Browse Weeds, Diseases and Pests Stories - Page 48

Black flies drink blood and spread disease such as river blindness—creating misery with their presence. A University of Georgia study, however, proves that the pesky insects can be useful.

Two years ago, the kudzu bug arrived in Georgia and has been aggravating homeowners and feeding on kudzu and soybeans ever since. Now, some of Georgia’s Latin American trading partners are worried that the legume-eating pest may be headed south.

“There is a big spider in our living room!” my wife screamed. As a graduate student in entomology at the University of Georgia, I’m accustomed to dealing with insects. Having just moved to Georgia from India, she is not.

There won't be any lions, tigers or bears, but the University of Georgia’s annual Insect Zoo will let visitors get up close and personal with roaches, crickets and other bugs.

University of Georgia researchers studying organic peanut production and researchers with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service have found ways to reduce the amount of fertilizer and pesticides used in traditional peanut farming operations.

This year’s exceptionally warm winter and the early spring temperatures mean Georgians may be dealing with warm weather pests, like ticks and mosquitos, earlier this year.

The majority of weeds that are growing this time of year are called winter annual weeds. Weeds that are actively growing in lawns and pastures include henbit, chickweed, wild radish, buttercup, hop clover and catchweed bedstraw.

Nature is a system of checks and balances, as is the case between aphids and wasps. Aphids feed on plants; wasps lay eggs inside aphids, killing them and increasing plant production. Some aphids harbor bacterial symbionts, or smaller organisms that live in close association with a host, that provide protection by killing the internally developing wasps. Wasps are able to decipher which aphids are infected and use superparasitism to override the poison.

The 2012 Georgia Pest Management Handbook is now available. The thirty-third Commercial Edition, published by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, provides more than 800 pages of current information on selection, application and safe use of pest control chemicals around farms, homes, urban areas, recreational areas and other environments where pests may occur.