Tag Archives: insects

Controlling Whiteflies

All whiteflies suffer from somewhat of an identity crisis, as they are not flies at all. Their tiny, white appearance resembles moths, but they are, in fact, most closely related to sap-sucking aphids. Aphid-cast skins are easily mistaken for that of the whitefly, but whiteflies will quickly fly away if disturbed.

The fact that they hide on the undersides of the leaves, coupled with a quick flight pattern, makes them challenging to manage. Whiteflies are also fruitful because their numbers rapidly increase from two to four, four becomes eight, eight becomes 16, and so on. During the hottest weeks of summer, whiteflies may mature from the egg stage to a reproductive adult in as little as 16 days.

Damage

Whiteflies cause two types of damage to a plant, the first being direct. Whiteflies seriously injure plants by extracting juices from them, causing leaves to yellow, wither, and fall early. If the number of whiteflies per leaf is significant enough, it could lead to plant death. The second, or indirect, happens by way of adult whiteflies. They are able to transmit several viruses from diseased plants to healthy through their mouthparts.

Whiteflies (again like aphids) excrete “honeydew,” which is a sweet substance that forms a sticky coating on leaves. A fungus called “sooty mold” also quickly colonizes, which makes leaves look dirty. Generally speaking, sooty mold is harmless except when it is incredibly expansive, thus preventing light from reaching the surfaces of leaves, which stresses the plant. Sooty mold washes off easily with a forceful stream of water on sturdy plants.

Detection

Like many insects, whiteflies have nymphal and adult stages. Females lay their eggs in arcs or circles on the underside of the leaves that they spend their entire life cycle on. Whitefly nymphs have wingless, oval bodies and no apparent legs or antennae. The adults that emerge from mature larvae are winged and look like a very tiny moth.

Prevention

Attract beneficial enemies to your garden.
- Plant a wide variety of flowering plants or individual insectary plants can provide beneficial insects with the habitats they require. Natural enemies of whiteflies are spiders, small birds, lacewings, ladybugs, and big-eyed bugs.
Scrutinize new plants. Make sure you aren’t purchasing infected plants.
One way to detect an invasion early is to hang sticky traps above the plants at the beginning of the season.
Use slow-release, organic fertilizers.
- Maintain healthy plant growth, but make sure you do not over-fertilize with high nitrogen fertilizers. Too much nitrogen can overstimulate lush plant growth, prompting aphids to reproduce more quickly. Organic fertilizers are superior because they slowly release the proper levels of nutrients.
Avoid excessive pruning
This stimulates whitefly-attracting growth.
Use a row cover to exclude whitefly and other pests while still allowing light, air, and water to reach all plants.
Control ants by painting or spraying a 4″ wide sticky barrier around woody shrubs or trees.
- For many sensitive trees, such as citrus, apply a protective barrier of white latex paint to the trunk before the sticky wall.

Less-Toxic Control

Use a syringe of water on the undersides of leaves on sturdy plants to wash off whiteflies and honeydew.
Use a vacuum to suck up whiteflies in the early morning when they are cold and slow-moving.
- After vacuuming, empty into a sealed plastic bag and remove it from the premise.
Prune away any severely infested portions of the plant.
- Place and seal material in bags and remove them from the premise.
- Dispose properly and do not compost.
Use insecticidal soaps to kill whiteflies while causing the least harm to beneficial insects.
- Even coverage of the underside of leaves is essential for effective use. These products do not leave toxic residues, sparing injury to the natural enemies.
Use spray (horticultural) oils to control whiteflies minimizing adverse effects on natural enemies.
To protect bees, avoid applying imidacloprid during the period one month before or during bloom. Removing blossoms before they open on young trees will prevent honey bee exposure to imidacloprid in the nectar/pollen.

Garden Pests

Spring is an exciting time for everyone, but especially gardeners. The time to begin their yearly botanical endeavors is quickly approaching. However, it is not all smooth sailing no matter how skilled of a gardener one is— there are dangers in the form of garden pests lurking around the corner. Garden pests lay in wait for your new plants to begin growing, which when they’ll come out in full force, hungry from winter dormancy. By diligence and taking preventative action, you can stop these pests from wreaking havoc on your garden.

Aphids

Aphids can come in many colors and species, all of which can cause damage to your plants. These pests use their piercing mouthparts to feed on plant sap and juices. They can be found feeding in groups on new plant growth or the undersides of leaves, which kills them, as well as stems and buds. An aphid infestation can actually be exacerbated by over-fertilization with nitrogen. The plants most affected by aphid damage include geraniums, roses, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, carrot crowns, kale, and cabbage. You can plant certain herbs that will attract wasps, who prey on aphids, to help control an infestation; however, spraying them off with a garden hose is most effective.

Corn Earworms

Corn earworm is a pest that migrates to Michigan every year carried on weather fronts; it overwinters in the southern United States, where it is also a pest of cotton and soybeans. Aptly named, corn earworms feed on ears of fresh corn. These worms are the biggest threat to sweet corn in Michigan because once they enter the ear, they become impossible to remove.

The worms attack corn silk, which results in moldy and deformed ears. Controlling corn earworms can be a difficult task that requires year-round vigilance.

