Show Questions': April 28

1. We have a viewer that sent a postcard from Waterville, Kansas about North Star cherries. They are very productive, but she has to open each cherry to pick out the worms. So, how do we resolve the "nearly every cherry has protein associated with it" problem?"
a. Really, there is no organic way of doing that. You need to put on insecticide during the period the fruit is susceptible. It might be one of two insects--the cherry fruit fly or apple maggot. Never spray an apple tree or fruit tree when flowering. That's when it is being pollinated by the bees. Insecticide will kill the pollinators. At petal drop is when the first application would be applied. I would recommend getting one of the premixed fungicides and insecticides. That will deal with the more common diseases and the insects. Apply that at the first petal drop, once the petals are gone and the bees will no longer be foraging. Probably two to three additional applications about ten days apart. That ought to protect the fruit. Once the fruits get a little larger, they are no longer susceptible to the apple maggot or the cherry maggot. That would help control brown rot, too. That can cause a stem infection and canker. When you're spraying for the apple maggots you will provide that protection because the spores come in where the petal was. One last thing: with brown rot on cherries you are going to be doing another application when the cherries are setting on because that's the next time that the fungal disease will infect the fruit. A lot of times I recommend doing an insecticide-fungicide combination. If you do that combination program for fruit trees you're going to cover everything and usually get a good crop.

2. Roch, this is a little letter we got from a Clarkson viewer. She wants to know how to get rid of the suckers from a trumpet vine that is not even hers and they have invaded her turf and she doesn't want to kill the turf. She didn't plant it, but she got it
a. I understand. Trumpet vine: it intrigues me how many people plant this with good intentions and realize they have an invasive species that will take over the yard and the neighbors yard. Unfortunately, with what she is describing there are things you can spray on it that would not be harmful to her bluegrass yard, but most of these are systemic and will move from her yard to the neighbor's. You can't kill trumpet vine, but you can make it look ratty. Maybe work with the neighbor and talk to them. Any of the products will probably quit the suckers on her side, it will not kill it and the neighbor will still enjoy whatever it is they enjoy. It does have a beautiful flower. It's an aggressive woody species. The trumpet vine is going to be a problem every year. Work with the neighbor. Glyphosate tends to not translocate that much in that particular species so maybe a Roundup application, taking care not to get it on the bluegrass. It's not a real simple: "Here's what you spray" and walk away. It's going to be working with the neighbor and using something that won't harm the bluegrass like a 2,4-D based product.

3. This is a viewer who has a Blue Spruce, 14-year-old, 8 feet tall. Bottom 4 feet is turning brown. Most of it happened during the winter. This is an Omaha viewer. They are wondering if this a disease we talked about last week or is this winter injury potentially?
a. It's probably a combination of both things. I know Loren talked about it last year. You probably are getting a little winter injury, but probably the other disease you are dealing with is blight, and canker. It starts at the bottom and browns the needles and keeps moving up. The best thing for management: you can prune out those areas of the blue spruce. I know it doesn't necessarily give the nice beautiful shape you want. You usually like those branches to lay down low. You can do a fungicide application. I haven't seen good results. You need such complete coverage. Depending on the blue spruce, we could be looking at a 50-foot tree and you have to have a commercial applicator come do It. I would just prune it up, rake up as many needles falling off as possible, try to avoid the sprinklers hitting it. That would reduce the moisture so the spores aren't germinating as well. In a tight area, maybe pruning other trees and brush so you get better air movement so the needles are able to dry and you won't get as much infection.

4. This is a viewer fighting a pocket gopher. It took over the front yard last summer, totally destroyed the yard and they thought it had wintered somewhere else and apparently it likes their front yard.
a. It's unusual that it stays in the front yard. Usually they go into alfalfa. If it's in the turf there are several ways to take care of them. What probably happened over the winter is that they were deeper due to the frozen ground. What you may want to do is get some poison peanuts or a poison product you can get retail or from a co-op and open up the main burrow; finding the main burrow is very easy. We have a guide to find the main burrow. Drop the poison peanuts in there and block it up. This will not work on moles, but will work on pocket gophers. But usually in turf there is not much food for them and they move on. So, maybe it will move on and maybe just over winter deep unless you have tulip bulbs or something else they can feed on.

