In the News - October 2008
Homespun advice from a veteran county agent
The arthropods of autumn
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - A number of calls, e-mails and samples being received
served to trigger today’s article. The various insects associated with people,
pet or plant damage each spring and summer usually catch most of the attention.
Although the arthropods of autumn aggravate us in an indirect manner, they still
rate as being a prime nuisance!
Boxelder bugs are always an attention getter! Although these half-inch, dark
colored bugs have red wing stripes and red eyes, they go unnoticed during the
spring and summer while feeding and doing very minor damage to trees. After cool
weather arrives, they will congregate in large numbers beneath loose tree bark,
home siding or similar places to spend the winter.
Never seeming to go fully dormant, during a warm afternoon, box-elder bugs
crawl out and become easily spotted by homeowners. Hundreds of them will
congregate on the warm side of homes and other buildings, soaking up sun like a
bunch of turtles. Boxelder bugs don’t damage your home and are easily ignored,
vacuumed or treated with a commonly available pyrethrin or permethrin
insecticides.
Lady bugs should be on everyone’s environmentally friendly radar. However,
after they begin to invade living rooms in late fall, some people forget their
mother-earth training and simply want to kill the rascals. Again, like box-elder
bugs, the nature of ladybugs is to over-winter together and then take occasion
to come out and party when temperatures warm.
Lady bugs are harmless, so we simply classify them as a nuisance. Again, a
vacuum cleaner will work to control lady bugs. If you’re like my grandsons and
try the catch-and-release approach, the odor will halt this method pretty
quickly. Unlike their name, when handled lady bugs smell as bad as a stink bug!
Black field crickets are beginning to stage at doorsteps. A residual
insecticide applied every few days in this area will usually prevent them from
slipping inside, past an open door way. Like the above two insects, crickets are
simply trying to find a warmer place to spend the holidays. Should you question
if one managed to evade the doorstep treatment, the habitual loud chirping
routine, usually around mid-night, will serve notice. Til’ next week!
For more information about the arthropods of autumn, call your county
extension agent or visit www.uaex.edu. The Cooperative
Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture.
October
3, 2008
By: Robert Seay
Benton County Extension Agent Staff Chair
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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