How important is water use?

VERY!!!

http://epa.gov/watersense/water_efficiency/when_its_hot.html#area

Beautiful, scary Black Widow (genus Latrodectus) are common in most areas in Arizona and raise alarm to those who encounter them. 

Medical information (UC IPM Online)

The black widow bite itself is painless or may feel like a little pinprick. Almost all medically important black widow bites are from the adult female, which is much larger than the male; the female also has stronger biting muscles and a larger venom reserve. At the site of the bite, you might see a little red mark or red streaking away from the bite. Within an hour, symptoms start to appear.

Bite victims might suffer from some but not all of the following symptoms: rigid stomach muscles, which some medical professionals have misdiagnosed as appendicitis; sweating, sometimes of just the bitten body part, such as a bite to the hand that results in only the arm sweating profusely; pain that can be local, radiating, or regional; urine retention; and—less commonly—numbness, agitation, fever, and patchy paralysis. Another symptom is bite victims will move or rock back and forth incessantly to try to lessen the pain from the venom injection process. However, these symptoms are the most severe manifestation; many black widow bite symptoms merely resemble the flu. Black widow bites don’t cause conspicuous swelling, necrosis, or deterioration of tissue around the bite.
As a neurotoxin, the venom of a black widow affects the nerve-muscle junction in the body. Normally the body’s neurons work like a light switch; they make the muscle, or “light,” turn on and then off again, so that the muscle can relax and be ready to contract again if needed. The venom causes the muscle to repeatedly contract. It would be like flipping on a light switch and not being able to turn it off again.

If bitten, seek medical attention immediately. You can place a cold pack on the bite to relieve the pain. An antivenom for black widow bites is available that works for all species that have been tested, worldwide. Response is fast, and bite victims can go from intense pain back to normal in 30 minutes. The antivenom is based on horse serum, so physicians need to monitor for anaphylactic shock. American physicians are somewhat reluctant to use antivenom for this reason and might prefer to have the bite victim simply endure the symptoms, which can be similar to a bad flu episode and that usually dissipate in a few days.

It is good to know what can happen when bitten, however, widow spiders tend to be very shy, are nocturnal and would prefer to run instead of stand and fight.  They will most likely be encountered outside the home in clutter, dark areas where they can hide during the day.  Ideal places are in children's toys, under lawn mowers, in sprinkler boxes, wood piles, and I tend to find them under the siding of my house.

The best method of control is to clean up the clutter in the yard and garage.  Make sure your doors and windows are sealed, this is good not only to exclude spiders but other potential pest invaders. Non-chemical control is best done at night since widows are nocturnal, go out with a flashlight and a good shoe. Chemical control for spiders is difficult because usually within a couple hours the spider is able to walk over the spray without harm.  Usually one must spray the spider or its web directly for effective control.

So the moral of the story is, be aware of spiders and their hiding spots.  Chemical control can work but is difficult and not very affective, the best method of control is manual extermination.  Keep yards and garages clutter free and make sure your doors and windows are sealed.  And remember, the world is beautiful, Black Widows are beautiful, we just need to be aware of our environment and enjoy every minute of it.

Thanks to UC IPM Online and for more information please see their site:  http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74149.html.

Darn MothBalls

Remember the days when you would visit your grandparents house and when you would go to put your clothes in the dresser things just didn't smell right?  I chalked it up to my grandparents just smelled funny.  Back then I thought most old people smelled funny.  Well, I eventually learned that they (old people) would put mothballs in their dresser drawers to keep insects from eating their clothes.  I never really thought much about it until I became an Entomologist and began working and supporting Integrated Pest Management.  Mothballs are dangerous.  They release a toxic gas which fills the drawer killing pests and gets inhaled by us.

The National Pesticide Information Center has some really important information concerning the dangers and proper uses of mothballs.  Please take a look and be aware.

http://npic.orst.edu/ingred/ptype/mothball/index.html

http://www.longislandpress.com/2010/11/23/epa-warns-against-use-of-mothballs-that-look-like-candy/

Landscaping with Nature - Xeriscape

Backyards & Beyond: 13 Fall 2008 

Ursula K. Schuch, Ph.D. Associate Extension Specialist, Plant Sciences Department, University of Arizona

Landscapes in urban backyards or around a rural home generally accommodate fruit or ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers that serve a variety of purposes: food, shade, screen, color, or wildlife habitat. With the right plant choices and placement, pleasing and functional landscapes can be achieved that will thrive with minimum irrigation and maintenance.  

“Xeriscape” promotes water-conserving landscapes and designs that aim to reduce the need for water, maintenance and other resources. Xeriscapes are dry landscapes: desert plants are also known as xerophytes, plants adapted to or native in desert environments. Xeriscapes rely primarily on native or desert-adapted plants that survive in the environment with little or no additional water. 

Arizona is home to three hot desert ecosystems, the Mohave Desert in northwest Arizona, the Sonoran Desert in central and most of southern Arizona and the Chihuahuan Desert in the southeastern part of the state. Native plants that are well-adapted to alkaline soils with pH between 7.5 and 8.5, and can handle fluctuating annual and daily changes in temperature, and low natural rainfall are at home in each of these ecosystems. Native plants have evolved with the diseases and pests common to each area and have developed tolerance or resistance, enabling them to survive. 

