I’ve had several inquiries over the past month about controlling bagworms. Now it’s time to get going with control.
If you had bagworms on junipers or cedars last year, even if you think you controlled them, spray again this year.
Bagworms do not create the large webby masses on the ends of tree branches. This is webworm and not really a problem.
Bagworms are the small larvae that create a little protective shell, or bag, out of the pieces of foliage from the host plant that they are feeding on. While they will feed on over 200 species of plants, they are most devastating on junipers. If left unchecked, they can kill a juniper in two or three years.
Contrary to what many homeowners think, they do not just appear overnight. The female moth is flightless and can only lay eggs in her feeding bag on the host plant she was feeding on.
This time of year, the eggs are hatching and the tiny larvae are busy feeding. They may be only one quarter inch long so can be easily overlooked, and often their damage shows up well before their bags are easily seen.
There are many products labeled for control of bagworms and all are quite effective if applied correctly. You need to really soak down the plants you are trying to protect so a hose end sprayer is about the only way to go.
Many of the newer products come with a built in hose end sprayer so you don’t have to worry about mixing up too much or not enough spray. Attach the product to your garden hose, turn on the water and it mixes the spray automatically. Spray the plant to the point of runoff, then retreat again in two weeks.
Warm Season Grass Fertilization
For some homeowners, warm season grasses are weeds, particularly Bermuda grass. Now even though Bermuda, zoysia and buffalo grass green up late and go dormant early, they do have some consideration for use as lawn grasses in large open sunny turf areas.
Bermuda and zoysia are much more aggressive than buffalo grass and respond very favorably to fertilization. Buffalo grass should not be fertilized much at all, as it will encourage weeds more than the buffalo grass.
With buffalo grass, fertilize it once a year in mid June with just one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
Now, if you do have Bermuda or zoysia and really want it to thrive, fertilize it two times in the summer, essentially the first part of June and first part of August applying the usual one pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet each time.
You don’t want to fertilize after Aug. 15 as this will cause the plants to try to continue to grow aggressively at a time of year when they should be getting ready to slow down.
It is helpful if this fertilizer gets rained in or watered in shortly after application. Just a word of warning, do not try this summer fertilization schedule with your fescue or bluegrass lawn as you will literally burn it up. These grasses go somewhat to totally dormant during the summer so we fertilize them in the spring and fall.
Bermuda and zoysia, however, do all their growing during the summer so that is when they need the fertilizer to fuel that aggressive growth.
Pratt, Kan. —
