Sucking Insects Archives - Premier Nursery - Plant Nursery

What’s Bugging You?

Tony Holzbach — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 20:36:26 +0000

“Good Bugs or Bad Bugs”

Now that most of our spring planting is done and everything is growing and looking great. Its time to make sure we keep it that way. As the temperatures begin to climb and the rainfall decreases you may begin to notice a few visitors in and around the landscape. Evidence of this can be seen in the way of yellow patches of grass or insect damage on the leaves of your favorite rose bush or hibiscus. This is evidence of a pest infestation where insects such as grub worms or other flying or crawling insects have started feasting on your plants. The best way to control these harmful pests is to organize a regular pest control program as well as maintaining a healthy lawn and landscape.

Alongside these harmful pests there are also insects that are considered to be beneficial to our landscape. Beneficial insects are insects that live in and around our landscape and feed on other harmful insects such as aphids, caterpillars, grub worms and other soft bodied insects. Today we’ll talk about the bad bugs first and finish up with the good bug solution nature intended.

“Chewing Insects”

“Bad Bugs”

Web Worms:

These grub like insects are one of the most common problems in North Texas. After several years of drought and our recent cool, wet spring, we can expect to see the familiar webs return to the canopies of your trees.

Use AB Thuricide

Caterpillars:

Caterpillars usually return to North Texas in the spring and in the fall. These are the larvae of butterflies; caterpillars include hornworms and other spring feeding worms. They feed on the leaves and flowers of your plants; witch in turn can destroy the beauty and the look of your landscape.

Use Fertilome Borer Bagworm Tent Caterpillar and leafminer Spray

Snails and Slugs:

Holes in the leaves of your begonias and other spring blooming plants are usually a sign of snails and slugs. Snails and slugs feed on the leaves, flowers, stems, and roots of plants by biting off the tissue or chewing small holes in the leaves and flowers. They are most noticeable by the slime trails you see on sidewalks, decks and porches that can last for up to a week. Snails require lots of moisture. Controlling the moisture level around your lawn grasses and around your floral beds can help discourage these insects.

Use Hi Yield Slug and Snail Bait

Grubs Worms:

These large white worms are most visible during the hot summer months. They feed on the roots of turf grass. Dead, dying or brown patches in your St. Augustine or Bermuda lawns can be a sign that Grub Worms are present.

Use Hi Yield Turf Ranger

“Sucking Insects”

“Bad Bugs”

Aphids:

These are small insects, with piercing and sucking mouthparts. These insects are a common problem in most landscapes. Aphids suck the moisture from plants, causing dried disfigured leaves and blooms. You will find aphids on annuals and perennials, crepe myrtles, roses and other various plants through out the growing season.

Use Fertilome Triple Action Plus or Frtilome Tree and Shrub systemic drench

Spider Mites:

These nearly microscopic insect use tiny microscopic straw like mouth structures to pierce the plant cells. Mites pierce clusters of surface cells and suck out the contents leaving damaged cells which appear yellow at first and then turn brown. They are very hard to detect until damage has occurred, the photo above is a good example of how the leaf will look once infected.

Use Hi Yield Bug Blaster II

“Biting Insects”

Fire Ants:

These insects usually do not damage plants, however fire ants have become one of the leading problems in most North Texas landscapes. There are several pesticides available for the treatment of fire ants. Boiling water poured into the mound is helpful. A chemical drench poured over the mound or fire ant granules applied across the mound are usually more effective. Fire ant bait is another option that is available.

Use Hi Yield Fire Ant Control Granules or Fertilome Come And Get It

“Beneficial Insects”

“Good Bugs”

“Good Bugs” are critical to any thriving landscape and should be a welcome sight in your landscape or garden! Bee’s and certain other insects play an intricate part in the pollination of many types of flowers and plants. Beneficial or predatory insects such as ladybugs and praying mantis feed on many species of harmful pests and insects. Insects such as spiders lay their eggs inside or on top of other pests, including grubs, using them for food for their larvae.

Ladybugs:

Adult ladybugs and their larvae’s favorite meal are aphids, especially the aphids that often infest roses. Lady Bugs are ferocious feeders that feed on scale insects, mealy bugs, mites, and powdery mildew as well.

