No. 10/June 27, 2016
Last Weekly and Degree Day Issue
This is the last weekly issue of the Home, Yard, and Garden Pest Newsletter for this year. We will publish every other week through July, August, and September with a final issue in October. Insect, weed, and disease problems arise in rapid succession during the first half of the growing season, making weekly issues necessary.
Bagworm
Bagworms have hatched throughout the state and have been ballooning from tree to tree. They have now settled in southern Illinois and can be effectively controlled with one spray application. They will be controlled best towards the end of the first week of July in central Illinois and about a week later in northern Illinois.
Japanese Beetle
Japanese beetles feed on the upper leaf surface, eating through the epidermis and mesophyll, leaving the lower leaf surface (epidermis) intact. This lower surface is initially light-colored, but soon dries and turns brown. Japanese beetles feed on more than 100 plants, with favorites including smartweed, willow, linden, rose, buckeye, birch, crabapple, apple, cherry, hazelnut, currant, grape, and raspberry.
Invasive Species Alert: Jumping Worm Confirmed in Southern Illinois
A new invasive species, jumping worm (Amynthas spp.), was identified in Illinois in 2015. By the end of the year these worms had been confirmed in three northern counties: Cook, DuPage, and McHenry. A worm from far southern Illinois in Williamson County was examined at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic and confirmed as a jumping worm, drastically increasing the range of this worm in Illinois.
Mushrooms in the Turf
Mushrooms come in many shapes, sizes and colors. More importantly, they are the fruit bodies of the fungi living in the turf or underlying soil. As such, they really aren't causing problems but merely housing the spores for reproduction. Removing the mushroom does little more than improve the appearance of the lawn, though it does keep the mushrooms away from animals and children.
Clean Sweep Pesticide Collection in Central Illinois
Residents of twelve central Illinois counties can dispose of unwanted agrichemicals for free this year through the Illinois Department of Agriculture's (IDOA) agricultural pesticide "Clean Sweep" program. A "Clean Sweep" collection has been scheduled in late summer for Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Jasper, Lawrence, Moultrie, Richland, and Shelby counties, the Department announced recently.
Modified Growing Degree Days (Base 50°F, March 1 through June 23)
Insect development is temperature dependent. We can use degree days to help predict insect emergence and activity. Home, Yard, and Garden readers can use the links below with the degree day accumulations above to determine what insect pests could be active in their area.