50March 16, 2016
This past weekend was a couple of nice days for being outside. I saw many people out raking their lawns and probably they were hoping that soon there would be more things to do in the yard. The month of March is such a tease. March gives us warm days and then some cold days. I guess it is Mother Natures’ way of telling us that April is coming with more warm weather.
I think that most people know at least one person who has been diagnosed with Lyme disease. This is a disease that is carried by ticks. The mice that run around your yard are usually a source for the blood meal needed by the ticks. There is a product called Damminix that can be used to help in the control of the ticks that are in your yard. Spring is usually the biggest time for people to be bitten by ticks that are infected with Lyme disease. Damminix consists of tubes that are filled with cotton balls that are coated with insecticide. The tubes are placed around the yard. Mice love the cotton balls for nesting material. The fur of the mouse becomes coated with the insecticide from contact with the cotton balls. As the mice run around the yard, the insecticide kills any ticks that climb on the mouse. April is one of two times of the year that you should be putting the tubes out in your yard. It would appear that with a warmer than normal March, the mice are active earlier and possibly so are the ticks. To me it would make sense in placing the tubes in your yard sooner rather than later. We carry the Damminix in our store.
If the weather co-operates, we should have pansies available this weekend. Pansies and violas are the first of the spring flowers that you can put out in your yard. They are very cold – tolerant as long as they have been properly hardened off. If spring fever has you in its grasp you may want to consider filling your planters with some pansies.
People have asked if it is too soon to apply lime to the lawn. If the ground is not frozen, you can apply lime to your lawn and also your vegetable garden.
Most of you are aware of the winter moth caterpillars that damaged your trees last spring. For your non-flowering trees, there is a liquid that you can mix with water and pour into the soil around the base of the trees. It does take some time to be absorbed by the roots so now would be the time to apply this product. In order to apply the correct amount of insecticide, you need to know the circumference of your trees. You should measure around the trunk of each tree that you are going to treat and make a note of each tree’s circumference. Once you have all of the measurements, you can purchase the correct amount of insecticide. If you have flowering trees, do not use this product. You will want to use a biological product that is applied to the leaves as the leaves begin to open. We carry both types of caterpillar control in our store.
Well, that’s all for this week. I’ll talk to you again next week.