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STREET ADDRESS Robeson County 455 Caton Rd O.P. Owens Agriculture Center Lumberton, NC 28360 (910) 671-3276 Phone (910) 671-6278 Fax Map & Mailing Information Recent Tweets What makes a fruit or vegetable a superfood? Find out in this month's Produce Lady newsletter from #NC #CoopExt [more] (PDF) |
This is the first week of spring. Even though we have not had very much pretty weather lately, I am sure it will change within the next few days. We will soon be in our yards and gardens enjoying the beautiful spring weather.
During the summer months, the agents on my staff and I will receive lots of calls asking for information about how to handle nuisance critters around their homes and gardens. They will encounter:
Unfortunately, many times, they do not call until after excessive damage has been done or until it is too late to easily handle the problem. The Cooperative Extension Service is a field office of North Carolina State University. Agents on our staff have been trained to properly identify most of the pests that people usually encounter. They have lots of experience working with lots of people around the county. Even if the problem may seem to be pretty unique to you, more than likely it is something that others have already encountered and, therefore, something the agent has already researched. In addition, we can call on Extension specialists from the university or send samples to the Plant Disease and Insect Clinic on campus if we encounter something we are not familiar with or something we cannot identify. I share this to encourage you to always be observant as you work in your yard or garden. Make an effort to notice your house and the trees and plants in your landscape. Watch for anything that is unusual. If you notice anything that appears to be out of the ordinary, begin to question yourself immediately about what it may be or what could be causing the problem. If you cannot determine a quick and easy answer, it may be time to call Cooperative Extension. Once problems become established, it is much more difficult to handle them than when they first began. Having squirrels or bats in the attic is a difficult problem to solve, but it is much more difficult to solve if you wait until they have nests with young ones. Then they will be much more reluctant to leave. Beaver that back water up in a canal near the house can be inconvenient when frequent rains cause flooding. But if unnoticed or ignored for a long period of time, they could case thousands of dollars worth of timber to die from drowning. It is frustrating to us, and to the caller as well, when we have to face a problem that has been overlooked or ignored for too long. Dozens of fire ant mounds in the yard where the children are playing is not something that happened overnight. If assistance and information had been sought early, when the first fire ant mound appeared, it would have been much easier and much less expensive to handle the problem at that time. Action should be taken when a prized plant in the landscape first shows symptoms of leaf discoloration or leaf drop, not when the plant is almost dead. Azaleas or other ornamental plants with aphid problems will begin to show symptoms of leaf spotting or yellowing shortly after they become infected. Identifying and treating the problem at that time can keep the plant healthy as well as keep the problem from spreading to other plants in the landscape. More than likely you will encounter home, landscape, or garden pests during the coming months. Be observant. If you see anything unusual that you cannot identify or don't know how to handle, call your Cooperative Extension Service at 671-3276. Let us save you time, headaches, and money.
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Phone: 910-671-3276
Date Created 10/10/05 |
Along with spring and all the things we have long awaited will come an assortment of unwanted problems. We most likely will be faced with an assortment of weed and insect problems, along with disease problems on some of our favorite flowers and vegetables. In addition, we may encounter an assortment of critters around our house we really had rather not have to deal with.
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