Foundation sprays, beetles and lawn diseases
By John
Fulton
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[August 11, 2009]
If you've been following a foundation spray
program all year, keep it up. If you haven't been, it is probably
time to start. The foundation spray program is your first line of
defense against nuisance pests in the house. It cuts down on
crickets, millipedes, spiders, ants and many others that find their
way inside.
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To accomplish a foundation spray, you would select a material
such as permethrin or bifenthrin to begin with. Then spray the
foundation and the adjacent foot or two of soil or plant
material with the spray mixture. Both these products are cleared
on most types of plants. Foundation treatments should be applied
every seven to 15 days, depending on the temperatures. The
materials break down quicker in hot weather. Foundation
treatments won't prevent everything from getting into the house,
and they certainly won't kill things already in the house. For
insects already in the house, you have a few options. The first
is mechanical control. This is fancy language for something like
a fly swatter, shoe, vacuum cleaner, flypaper or glue boards.
The next is chemical control. This basically means aerosol cans
inside the house. The most common ones are for flying insects or
ants, although many of the flying insect killers now have
permethrin in them and can last quite a while.
Beetles
We are still experiencing a large number of beetles in the
garden. This includes not only the Japanese beetles, but also
the recently emerged Western corn rootworm beetles. These small
black-and-yellow striped beetles are of concern around
cucumbers, melons and pumpkins since they can carry a wilt
virus.
It is a good idea to treat your vining crops with Sevin,
permethrin or bifenthrin on a weekly basis. It is important to
concentrate on the new runners to help prevent damage from
squash vine borers.
The numbers of Japanese beetles seem to be declining
somewhat. Of course there are still plenty in many areas, but
the population should continue to decline until the last of them
are finished off by frost. As favored food sources are consumed,
less likely plants may be attacked. This may mean a recheck of
things around the landscape. I've recently seen them on
marigolds and some limited feeding on red maples. These plants
are in the less preferred categories.
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Lawn diseases
It has been a banner year for diseases in many plants. The lawns
are starting to show some of the diseases as well. Conditions have
been ideal for many of the fungi that cause us problems. Humidity
makes an ideal environment for many diseases, but there are some
that like drier conditions. Dollar spot, brown spot and rust have
been noted in area lawns.
There are treatments available for diseases in home lawns, but
they can be rather expensive and time-consuming. Treatments would be
applied on a seven- to 14-day basis throughout the season. It isn't
recommended for homeowners to treat diseases in the lawn. The
recommendation is to let nature take its course, and then do some
reseeding if needed.
The disease needs a susceptible host, the right environment and
time to cause us problems. If you do some reseeding, use a newer
variety with good disease resistance. This attacks the susceptible
host part. Also, keep your turf growing well to prevent weakened
grass plants from being more susceptible. The diseases will only be
present during certain weather, and as the weather changes the
diseases will go away.
Thanks
The 2009 Logan County Fair is in the books. It seems like it gets
harder to keep up with the pace as the years go by. The many
volunteers who pitch in to make things go exceedingly well are to be
commended for helping the youth have a positive experience. Running
a show, carrying a table or helping at the auction, your efforts are
greatly appreciated.
[By
JOHN FULTON,
University of Illinois Extension, Logan County]
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