5. Fred, I think we're going to start out with an interesting insect picture for you if I'm not mistaken. Like snakes for Dennis, all insects are interesting. They are all interesting. This is in Elsie, Nebraska. A lovely critter in the southwest corner of Nebraska. They want to identify it before it gets going. And when it is squished it has a smelly green body to it.
a. They are well protected chemically. That's one of the reasons they don't get eaten very often. Those are squash bugs. It may be the most serious pest we have on both summer and winter squash in Nebraska and the midwest. Probably nationwide. There are a couple things we can do. They overwinter as adults. I think in that image the bigger gray ones might have been adults. So, right now, they are hanging out. You may see them on the side of barns or around the garden. Sanitation is really important. If you have a lot of garden debris left over from last year it is really important you till that under or you move it to a compost pile and start getting it into the compost situation. Because that is where they are going to be reinfesting. They lay eggs on the leaves and then they cause the damage we've been talking about. So, again, catching them early. There are sprays we can use. But again, catching them early is what is important. Right now, sanitation in the landscape and garden.

6. This is an Omaha viewer with a fescue lawn. They used Barricade and fertilizer two weeks ago. Does that make sense? He wants to know when he can plant the seed if he has done that?
a. That would be probably September. Barricade is a long residual herbicide designed to last season long. That's a great thing for many people, but if you plan on overseeding they probably shouldn't have put it down. They aren't going to be able to put any seed down until late August or September.

7. This is a Syracuse viewer who wants to know whether they can  by disinfect their tomato cagesspraying with bleach and water?
a. Usually 10%. So, whatever volume you're going to use, 10% is usually a good solution to use. The other thing you can do is just use clorox wipes. 10% is usually my recommendation.

8. We have oh, I don't know, 8 to 10,000 vole questions. And so, of course the question s how to get rid of them.
a. Voles are very difficult. After the winter, you see all of these signs, they are working under the snow. They will stop doing that as the grass is actually growing, they will probably go into the flower bed or hosta beds and eat your tulip bulbs and hosta roots and things like that. The best way is to trap them. Snap traps with rolled oats and peanut butter or box traps that hold up to 15 rodents at a time and put them in a bucket of water. You can get them at hardware stores and they will run right in there over night. You don't need to bait them. If you want to bait it put a little grass seed around the entrance and you will have seven or eight by morning.

9. This is a question about whether you could use a high pressure water spray to dislodge Pine Bark Beetles? Would that work and if not, is it time to do a trunk drench or something like that?
a. I assume they are talking about the Mountain pine beetles that are not as far in the Columbus area. Spray would not work because the galleries of the beetles are under the bark. So, if you blasted the bark away you would get rid of the beetles, but it would also kill the tree. So, it wouldn't be a useful strategy. For some of those there are residual sprays that you can apply to the outside of the bark of the tree or even some systemics that would contain a Merit type product around the base that would be taken up and control some of those. And, we're getting close. Probably now would be the time. Residual spray probably would be my first choice.

10. Roch, we have a good image and about four questions associated with it. This is a male Australian Shepherd. I feel this viewer's pain since I have two of them. They have apparently chosen a really popular potty spot. They are wondering how to remedy this situation? They have found an alternative spot for him.
a. The male dog urine is much less toxic than the female. It's a good thing it's a male in that regard. Actually since they are going to be moving the animal off of that site and keeping it away from there, they really just need to water the pee out of it and get the salts pushed out of the system. If it is bluegrass, it should recover. If it fescue, they ought to consider re-seeding.

11. A Valentine viewer has a 20 to 30 foot tall maple. They don't say what kind of maple. They think they have a fungus or rust of some sort causing the leaves to turn brown on the west and the north side. And they want to know if there is a systemic that they can apply that will keep that from happening? So rust, environmental, or both?
a. Most likely, if it is fungal disease you are probably dealing with anthracnose on the north side. I would be interested in dryout especially during the warm summer months. Make sure you are supplementing that with irrigation. Especially in the Valentine area where you have sandier soil. Water them during and throughout the summer months. There are systemic products you can use, but they are not typically available for homeowners. You have to get a commercial applicator to spray the trees. Contact your local arborist. They can line you up with the right products to use.

