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Canyon County Extension Horticulture Program |
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![]() Could it be FIRE BLIGHT? Your apples, pears, Asian pears, hawthorns, quince & photinia are ptoential targets. Learn more about the disease Ariel Agenbroad, U of I Experts address your growing questions on the new Idaho Landscapes and Gardens Website:
Looking for Information Specific Interested in gardening with Youth?
Looking for resources in Spanish? Looking for Horticulture Extension Publications? Many are available at our office for a small fee. Many more are availble to order or view online.
Check out the entire
catalog at: ______________________ Regional University of Idaho Extension Horticulture Resources:
Ada
County Extension Owyhee County Master Gardeners
Payette County
Extension
Parma Research & Extension Center
Aberdeen Research &
Sandpoint Research &
Seeing an Army of Moths? It's the Annual Miller Moth Invasion, Says University of Idaho Extension Entomologist PARMA, Idaho—The
University of Idaho and the Idaho State Department of Agriculture have
received numerous calls during the last several weeks about an
“invasion” of southern Idaho by a battalion of dull gray to light brown
moths with lighter markings on their wings.
According to Jim Barbour, University of Idaho Extension entomologist at Parma, these moths are called “miller moths” —a non-specific term given to many types of moths that are abundant in and around southern Idaho homes this time of year. This year, most of them are adults of the army cutworm Euxoa auxiliaries, which are currently migrating from lowlands to higher elevations for what Barbour calls “a few months of rest and relaxation.” “In some years like this one, the moths are so numerous during their annual migration that they become a nuisance pest,” Barbour said. As the miller moths migrate to the mountains, they feed on nectar during the night and hide in protected places during the day. In landscapes, they’re most likely to be attracted to cherries, cotoneaster, lilac, raspberry, spirea, syringa and Russian olive. In late summer and fall, they return to the lowlands, where they mate, lay eggs in a variety of broadleaf and grass plants—including weeds—and die. The eggs hatch into army cutworm caterpillars that feed throughout the fall, winter and early spring, whenever temperatures are warm enough. ]According to Barbour, the caterpillars can be a serious pest of such agricultural crops as alfalfa and wheat as well as home-garden and ornamental plants. “In some years, populations are high enough that the caterpillars eat all the vegetation in an area, then move in mass—as an army of caterpillars—to plants in other nearby areas,” he said. In about May, the caterpillars burrow into the soil and form pupae—the transitional life stage between larva and adult—and, by June, they emerge as new adults and begin the annual migration to the mountains. To reduce the impact of miller moth migrations at home, Barbour advises sealing any openings around windows and doors, reducing lighting at night in and around the house and substituting non-attractive yellow lights for white lights. “Be sure to close doors to garages and sheds, too, because the moths search for dark places to hide during the day,” he said. If miller moths do get into the home, the easiest way to remove them is with a vacuum cleaner. Barbour doesn’t recommend trying to control the migrating miller moths with pesticides, since they don’t stay long in a single place. They also serve as a “significant” food source for many other animals, including birds. Although pesticides are available for controlling the insect’s caterpillar stage, Barbour recommends applying them only as a last resort. The best way to control army cutworm caterpillars in the garden and landscape, he says, is to control the grass and broadleaf weeds on which the miller moths like to lay their eggs when they return from the mountains in late summer and early fall. |
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Thank you to all who participated in this series in 2009. We are working on making this series available in an online format so more can participate! Stay tuned! This program will get you started saving money by growing nutritious, tasty fruits, vegetables, and herbs at home this year. Local experts will fill you in on planning the garden, soil, botany and fertilization basics, hands-on composting, sustainable growing practices, gardening with children, safely managing pests, disease and weeds, and even harvest and food preservation tips with safety in mind. Course participants will receive a collection of our favorite Extension books and publications to start their home gardening and food preservation library. Some class materials and lectures will be provided in Spanish, too!
Whether you garden in a window box, big backyard or community
garden, you’ll learn how to maximize your space and capacity to
produce food and minimize your costs.
Like the Master Gardener Program, this evening course will
incorporate a service learning component of 10 additional hours. You
will be offered numerous opportunities to offer service and
participate in some of the extra-curricular Master Gardener tours
and activities or work on a special project of your choice.
Southwest Idaho Organic Producers School
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View complete course schedules for Idaho here
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Weather Forecast |
Weather Maps _________________________
Growing in Canyon County Hort Links Page Canyon County Master Gardener Page Master Gardener Volunteer Resources Idaho Master Gardener Program Link Sign up for a Canyon County Horticulture Newsletter!
Order a copy of
Canyon County Gardens Month by Month on CD Rom
TREE RX For large scale pruning, repair, diagnostics or removal, hire a trained expert! Download a list of certified Arborists* for:
*
List contains individuals and firms listed as certified by the
International Society of Arboriculture on their website.
Canyon County Extension compiles this list as a service.
Inclusion on the list is not an endorsement for any firm or
individual.
What IMPACT do our programs have? Increased Small Acreage Stewardship through “Living on the Land”
Hispanic Youth and Adults Share Hands-on Learning
and More in Bi-lingual Family Gardening Workshop
Support Master Gardener Projects in
Canyon County by buying seeds through:
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