Frequently Asked Questions
Orchards
- How do I keep the little white worms out of my cherries?
- How do I protect my peach trees from insects?
- I have a peach tree that I want to save - it's almost completely dead because of borers. There are some healthy branches on it still, and I'm wondering about the possibility of grafting some of this stock onto another peach tree I have. Where can I find out how to do this?
- I have two new flowering pear trees that are being used as breakfast, lunch and dinner. I am not sure what is eating them the leaves have large scallops taken out of them. The lower branches have been affected more than the top ones. Any ideas?
- Our 4 year old peach tree is blossoming and we noticed a "web" full of caterpillars in one of the branch forks. Several of the 1/2 to 3/4 inch larvae were on other branches as well. EEWWW! What do I do?
- We have a horrible locust infestation, which I can't find any news about - all of the scrub oak are defoliated. Is this common? Will the trees recover- new leaves this year? I have found them on fruit trees and washed them off - are they just passing through? Any other info on them?
- We have scrub oak in our back yard. Almost overnight we have thousands of little green worms that have made webs over the leaves of the trees and are eating every green leaf in sight! Help! What do we do???
- When is the proper time for me to spray for worms on my Bing Cherry Tree? What do I use?
- When is the proper time to apply dormant spray? And If I use dormant spray do I still need to spray later in the season. I have apples, pears, peaches, apricots. Also will dormant spray help with the Japanese beetle?
- Why are my apple trees wormy every year?
Yard
- I have tall thin Junipers in my backyard. They resemble a Hollywood Juniper but I am not sure of their species. They are 25 years old and have begun to look like they are dying, the needles are turning brown and falling off. Is there anything I can do to save them?
- Do you have tips on managing grasshoppers in my yard?
- I have a lawn full of spiders. When I go to the flowers beds, probably a 100 spiders run out of the grass and bed. The spiders are about 3/8 of an inch long and dark brown. I would just like to get rid of them. What is the best approach?
- I have an infestation of red ants in my retaining wall area where I also have plants. What is the best way to get rid of the red ants so I can weed etc. in that area?
- I have rings in my lawn that are about two feet wide. I suspect they are fairy ring, but the description for fairy ring doesn't quite fit. The inside of the circle is not lush and green, it looks the same as the rest of the lawn. There is just a semi-dead cirle surrounding good lawn. Do you have any help for me.
- I have several Dwarf Blue Arctic Willows in my yard. This year they were full of some kind of wasp or bee. I waited until winter and the leaves dropped off to see if there was a hive or nest and there does not seem to be one. In looking for the nest I noticed some small black bugs on the wood. What should I do, if anything and are the two pests related in any way?
- I notice groups of about 4 or 5 pine needles buried into the flower beds and am wondering what type of bug is pulling them into the ground in the fall. They do not get ther naturally because of the way they are sticking out of the ground. Half buried. I am just wondering what creature this might be and do I need to do something about it?
- I've noticed lots of caterpillars eating the leaves of my Birch trees--they look like inchworms. I've also seen them in neighbor's trees. Is there an infestation, and what can I do about it?
- Is There Any Way To Eliminate Borers That Leave What Looks Like Sawdust At The Base Of Our Aspen Trees?
- My front yard has large patches of dead grass. Originally I thought it might be a result of grubs, but dug down and didn't see any larvae or grub worms. The condition is worsening and now I've noticed pencil-eraser size holes throughout the dry areas. Do you know what this is and how to prevent or stop it?
- My pear tree has dead stems that curl downward. What is happening?
- My roses and boxelder trees have sticky (sap) leaves, what is causing this problem?
- Our grass is dying and we suspect a worm/grub problem since we have seen some yellowish worms come up when we have raked the thatch layer. When is the best time to treat to kill the worms? What is best to kill them if we don't know exactly what species they are? How long after treatment can we prepare and plant new grass seed?
- There are yellow jackets in my yard, how do I control them?
- What causes holes in the trunk of my aspen tree?
Note: These questions are a portion of the questions available at the master page.
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