12. Dennis, we have a viewer who sent us a couple of images of something that really alarms them. And I know we have seen a lot of this in Lincoln this year. Squirrel damage, of course, and their question is what to do about it and sort of an ancillary question: How do you tell the difference between squirrel damage and mower damage low on the trunk?
a. If this is mower damage, you have problem. The squirrel is going to chip it to show its territory by chipping it downward. Okay. In a vertical manner. When you get mower blight it is going to be on a horizontal plane. If it looks like it's been chipping on the base of the tree and is horizontal that is probably the mower. Vertical that is probably chipping for squirrel graffiti or the male showing their territory. What we're looking at in the pictures is stripping, usually done in the winter, for micronutrients and moisture because everything is frozen so they strip the tree and try to get moisture from the back side. These are severe cases of squirrel stripping. The best thing, because repellents don't work that well, is to trap those squirrels, and, remember, you cannot translocate squirrels in the state so euthanization must take place if you don't want them back in the neighborhood.

13. When is the best time to apply preemergent?
a. First week of May in eastern Nebraska, second week of May in western Nebraska. I haven't been wrong in twenty years; don't make me wrong this year.

14. Lincoln viewer with Asian variety, later season scale on lilac. How to treat it?
a. Lilac is subject to a number of scales, primarily oyster shell.I would need to see a picture of it. I'm not aware of a late season scale on lilac.

15. Several viewers from several regions (including Yankton, SD) are wondering how to get rid of moss in the lawn, the shaded turf area, and the patio.
a. Moss is an indication of too much moisture; if you can't back off the water because of the way your irrigation is designed, use Ultra Dawn dish soap. Moss has no vascular system; you spray the moss with the Ultra Dawn and it will burn it off. It will take multiple applications. There was a test of several products and Ultra Dawn was the best one of all of them. Be aggressive and scratch up the moss and get that material (the moss) off. A single moss plant, which is about the size of a quarter or little bigger can produce
8 million spores and every one of those spores can be your new best friend. The formula is 2 tablespoons of Ultra Dawn to one gallon of HOT water.

16. This is a viewer who has been trying to grow blueberries.
They know they need the soil to be acid. The pH was 7. They have applied a 30% granulated sulfur fertilizer. One picture shows fairly mature plants with brown spots on the stems. In one picture you see the brown spots on the stems, which are cankers.
a.The only way you can really manage that is go through and prune it out. It is difficult to get a blueberry established in Nebraska because of the pH. You probably will end up pruning a fair amount of that blueberry bush, but it's the only way to remove the disease and the source that will infect the canes or stems later on. We don't grow blueberries very often in Nebraska. If you're interested in looking at a fungicide application, do an Internet search for more information. For the smaller picture of that blueberry where they are having a hard time establishing pH by the looks of it this isn't establishing well because of the pH issue probably. You started out with pH of 7 and amendments, but the big thing is if you make those amendments you need to do soil testing on a regular basis to know how far you have gone. Most companies will tell you roughly how much of a product you should add to get that pH down to what you are looking for. The viewer described a 30% sulfur product that was a fertilizer. Sulfur is an element that plants need. If it is fertilizer product, how much nitrogen is in it? It looks like nitrogen burn. If they put it down at the rate they described in a concentrated area, they may have enough nitrogen in that soil to cause accelerated growth and toxicity. That looks like it. The other thing is that the soil was physically cracking in that picture. That is an indication; we know Blueberries like acid soil, but our soils do not respond well to sulfur applications, even elementary sulfur, and maintain a low pH. But you know what helps? Organic matter. That looks like a soil that would benefit from incorporation of peat moss or something like that. It is acidic to begin with and it will buffer some of that soil. It's next to impossible to grow blueberries effectively in Nebraska. People do it, but you better be an unbelievably avid and dedicated gardener in this state if you think you're going to successfully grow and produce blueberries.

17. How do you get rid of moles?
a. Moles are those critters underneath the soil upheaving the grass. They do not eat vegetation or poison peanuts. Their main diet is earthworms, not grubs, but earthworms. There are several ways to go about it. You can use a mechanical trap. Find the burrows that are active and put the trap on top of the burrows and it's very good at getting them and death is positive so you know using the traps works well and they are kill traps. If you want to go with a toxicant there is one on the market that imitates an earthworm; it's called Tom Cat, made by Bell Labs. Follow the directions exactly; if you vary from the directions it won't work. Do not cut the gummy worms in half; they are expensive, it won't help you.

18. This is a viewer who has a pond, two years ago the frogs moved in. The croaking is driving them crazy. How do you get rid of that?
a. If you put fish in a pond, you won't get frogs to mate. Native frogs only mate in ponds that are fishless. If you have fish in there that will eat their eggs, usually they will not mate in those ponds. So add some fish.

