Controlling Ants
While ants are a natural part of the environment and can even help loosen soils and make them more fertile, often, they are huge pests that can get into our houses or move aphids around on our garden plants. Ants…
Chinch Bugs
This small insect is a true bug and can be a major turf pest some years. Chinch bugs feed on turf from June through September, so their feeding can often look like drought stress, brown patch, or grub damage. Adults…
Fall Webworm
Fall webworms are caterpillars that form colonies inside spiderweb-like sacks. These sacks can be feet across and are generally found on the ends of branches. The caterpillars appear on trees in the fall and defoliate the branches inside of their…
Green June Beetles and Japanese Beetles
Green June beetles and Japanese Beetles are similar in appearance and are often confused with one another, but Japanese beetles are much more destructive. Green June Beetles are large (about 1 inch long,) are velvety green on top, and shiny…
Emerald Ash Borer
The emerald ash borer is an invasive beetle from Asia that is devastating our native ash forests and urban plantings. The beetle is about ½ inch long and metallic green. The adult beetles are active from May through July. The…
Ash Flower Gall
The ash flower gall is an unsightly plant growth caused by a mite that appears on ash trees. It specifically infects the clusters of male flowers ashes produce. Clusters of these tumor-like growths start to expand and become woody in…
Oak Itch Mite
The oak itch mite is a pest to humans, not plants. A nearly microscopic mite, oak itch mites fall from pin oak trees starting in July through leaf drop in the fall. Raking oak leaves in autumn can also expose…