Vol. 4 #9
Agriculture:
Well, it seems as though three mild winters in a row have caught up with
us. We have had our first report of the cowpea aphid as a pest in alfalfa here
in Idaho. It’s been in California and Nevada for a couple of years. We also
have some spotted alfalfa aphid to worry about also. Back to our new friend, the
cowpea aphid. These guys are shiny black with the legs and basal portion (the
part nearest the head for us laymen) light. The mature ones are shiny black and
the young are black with a grayish tint. They look like the black bean aphid but
bean aphids seldom get into alfalfa. So, if you see black aphids in your hay, it
is this character.
The cowpea aphid is also much more harmful to hay than the pea aphid.
Treat for this little curmudgeon when you have 10-20 per stem (less on shorter
hay, more on taller hay) or have 25 per sweep with a sweep net. So, compared to
50-100 per stem with the pea aphid, you can see they are much more pestiferous.
Keep them off of new seedlings also like you do spotted aphid. We can hope for a
“normal” winter which will beat these guys back to non –existent status
again. We’ve only had sporadic problems with this guy so lets hope this is one
of those times.
While on the subject of aphids, our potato scouts are routinely finding
green peach aphids so keep vigilant on those little beggars.
Homeowners:
Ta-Daaaa! It’s that time of year again. The hobo spider males are out
in force and running around by the bushels. My desk has been inundated the past
couple of weeks. So, spray outside and put the sticky traps inside along the
base boards to see what kind of activity is going on inside the house (let’s
hope none). In another month expect the females to start running around. There
must be lots of insects this year because I’ve had some big honkers brought in
so far!
Also, lots of calls on the European paper wasp. They nest lots of places
and are building new nests even now. Use some carbaryl dust in entrance areas if
they are going in and out of buildings, under roof shakes, etc. Otherwise, try
one of the new products with permethrin or cyfluthrin to kill the pesky little
beggars on the nest. When the nest is dead, knock it down and dab some ammonia
or bleach on the spot to help keep them from coming back to that exact location.
I’m not sure any of the traps will work on this guy but you can try some if
you like. Let me know if any work!
A few mosquitoes have been around so keep the screens in place at night.
I don’t know about you, but I hate waking up and swatting at the blood suckers
at 2:00 am. With that I think I’ll end this issue – Happy bugging!
The cowpea aphid is also much more harmful to hay than the pea aphid.
Treat for this little curmudgeon when you have 10-20 per stem (less on shorter
hay, more on taller hay) or have 25 per sweep with a sweep net. So, compared to
50-100 per stem with the pea aphid, you can see they are much more pestiferous.
Keep them off of new seedlings also like you do spotted aphid. We can hope for a
“normal” winter which will beat these guys back to non –existent status
again. We’ve only had sporadic problems with this guy so lets hope this is one
of those times.