Colorado Potato Beetles

Potato beetles have a yellow shell with ten narrow black stripes. In the spring, the females lay their eggs on the undersides of leaves.

When the larvae hatch, they feed on plant vegetation for 10-30 days before reaching adulthood. Potato beetles continue to feed on the foliage, which leads to the death of the plant. Use a floating row cover on potato plants to prevent these beetles from reaching the plants. Hand pick adults and larvae from the leaves and drop them into a cup of soapy water.

Cucumber Beetle

Cucumber beetles cause severe damage to crops like cucumbers, watermelons, and cantaloupe. These yellow-green beetles don’t limit the extent of their damage to feeding; they also cause bacterial wilt.

The bacterium that causes bacterial wilt lives in the stomachs of the cucumber beetles— in the spring when they emerge to feed, they spread the bacterium from their mouthparts and through their excrement. Once inside, the bacterium quickly multiplies which produces blockages that cause the leaves to wilt and die. The beetles unwittingly pick up the bacteria from the exterior of the plant and transfer it. There is, unfortunately, nothing that can be done to save a plant infected with wilt. Early preventative measures are essential to halt the spread of bacterial wilt. Cover crops with a row cover and remove as plants flower to help control these beetles.

No gardener wants their hard work to be compromised by garden pests. Knowing what to look for is the first step toward protecting the fruits of your labor!

Understanding Carpenter Ants

Identifying Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are one of the largest types of ants and are usually fairly easy to identify. They can start as small as 1/16 of an inch and quickly grow to a 1/2 inch in size. The queen is much larger and can easily grow up to an inch in size. Swarming and flying carpenter ants are often mistaken for termites. Termites are somewhat uncommon in Northern Michigan and it is almost always carpenter ants that clients are finding.

They can be found in the home and swarm towards windows to get out. Swarmers, as we like to call them, are the reproductive ants. They attempt to access the outside to produce satellite nests. After approximately a week they can exhaust themselves trying to get outside and die. There is no treatment to get ride of the swarming and flying carpenter ants, however this indicates that there is a working nest in your home or structure that does need to be treated by a pest control professional.

Will They Harm Me?

Carpenter ants can bite on contact, however they are not venomous. They prefer to eat things with protein and sugar, including honeydew, jelly, and meats they come across within the home. Carpenter ants can travel up to 1,000 ft. away from their colony to forage their food, and depending on the weather, can be seen both inside or outside the home. On nice sunny days, typically from late March to mid-June, carpenter ants nests can be “woken up” and the ants may suddenly start appearing in and around your home looking for food.

Homeowners can do their own inspection to identify a carpenter ant issue. Carps are typically the most active in the afternoons on warm, sunny days. It is easy to find the ants the outside corners of your homes. If you identify a carpenter ant infestation, it is very important to have Hogarth’s Pest Control treat the issue. Carpenter ants can cause an extensive amount of structural damage to your home by chewing and destroying wood, similar to termites. Clients sometimes go years without realizing they have a carpenter ant nest.

Treating for Carpenter Ants

If carpenter ants become overwhelming, you may wash the countertops or use over-the-counter gel baits. DO NOT SPRAY OR USE GRANULES under any circumstances. If you had previously had another company treat or if you used any type of over-the-counter spray or granule, it will effect the outcome and how long it can take for our treatment to work. Gel baits can help to kill off some of the ants for the time being, but sprays and granules may only make the situation worse. Carpenter ants are EXTREMELY smart and can tell when their fellow ants are dying off. Carpenter ants can detect when a product has been put down and may avoid the area all together.

They may work to avoid being seen by moving outside or relocating their nest. Gel baits will not kill off the nest. Hogarth’s Pest Control uses an un-detectable product that works by using the ants to take the product from outside to the nest itself, killing off the nest and the colony within 14-21 days of treatment. Once the carpenter ants have been treated for and the nest has been killed off, Hogarth’s can do an exterior preventative spray for all crawling insects, bees, wasps, and hornets. It is important to know that these are two different treatments and must be done at separate times.

Discovering A Nest

Occasionally, clients are unaware that they have carpenter ants until after their yearly spring treatment has been done. A typical exterior preventative treatment works to keep all crawling insects, bees, wasps, and hornets from getting inside the structure. However, this can trap carpenter ants inside the walls if not identified before-hand. If this is the case, Hogarth’s will need to do an interior ant treatment to rid your home of the ants. The interior treatment is non-invasive; we treat the baseboards, cracks and crevices.

Within the 21 days after treating for carpenter ants, it’s extremely important not to kill the ants as you see them. It is imperative for the ants to cross the product and transfer it back to the nest. Hogarth’s Pest Control guarantees your home to be carpenter ant free until the snow flies in the fall, however they can return to the structure in the following spring. It is very important to have Hogarth’s do a preventative spray every spring to avoid re-infestation.

Avoiding Carpenter Ant Infestations

Carpenter ants seek out moisture and food. The homeowner can prevent against carpenter ant infestations by correcting moisture problems and trimming tree branches to avoid touching the roof. Be sure to clean gutters regularly to avoid water run-off onto decking and other parts of the structure.

If you suspect a carpenter ant issue, be sure to consult Hogarth’s Pest Control for a professional treatment and to avoid re-infestation.