Orange Striped Oakworm

We found this specimen of Orange Striped Oakworm last week in Suwanee.  We had never run across this pest before.  Much like other occasional invaders, we research all the new pests we find.  When we see it again out in the field, we will be able to know how to handle the situation.

closer picture of the orange striped oakworm from Bugwood.org

The orange striped oakworm is around 2 inches long.  They have long, black spines that resemble horns.  These "horns" are used to scare off predators, but they do not have the ability to sting.  Adult moths lay eggs on the underside of leaves from June to July.  Egg clusters contain hundreds of eggs.

Moth and egg clusters (photo from Brookhaven National Laboratory)

 

The caterpillars hatch and feed from August to September, and sometimes into October.  They defoliate sections of various oak species and sometimes completely defoliate smaller trees.  Defoliation usually occurs one branch at a time.
Because of the large amount of intake, they have an abundance of excrement.  This makes this insect troublesome when present in oak trees over patios, sidewalks, or driveways.  However, control measures are typically not needed.
After feeding is complete, larvae pupate in the soil over the winter.  There is only one generation per year.
Thanks, Brandon, for this interesting find!

Yellow Jacket Spread Attack!

When run effectively, a spread option attack in football is a high-octane offense capable of scoring lots of points and baffling defenses.  It is based on the concept of defensive isolation.  The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets currently employ this type of offense for their football team.
We recently ran into a spread attack from yellow jackets in a Griffin apartment complex.  The property residents were complaining of seeing yellow jackets around bedroom windows and bathroom light fixtures.
Our goal:  find the nest, treat the nest, and keep the residents safe from yellow jacket stings.
However, finding the nest was not so easy.  Since there were no visible entrance or exit holes around the building, we couldn't tell exactly where the nest was located.  Most activity was happening in random places like light fixtures and windows.

Our experimentation was to bait the area around the building, hoping to see exactly where the activity was coming from.                                                                                                                                                                            

To attract the yellow jackets, we used a variety of their favorite foods.  We used several placements of cat food.  We also mixed up cocktails of apple juice, corn syrup, and salmon paste.

We have caught several yellow jackets to date, but we are still trying to find the nest.  Check back for updates!

 

Red Velvet Ant aka COW KILLER by Kelly Teal

We got a phone call in the office today from a customer who has numerous holes in his pinestraw beds.  Our technician went out and moved the pinestraw and found holes into the soil.  The holes looked similar to this:

This my friends is a classic Red Velvet Ant nest. 

Red velvet ants are a good thing to spot in the landscape if you're worried about yellow jackets. Red velvet ants prey on yellow jackets and other ground-nesting bees and wasps by burrowing into their nest, laying an egg in the bee cocoon. The egg hatches into a grub that feeds on the surrounding bee larvae. Red velvet ants also prey on bumblebees. Adult red velvet ants feed on nectar.These critters aren't aggressive, but the female can deliver a painful sting when disturbed. Males don't sting.

If you see a red velvet ant in your yard or garden, it will try to avoid you; however, if you find a number of them, or are trying to protect children or pets, you may want to kill the ants. 

 


Female Red Velvet Ant has no wings

 



Male Red Velvet Ant has black wings  









Seven Steps to Roach Control by Kelly Teal

1. Do not leave any dirty dishes in the kitchen sink at night. Wipe ALL sinks DRY. Roaches can live a while without food but NOT without water.

2. Pour a ¼ cup of bleach down all drains (including toilets) at night. This will make the water at the elbow of the drainpipes not drinkable for roaches.

3. Sweep and/or vacuum every night. Just one grain of sugar is a feast for roaches. We treat roaches with a combination of products; bait being one of the most important. DON’T give the bait something to compete with by leaving food granules on the floors and counter tops at night.

4. Take out the garbage EVERY night.

5. Keep all dirty laundry and trash off of the floor.

6. Sweep up and discard all dead roaches and egg sacks. Roaches breed every 30-45 days, so remove any egg sacks when you see them.

7. ALWAYS REMEMBER, CLEANLINESS IS THE KEY TO BEING PEST FREE!

Phorid Flies: By Brian Boozer

Lately at the Griffin office, we are dealing with a bad Phorid Fly infestation in a multi-unit complex.

Phorid Flies are small flies that have a humpback shape in its thorax (middle section of an insect). They can be easliy confused with fruit flies, however, the Phorid fly does not have red eyes. They are strong fliers, and can reproduce very quickly.

Above is a picture of an adult Phorid Fly.

The key to Phorid Fly control is finding the breeding site. These flies feed on decaying and moist organic material.


In this particular complex we determined the breeding site to be in the drains in the bathrooms and kitchens. Upon inspection, we found this in the bathroom.

Hair, and lots of it in the bathtub, and the drain, well lets say you wouldn't want to see that picture.


Our solution: In the three units in this building that have been noticing the fly activity, we are taping up all the drains. The kitchen sink drain, the bathroom sink drain, and the tub drains, with tape. We plan on going back and checking the sticky side of the tape for the Phorid Flies. Hopefully, we will be able to determine the drains with the problems and apply a drain cleaner to the drains with activity. Check back for the results!!!

Food Drive in Griffin

Mid-Georgia Pest Control is teaming with the Five Loaves, Two Fish (Griffin Food Pantry). Check out their website here www.griffinfoodpantry.com

When our technician comes out for your service this month, if you have extra cans of vegetables, corn meal, peanut butter, bread, etc. please give them so we can get these needed supplies over to the Food Pantry.

If you are a Mid-Georgia Customer, or you just want to help a great cause that needs our help right now, please contact us at 770-227-5161.

Armyworms In Georgia

There has been a lot of press lately about armyworms and the damage that they are doing to yards across the Atlanta area. Here is a link to the University of Georgia Entomology Department that can give you more information on these lawn pests.

http://www.ent.uga.edu/veg/solanaceous/otheraw.htm