19. A Plattsmouth viewer has church-going boxelder bugs. The bugs have been invading the church for years. How can they eliminate that?
a. The good news is the boxelder bugs are seed feeders and the seeds are coming out on the boxelders. So the bugs will be going out and won't show up again until next fall. So, you have time to work on this. Sanitation: you need to take away anyplace that they can overwinter that is close to the church. If there is debris, old boxes, anything like that, clean all of that up. That should take care of it next fall; that should help reduce the number. Remember, for every boxelder bug you, kill 50 come to its funeral, especially at church.
 

LIGHTNING ROUND

DENNIS

1. What is the name and availability of that stainless steel thing that guards your roof from squirrels?
a. It is called Nexolite you can get it online very easily.
2. People found a little tiny, pale toad in a flower pot at one of the local nurseries; is that an exotic thing?
a. Could be, I would have to see it to tell you if it was native or something that is exotic. Send me a digital picture.
3. Are there any new effective rabbit/dog/cat deterrents for the garden?
a. New, no. The repellents about the same, affectability and fencing them out is the best thing.
4. Are preemergents or other lawn chemicals toxic to birds?
a. They can be, yes. If they get too much, especially if worms take it in. The worms don't die and you get biological accumulation in the body, and it can cause a problem.  The preemergents are not toxic to birds, but other lawn chemicals can be.
5. If you buy a turtle for a pond will it stay there?
a. Depends on the species; probably not. They usually migrate when it rains. You need a fence around the yard.

AMY

1. Are you seeing any diseases of yews that cause whole branches to brown and die?
a. There are cankers that are develop on yews. Look at the branches and the base of the trunk for sunken areas indicating canker development.
2. Mushrooms that look like elephant ears coming now of out of the ground. Any idea what they are? And are they good or bad?
a. Mushrooms are good guys; they are breaking down organic matter, roots, turf, clippings. If they are a problem just cut them off.
3. This person had puff balls in their lawn last year; will they have them again?
a. There is a good possibility. If we continue to have cool, wet weather, you will have them again.
4. Are they dangerous to small grazing animals, such as children?
a. No, they are not. They are one of the few mushroom species that are edible.
5. There was a cankered spot on the trunk of an apple tree. Is it a goner?
a. Most likely it is a goner.
6. Is it time to spray the pines for needle blight?
a. Actually it is. You want to be spraying when the needles are elongating. This is the time. Look at them, and line up your applicator to do it.

ROCH

1. Is buffalograss a good choice of turf for a high activity area on a sand pit lake?
a. Probably not. Doesn't have good wear tolerance.
2. Piles of acorns this year off the oaks, all over in the turf. Should they be removed, are they going to be an issue?
a. They can be an issue. I have seen yards that look like a little oak grove. You probably need to remove them. I have seen neighbors fill buckets and buckets. It's amazing how many an oak tree can produce.
3. Several people have asked about using vinegar for weeds in a brick sidewalk.
a. It is not vinegar; it has to be acidic acid at least 20%. It's a specialty product. It works better if you're cutting the stem, but as long as you're down there cutting the stem why not just pull it out of the ground?
4. Which buffalograss would recommend for the Hastings area?
a. Either seed or plugs are good. Probably Legacy buffalograss, or probably either Cody or Bui. There is more seed available for Bui. Either one would be fine for the Hasting area

FRED

1. This viewer doesn't like the mite that gets into ash flowers. Is there any way to prevent that?
a. When the leaves are just getting to expand and the flowers beginning to expand that would be the time to apply a product like bipethrin; you would probably reduce the problem significantly.
2. Are the grubs active now?
a. They are active, but they aren't doing much feeding. Now would not be the right time to treat. They are active, but aren't causing any damage.
3. What is the name of the bait for those little tiny house ants and does it cause damage to kitchen counters?
a. There are a number of different brands; one brand name would be Terro. I have used those little Terro bait stations very successfully. There are little circular stations as well.
4. This viewer had grub Insecticide left over from last year; will that be okay this year?
a. Sure.
5. Is there anything to keep the insects from chewing holes in garden spinach?
a. Because you eat the spinach, it's difficult to apply anything. One of the things you can do is syringe them off; hose them off and keep them out of there.