BEES, BEE-KEEPING,   BEE REMOVAL

BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION

• The Mecklenburg Beekeeping Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education, raising, and preservation of honey bees.  They meet the third Thursday of each month at Marion Diehl Park and Rec Center at 7 p.m. New classes begin each January. For information contact, Jim Reap 704.588.0189.

BEE REMOVAL

• For bee removal contact one of the Mecklenburg Beekeepers.   Beekeepers often removes honey bees as a free service. They will not deal with other flying stinging insects. 
  

  NAME	PHONE NUMBER	AREA
  Mack Alexander	704.875.2896	All of Mecklenburg
  Bill Bishop	704.588.4807	All of Mecklenburg
  Bob Blackwelder	704.436.2522 (Home)	North Mecklenburg
  Robert Dula	704.334.4856	East Mecklenburg
  Frank Clements	704.541.7790 (Home) 704.376.2999 (Work) 704.968.7081 (Cell)	All of Mecklenburg
  Richard Flanagan	704.532.5767 (Home) 704.522.5626 (Work)	All of Mecklenburg
  Dick Gardner	704.364.4659 (Home) 704.906.2476 (Cell)	South and East Mecklenburg/Union
  Chris Miller	704.363.0935 (Home) 704.364.9011	South and East Mecklenburg
  Jimmy Odom	704.408.2726	South and West Mecklenburg
  Hal Ross	704.573.1042 (Home) 704.756.7581 (Cell)	All of Mecklenburg
  Charles Stewart	704.536.5184	North, East and West Mecklenburg
  Pete Verna	704.376.8729	Central, East and South Mecklenburg
  Bill Williams	704.568.3203	East Mecklenburg

• OR contact a private company in the yellow pages under "Pest Control."   There are no municipal services that will remove or destroy stinging nests.

Christmas trees 

• There are no public parks (local, state or federal) that allow cutting for Christmas trees
• Click here for Choose and cut farms.  Two local choose and cut farms are Helms Tree Farm in Lincoln County 276.1835 and Pinetop Farms in Salisbury at 637.7208. 
• For Extension's: Selection and Care of Christmas trees 
• Also see NC Dept of Agriculture: Selection and Care of Christmas trees  (including Christmas 
  Tree Grower Associations) 

COMPOSTING

• Mecklenburg County Compost Central
  

• NC State University Composting Bulletin

CLIMATE (RAINFALL, FROST DAYS, WEATHER)   For the Charlotte area

• Average Freeze Days
  First  freeze (32°F) late October.  Last freeze (32°F) mid April. These are only averages and freeze dates can vary by two weeks.   

• Rainfall
  43 inches of precipitation per year with rainfall fairly distributed throughout the year. However, evapotransporation often exceeds precipitation in summer.  
  

• OTHER CLIMATE SITES
  NCSU CLIMATE INFORMATION
  NC STATE CLIMATOLOGY OFFICE

EROSION

• LARGE SCALE EROSION IN CHARLOTTE CITY LIMITS
  If you are experiencing flooding and sedimentation from nearby creeks or new development within the Charlotte city limits call the Engineering and Building Standards department 704-336-4258. If more than one acre of land is cleared, erosion measures need to be installed.   

• LARGE SCALE EROSION IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY (OUTSIDE OF CHARLOTTE)
  If you are experiencing flooding and sedimentation from nearby creeks or new development within  Mecklenburg (outside Charlotte city limits) call County Land Development 704-336-7783. If more than one acre of land is cleared, erosion measures need to be installed. 

FARMER INFORMATION

• Farm Bureau.   Private agency that provides insurance to farmers. 704.597.8333

• Piedmont Farm Credit.  Federal agency that provides assistance to farmers for lost crops, allotments and conservation. In Mecklenburg, 704.333.0023

FARMERS MARKET

CHARLOTTE

• West Charlotte. NC Department of Agriculture. 1700 Yorkmont Rd. Tuesday to Saturday.  8 am to 6 pm.  Call for hours, off season. 704.357.1269

• Uptown. Kings Street Market. Tuesdays and Fridays. May through October. Corner of Morehead and King's Drive. 7 am to 7 pm Tuesdays and Fridays.

• Uptown. North End Green Market. Parking lot of Reid's Grocery.  7th Street Station.  Between College St and N. Brevard St.  Saturday mornings 8 am to 2 pm June through October. 704.332.2227 for more information.

• Uptown. Harding Market. 1515 Harding Place. 7 a.m. to noon Wednesdays and Saturdays.
  

CORNELIUS

• Cornelius Farmers Market. Cornelius Elementary School.    Wednesdays and Saturdays. 7 a.m. to Noon.

HUNTERSVILLE

• Huntersvile Farmers Market. Tuesdays and Saturdays 7 a.m. to Noon. Between Main and Maxwell Streets. Contact Town Hall for more questions.

MATTHEWS 

• Matthews Community Farmers Market. Saturday mornings 7:30 to noon. May through October. North Trade Street, Matthews. 704.843.5182 or 704.821.6430

FARMER MARKETS ACROSS THE STATE  NC Department of Agriculture Farmer Markets

IDENTIFICATION SERVICES

• Plant  Identification 
  If you would like us to identify a plant for you, please do the following. For trees and shrubs mail or drop off a stem with a few leaves on it and, if possible, fruit or flower. If we cannot identify the plant, there will be a $10.00 charge to send it to Raleigh for identification.

• Insects/Disease Identification and Control

  • Web page info.  Scan the lists on our web page to find color photos of many insect problems

  • Submit samples.  Insects and diseases can be brought to our office.  There is a $10.00 charge for the samples to be mailed to NCSU Insect & Disease Lab

  • Call our office and speak to a Master Gardener or Extension Agent

STINGING AND HOUSEHOLD PESTS

• NCSU Stinging and Household pests
• Cockroaches (NC Dept of Agriculture.) Brief and to the point.  No photos. 
• Cockroaches (Univ. of Florida)  More explanation. Has photos.
• Cockroach (Univ. of Florida)  Least toxic methods. 
• Other household pests.  Univ. of Florida

TERMITES 
QUICK FACTS. WARNING: The following are "quick facts." Make sure to read the NCSU link!
The state link includes photos and chemical controls that licensed professionals use.

• NCSU TERMITE INFO (link has photos, read thoroughly)

• NC DEPT OF AG INFO  (concise, but no photos) 
  

• The Agricultural Chemicals manual can help you decide what chemicals are appropriate for certain problems.  

• Mecklenburg Extension provides written information on livestock and poultry through our web link below.  Livestock is not our specialty.  You can contact our Jim Monroe if you have questions  or you can contact Gaston County Extension  704.922.0301, Cabarrus County Extension 704.792.0430, Lincoln County Extension 704.736.8452, or Union County Extension for greater expertise 704.283.3801.  

• NCSU Animal Husbandry Website

SOIL SURVEY

• Soil surveys contain information on soil series, slope, drainage, sceptic field capabilities, etc

• The Natural Resource and Conservation Department (Soil and Water) has surveys available to the public. In Mecklenburg, call 704.336.2455.

SOIL TESTING

• The NC Cooperative Extension Office offers free soil testing through the NC Department of Agriculture.  Test kits must be obtained at your local office.  Results can take 6 weeks in spring and 2 to 4 weeks the rest of the year.  Instructions are included with the kit.  

• To obtain results off the web and a list of frequently asked questions about soil testing click the 
  NCDA Soil Test Website.

WILDLIFE, BACKYARD CERTIFICATION  

• The National Wildlife Federation has programs to establish your backyard as a wildlife habitat. Click on the website provided or contact by phone at 1.800.477.5560

Updated March, 2004