Spiders:

There are at least 3,000 different species of spiders in North America that are actually helpful to your landscape. Spiders, like Lady Bugs are predatory insects that feed on aphids, beetles, mites, fire ants and other spiders.

Lacewings:

Tiny insects with delicate wings feed on aphids, mealy bugs, scale, and mites. Just one Lacewing larva can eat more than 100 insects in a single day.

Parasitic Wasp:

Black and yellow insects ranging from microscopic insects to nearly an inch long that feed on caterpillars, grubs and other insects.

Praying Mantis:

Praying Mantis have large appetites, which can help to control various insects and pests naturally feeding on insects of most any size.

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Tick

Tony Holzbach — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:21:59 +0000

Tick is the common name that along with other mites make up the Acaring Family. Ticks by nature are external parasites like Fleas they live on the blood of their host animal, bird or reptile. Ticks are carriers of several diseases including Lyme disease. They are often found in tall grass, where they will wait to attach themselves to a passerby. Ticks cannot jump or fly but they can drop onto their host. Some will actually stalk their prey until they can make contact. The length of day or the change in temperature can cause ticks to look for a host. They will drop from their host once they are full. In some cases this can take several days. With their harpoon like mouth structure that has a series of barbs that are angled backward ticks are hard to remove once they have penetrated their host. They can be found around where there are horse or deer trails.

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Stink Bug

Tony Holzbach — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:19:39 +0000

Stink Bug-are large insects that can be 3/4 of an inch long. Usually green or brown in color. They have sucking mouth parts. Their bodies can appear to have 5 sides. They will cause tomatoes to be deformed or to be distorted. Beans and peas can be odd shaped or the taste may be altered. This is a sucking insect.

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Sharp Shooter Bug

Tony Holzbach — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:17:04 +0000

Sharp Shooter Bug- a large 1/4 inch leaf hopper, colors vary from blue, yellow and white spots on the wings. Does not like humans- will hide from them. A large variety of plants are attacked by this insect. They suck on plant juices and hardly ever cause noticeable damage. This is a sucking insect.

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Pickle Worm

Tony Holzbach — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:12:24 +0000

Pickle Worm- Moths have dark brown wings with margins fading into lighter areas toward the middle, with abdominal covered hairs. Larvae are bright green with black dots. Larvae feed on blooms and vines and tunnel into the bottom side of many fruits or vegetables.

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Fleas

Tony Holzbach — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:53:36 +0000

Are the most common name for the wingless insects. Fleas are external insects living off the blood of mammals and birds. It has been said that fleas actually evolved from the fly family because of the similarity of the larvae. The fleas has several species including the Cat Flea, Dog Flea, Human Flea, Northern Rat Flea, and the Oriental Rat Flea. Fleas are 1/16 to 18″ in size, usually dark in color, wingless with tube-like mouth parts, feeding on the blood of their host, with flat bodies from side to side allowing easy movement through hair and/or feathers. Their legs are long, with hind legs adapted for jumping. They can actually jump up to 7″ vertically and up to 13″ horizontally making the flea the best jumper out of all animals in comparison to their body size. Fleas lay tiny white oval eggs. Their larvae are small and pale with worm like bodies. They do not have eyes and their mouth parts have adapted to chewing but the adults diet consists of blood. The larvae are enclosed in a silk-like covered cocoon. Controlling fleas in and around the house can be very time consuming, for every one flea there are many developing in the home. Indoor treatment should be done with an indoor fogger or spray insecticide containing an insect growth regulator to kill eggs and the pupae. They are very resistant against insecticides. For outdoor treatment you can use Diatamaceous Earth Nature’s Guide by as an organic control or use Fertilome Quick Kill, Hi Yield Bug Blaster, or Hi Yield Kill-A-Bug.

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Corn Ear Worm

Tony Holzbach — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:48:28 +0000

Corn Ear Worm- The front wings of the corn ear worms are gray-to-brown with dark gray to green lines. The fore wings have a dark band near the top. The back wings are lighter in color with dark wavy bands. The wingspan is 1 1/2″ long. The larvae range from light green to even pink to brown to almost black. Newly hatched larvae feed on the plant where the eggs were laid on corn silk. Larvae tunnel into and eat the developing corn. Larvae are cannibalistic and usually one larvae grows in one ear of corn.

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