All of these characteristics are reasons why native plants make a good choice when minimal maintenance of a landscape is desired. While desert-adapted plants from climates similar to those of central and southern Arizona may be able to grow here, they might not be ideally suited to deal with a hard freeze, the low humidity of May and June, and the local pests and diseases.

Ursula K.  Ph.D. Associate E

Native plants naturally fit into the landscape and preserve the look and feel of a place. Animals rely on plants for shelter and food, both in the wild and in landscapes around homes. Many native plants are superior in serving the needs of wildlife, while some introduced species do not provide adequate habitat or food for the local animals. For example, native mesquite trees play an important role in the desert ecosystem. They provide shelter for birds, their pods are an important food source for animals, and young saguaro cacti find shelter in the shade of the trees. Conversely, palm trees are popular choices for achieving a desert oasis look, but they lack the benefits that mesquite trees furnish for the local flora and fauna.  

Using native plants in a home landscape also prevents potentially invasive plants from displacing local vegetation and wildlife. In recent years grass species like buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) and green fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) have invaded natural areas, threatening extinction of native grasses and other plant species. Some of the non-native grasses create a dense carpet of vegetation that increases damage from fires. The Mexican paloverde (Parkinsonia aculeata) and African sumac (Rhus lancea) are examples of trees that have become invasive and should not be planted.

Xeriscaping uses several principles to create a landscape that conserves water and requires minimum resources and input to maintain. Water-wise planning and design is the first step, based on the needs of people using the space. While many desert-dwellers would like to create a mini-oasis close to the house, the lush plants used for shade, color, or fruit are often non-native and require irrigation, fertilizer, and pruning more often than xeric (low water use) plants. Areas in the transition and desert zone further away from the main outdoor living spaces typically rely on the use of xeric plants.  

Low water-use or drought-tolerant plants are a hallmark of xeriscapes. Thus, lawns are encouraged only in limited areas that serve a specific purpose. In arid climates, the need for more frequent irrigation, mowing and fertilizing makes turfgrass impractical on slopes and large expanses unless used for sports or play.

Successful xeriscapes include such tools as efficient irrigation design and equipment, and water harvesting. Drip irrigation supplies most of the supplemental water to the plants, conserving moisture by putting it right near plant roots. Water harvesting has been used by humans in dry climates for thousands of years.

Homeowners now can find many products to catch, store, and redistribute precious rain runoff from structures, in addition to using the proven principles of land contouring, where the soil surface is shaped to channel rainwater towards plant basins. The application of surface mulch helps conserve moisture around the root zone of plants and can prevent competition from weeds. Sound horticultural practices to maintain xeriscapes will preserve plant health and functionality of plants.

How to choose plants for your xeriscape garden? Decide what the space will be used for such as a shaded seating area with flowering plants providing color or a habitat that attracts wildlife. Plants may be used as screens, or as striking background accents. Taking clues from nature in surrounding areas can be helpful in creating a natural setting.

Good tree choices that work well for native landscaping in most of Arizona’s lower and mid-elevation deserts are mesquite (Prosopis sp.), desert willow (Chilopsis linearis), and Arizona rosewood (Vauquelinia californica—which is available as a shrub or trainedas a tree). Arizona ash (Fraxinus velutina) thrives in naturally moist areas. With supplemental irrigation it will develop a large canopy that creates a pleasant shaded area. For windbreaks or year-round shade,evergreens are a good choice. Afghan pine (Pinus eldarica), Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica), or live oak (Quercus viginiana) come in various sizes and shapes.  

Visiting local botanical or demonstration gardens and observing what does well in yards or in nature make it easier for homeowners to find suitable plant materials for a new landscape.  Cooperative Extension offices throughout Arizona have lists of native or low water-use plants that are well-adapted to the local climate and soil conditions. New varieties of native and desert-adapted plants with improved performance traits, showy leaves or flowers, seedlessness and other features are becoming more available in nurseries each year. Using plants that create a sense of place in xeriscapes can enhance any home in the Southwest whether in town or out on the ranch.

WHY GO ‘NATIVE’?

–       Proven, locally-adapted plants

–       Drought tolerant, water conserving

–       Better fit with the natural landscape

–       Low maintenance

–       Beneficial for wildlife (food, habitat)

–       Non–invasive, stable vegetation

–       Preserves wildlands by limiting invasive plants

OUCH!!! Fire Ants

It appears that ants are on the move.  Not just the nice pavement ants or delightful odorous ants but the wonderfully nasty Fire Ant as well.  I have received several calls and emails about what can be done to remove these joyous friends from our yards where our kids like to play and we like to relax (when the temperature falls below 110).

D. H. Gouge, C. Olson, (University of Arizona); M. Rehm-Bowler,  N. Enriquez, J. M. Rodriguez (AZ Dept. Environmental Quality).

Integrated Pest Management Techniques for Fire Ant Management

Three species of fire ants inhabit the desert southwest: Solenopsis xyloni (southern fire ant), Solenopsis aurea and Solenopsis amblychila (all are referred to as desert fire ants).  S. xyloni has the widest distribution of the three species in Arizona.   If the nest location poses no hazard to people, the best solution may be to do nothing. Red Imported Fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) are not established in Arizona yet, but do show up periodically; these ants are more aggressive than our native fire ant species and the stings are far more painful.

Management
The objective – regardless of method used – is to kill the queen; she is the only ant in the colony capable of laying eggs and sustaining colony numbers.  Any surviving ants will construct small mounds < 10-15 ft. from the parent colony, so control methods should be followed up with a search for new mounds within a week of final treatment. 

SPRAYING A PESTICIDE TO KILL FORAGING ANTS IS NOT AN EFFECTIVE CONTROL METHOD.

1. Prevention
             
OUTDOORS (playing fields, lawns)  
Maintain healthy turf (easier said than done!) with the following:
-Do not allow turf to become compacted.  Use till methods, aerate and/or apply organic acids (such as fulvic or humic acid).
-Do not allow turf to become dry and bare.  Fire ants love exposed, bare ground.
-Do not over water turf or garden areas. Fire ants like to take over disturbed soil that gets watered a lot, so people may encounter the ants in garden sites or when planting.
-Do not apply herbicides such as glyphosate along lawn borders (i.e., don’t use Roundup on edges to avoid strimming).  This generates an ideal fire ant habitat.  Either weed-eat (strim) your borders or let them grow fluffy edges.  

INDOORS 
If found inside, educate…educate….educate staff.  Fire ants do not commonly nest in buildings; if found inside they are generally being drawn there by FOOD.  Extreme temperatures may bring them indoors also.
Here’s what to do:
-Corner-clean floors very regularly.
-Restrict food and drink consumption to areas which can be kept clean easily i.e. limit food to tiled areas.  Clean up spills quickly, and washout mops and buckets immediately after use.
-Opt for foods that generate fewer crumbs (bagels instead of muffins), and increase overall sanitation if ants are recurring inside.
-Food should be stored in containers with tight fitting lids.

DO NOT spray! – this will not eliminate the source of the ants, and may even increase your problems. Baits are insecticides mixed with ant food sources.  They are best used in situations where mounds can be located.

HOW THEY WORK
Foraging workers carry the bait back to the colony and share the food.  After the queen dies, workers may still be active inside the mound for several weeks before the colony finally disappears.  Baits are much more effective, easier, and safer to apply than mound drenches.

Recommended: Amdro Fire Ant Bait; applying a small amount of water to the baited area causes rapid uptake.

Integrated Pest Management Techniques for Fire Ants:  Educate yourself, implement good sanitation, and address basic pest proofing in all areas where food is prepared and consumed.
http://ag.arizona.edu/urbanipm/buglist/fireants.pdf

Great IPM Tools

This week I would like to direct everyone's attention to this website:

http://cals.arizona.edu/urbanipm/

This site offers a wealth of information for developing an IPM program in your area.  It also has loads of information concerning pests.  Please take a look and if you have any questions let me know.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

Halyomorpha halys Stal aka Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is an exotic pest that has been making it's way west since the late 1990's.  It was first collected in Pennsylvania in 1998 and I received a call a little while back from a pest control company letting me know that they found a few here in the valley.  Now, it has yet to be confirmed that they have a breeding population in Arizona but chances are if there is more than one then they are establishing themselves.  And really, what creature wouldn't want to live and populate here?

This "stinker" is a member of the order Hemiptera and is considered a true bug.  True bugs have a piercing sucking mouth that they "plug" into their "food" to access the nutrient rich fluids just under the surface.  Other members of this group include aphids, shield bugs, assassin bugs (great predators), kissing bug, bed bugs (ooo yucky) and the list goes on.

Back to our brown stinker...this is a native agriculture pest in Asia and is a serious pest of fruit, vegetables and some farm crops. They have 5 instars and as adults are about 1" in length.  They can be several shades of brown, have lighter bands on antennae and are actually quite attractive.  Now like other "stink" bugs, they have nasty scent glands which we don't find very nice and which they like to use when alarmed.

To control, simply physically remove them from your plants.  With a sheet under plant, gently shake until all have fallen off.  If they become stinky clingers then use some form of wiping motion to remove them.  You can also use a spray bottle with a little bit of dish soap and water to spray down the plant.  Discard far away in the trash can and in a container that they cannot escape.  

Thank you Penn State Univeristy/extension and the USDA for this important information.
www.ento/psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug
www.invasivespeciesinfor.gov/animals/stinkbug.shtml

Update: 6/8
It was brought to my attention that I should mention the traveling capabilities of stink bugs.  They like to get in the walls of RV's and go for rides.  In areas where people congregate with RV's like Quartzside, Yuma and other destinations it is a good idea to keep a look out for stink bugs and do our best not to transport them to areas where they do not belong.  A major component of IPM is keeping an eye out for pests, especially "exotic" pests that we tend to unknowingly carry around.