Landscape Message: Nov 1, 2019

UMass Extension's Landscape Message is an educational newsletter intended to inform and guide Massachusetts Green Industry professionals in the management of our collective landscape. Detailed reports from scouts and Extension specialists on growing conditions, pest activity, and cultural practices for the management of woody ornamentals, trees, and turf are regular features. The following issue has been updated to provide timely management information and the latest regional news and environmental data.

The Landscape Message will be updated monthly November through December. The next message will be available on December 6. To receive immediate notification when the next Landscape Message update is posted, be sure to join our e-mail list.

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Environmental Data

The following data was collected on or about October 30, 2019. Total accumulated growing degree days (GDD) represent the heating units above a 50° F baseline temperature collected via our instruments for the 2019 calendar year. This information is intended for use as a guide for monitoring the developmental stages of pests in your location and planning management strategies accordingly.

As of October 30, about half of the state is in category D0 - 'abnormally dry' - according to the US Drought Monitor: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?M

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From the Insects section:

Fall Home-Invading Insects: Various insects, such as ladybugs, boxelder bugs, seedbugs, and stink bugs have found overwintering shelters in warm places. Such suitable shelters include the home of this particular entomologist, where multicolored Asian lady beetles (Harmonia axyridis) seem particularly happy taking refuge. On warmer, sunny days in the past month, these lady beetles could be seen swarming the sunny side of houses and municipal buildings in Hampshire County, MA. While such invaders do not cause any structural damage, they can become a nuisance especially when they are present in large numbers. If you are not willing to share your home with such insects, repair torn window screens, repair gaps around windows and doors, and shore up any other gaps through which they might enter the home. When they do enter the home, a vacuum cleaner becomes a handy pest management tool to easily rid yourself of these unwelcome invaders: just remember to empty the bag/canister so they do not begin to give off odors!

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Anyone working in the yard and garden should be aware that there is the potential to encounter deer ticks. The deer tick or blacklegged tick can transmit Lyme disease, human babesiosis, human anaplasmosis, and other diseases. Preventative activities, such as daily tick checks, wearing appropriate clothing, and permethrin treatments for clothing (according to label instructions) can aid in reducing the risk that a tick will become attached to your body. If a tick cannot attach and feed, it will not transmit disease. For more information about personal protective measures, visit:http://www.tickencounter.org/prevention/protect_yourself . For a quick overview of skin repellents available to protect yourself from ticks, visit “Tickology: Skin Repellents” by Larry Dapsis of Cape Cod Cooperative Extension:https://bit.ly/2J8IJBl .

Reported by Tawny Simisky, Extension Entomologist, UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery, & Urban Forestry Program