Recent News

Clover mite season is upon us and any tiny, reddish brown dots seen crawling on windows sills, walls, curtains or cupboards are probably these common accidental invaders.

The following warning comes from Bob Cox, State Apiarist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Finding carpenter ants indoors in the winter is an indication that they are nesting somewhere within the walls or floors of the structure.

Spring is hopefully just around the corner. A time when dormant buds break, grass begins to grow, and seeds germinate.

The large, black, pesky flies that show up in bed rooms and on window sills from late fall through early spring have been very abundant this year, possibly because of the wetter than normal weather we had last summer.

Occasionally questions come to Hortline regarding the use of security or landscape lighting. Clients are concerned about the effects this lighting may have on plants in the landscape.

[Production Note: open with music: 'The falling leaves . . . .'] Aphids are doing very well this summer, in spite of the wet rainy weather in July.

The month of August normally brings with it a rash of phone calls and inquiries regarding flea control. This year is no exception.

Even though the cool weather in July and August has been a curse for farmers, it has been a blessing for anyone with a cool-season lawn.

All over Iowa, it seems that some deciduous trees are celebrating fall about two months early.

Soil-nesting ants are beneficial to the turfgrass ecosystem and their presence should not be needlessly discouraged.

This past week I received several inquiries about dodder control and so, felt this would be an appropriate time to describe this plant and how to control it.

Dodder or strangle-weed is an annual parasitic plant. There are 8 species found in Iowa.

Convincing some gardeners of the landscape value of goldenrods (Solidago species and hybrids) is difficult. These plants have long suffered from an undeserved reputation as a common field weed that causes hay fever.

Iowa was very fortunate for over two decades in that we had no substantial establishment of gypsy moth in spite of the ease with which this pest migrates on cars, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles and interstate merchandise shipments.

Now is the time to be observant about the location of developing wasp nests around the house.

White clover and birds-foot trefoil have been prominent plants in some Iowa lawns this spring and summer. Both are valuable agricultural crops.

The dry weather in May and June caused large, noticeable populations of several kinds of aphids, including leafcurl ash aphid, maple aphids, oak aphids, and bean aphid on euonymus.

In years past it was said that, when driving through Iowa, you could see at least one grain elevator from almost every location in the state.

Liatris or Blazing Star is a native prairie plant as well as a popular perennial plant in many gardens. It's long lasting blooms make excellent cut flowers, either dried or fresh. In the garden the flowers attract butterflies.

Many home gardeners have problems with raccoons eating their sweet corn. In an effort to prevent this damage, gardeners have used various techniques to scare away the raccoons. Some gardeners place blood meal around the sweet corn planting.