A:What you probably have are the eggs of the armyworm, which is the larva of a moth. Armyworms are common pests found on grass and vegetables. One of the species of army worm prefers Bermuda grass and crabgrass, but they seldom are a severe ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease
Q: My husband just came in from cutting the grass and he noticed some small tan-colored moths and some larger brown ones, also a few grasshoppers. How should we best rid our lawn of these pests? I assume they will harm the St. Augustine grass. ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease
A: I am going to take a recent study and use parts of it to answer your question. Nitrogen is important for growth but we generally are using too much. A little fertilizer can perk up a St. Augustinegrass lawn as spring arrives, but homeowners ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease
Q: I have small to large areas of my St. Augustine lawn which have yellowing blades. They can easily be pulled up and seem to be rotting. Some of the edges look like circles. The smaller areas are about a foot across while other areas are much ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
A: I have seen dozens of grass specimens over the last 2 weeks – all of these had root decays and leaf spots on them caused by fungi. Many of these diseases have been caused by a combination of the fungi and too much water. The fungi are naturally ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Q: Is it typical to find Black Widow spiders in this area? We found one (male) outside our back door (it’s dead and still there) and I am not a happy camper. I wondered if the spiders might have been in the plants I transplanted outside. I’m ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
A: The bad kind – German cockroaches, Blattella germanica. While none of us like to have cockroaches in our house, the German cockroach is a true pest and the kind of insect that gives all insects a bad name. It can be found in most any type ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Are you finding dead shrubs in your hedge? Botryosphaeria, bot rot, has hit Manatee County. Bot rot is a disease whose symptoms includes yellow, spotted and blighted leaves, dried leaves, defoliation, cankers, tip dieback, branch dieback, ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Pests & Disease
A: The insect you found is called a palmetto weevil, Rhynchophorus cruentatus , which is the largest native weevil in Florida. It is found from South Carolina to Texas and feeds on many palms such as our Cabbage Palm and Saw Palmetto. The weevil ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Q: My corn plant is an indoor house plant and I have had it for years. This past year, it has been doing poorly and I want to know what is wrong with it. A: After looking at the plant closely I discovered mealy bugs, which are a common house ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease