of a home when left undisturbed and why is it that this Doctor thinks he is a Pest Management Professional?

ANSWER:

Well, this is an interesting question, and we will see who I can antagonize THIS time. I would say, first of all, that the doctor was out of line with that comment, if he did indeed say such a thing. If so then it suggests that the doctor believes that a pesticide treatment should be done every month on the inside of any residence, and of course this is not only silly but completely unwarranted. We, as professionals, should apply toxic substances only when there is a reason to do so, and we long ago moved away from monthly “preventive” treatments inside people’s homes. If you have not verified the presence of a specific pest within the home it would be improper for you to spray pesticide there in the hope that the chemical might intercept some unknown future arthropod pest. 

We will leave it at that with respect to the doctor’s negative comment. I don’t know that he believes he is a PMP, but only that he felt some need to criticize our industry and our practices. Perhaps more important might be the doctor’s belief that he can look at some red or itchy bump or rash on a person’s skin and determine that it is a “bug bite”. Our industry’s experts and university consultants consistently advise US that it is impossible to look at a bump and from that bump only to decide what caused it. In California we see this serious misdiagnosis constantly with respect to the medical professionals telling people that they were bitten by Brown Recluse Spiders. Since these spiders do not occur in California it seems highly unlikely that the hundreds of diagnoses by doctors were accurate, but they continue to be made. 
Since we cannot control what medical professionals will tell their customers (I prefer the word “customer” over the word “patient”) we can only stick to what we can control, and that is our own practices. You know very well that spraying inside a home every month is an unnecessary use of toxic substances, so instead you do an inspection each month and then treat only when there is something that needs to be treated. A micro-encapsulated material like Cy-Kick will probably leave an effective residual for a few weeks, depending on where it is applied. This should be more than adequate to eliminate that pest that you found to be present. It is NOT our goal to maintain an uninterrupted layer of pesticide on every surface in the home. This would not be a healthy situation and our industry no longer wants that to happen. 
Avoid getting into any bickering match with the doctor, as he is not likely to change his mind for you. Instead, present the facts to your customer so that your customer understands why you do your applications in the manner that you do, that you are required to stay within the legal constraints imposed by our regulatory agencies and the product labels, and that it is the health and well being of the customer that dictate when and how you choose to apply your products. 

View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.

Pest QuestionsJune 25, 2012

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Fairmount Park bee swarm disperses as responds

BANGOR, Maine — An unusually large swarm of bees had residents living near Fairmount Park abuzz early this week, but now all that remains are a few dead bees, some caution tape and a warning sign. “Safeway Exterminating Company responded …

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Pests in the NewsJune 24, 2012

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Weather Patterns Fuel Explosive Flea and Tick Season

Because flea and tick activity started earlier than usual in 2012, more people and pets are at risk for the diseases carried by these , prompting veterinarians and others to warn pet owners to use flea and tick treatments to prevent health problems.

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Pests in the NewsJune 24, 2012

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Harvey Massey Recognized by Ernst & Young – PCT Magazine

Harvey Massey Recognized by Ernst & Young
PCT Magazine
“It is truly an honor and an incredible compliment to the management staff and … and provide residential and commercial pest prevention, termite protection and …

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Pests in the NewsJune 24, 2012

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