Hey Listener,
In this month's episode, we are talking about two common household pests: ants and termites. While both live in colonies and can enter our homes, they have very different lifecycles and social structures. Some of them are nuisance pests, while others can cause damage to our homes. This episode will cover how to tell ants and termites apart, their life cycles, and control methods ( Ants ~6:45, Termies ~19:10).
We also have our:
If you have any garden-related questions, please email us at UMEGardenPodcast@gmail.com or look us up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GardenThymePodcas.
For more information about UME and these topics, please check out the UME Home and Garden Information Center and Maryland Grows Blog at https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/.
University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class.
The Garden Thyme Podcast is brought to you by the University of Maryland Extension. Hosts are Mikaela Boley- Senior Agent Associate (Talbot County) for Horticulture, Rachel Rhodes- Agent Associate for Horticulture (Queen Anne's County), and Emily Zobel-Senior Agent Associate for Agriculture (Dorchester County).
Theme Song: By Jason Inc
Hey Listener,
In this month's episode, we are talking about two common household pests: ants and termites. While both live in colonies and can enter our homes, they have very different lifecycles and social structures. Some of them are nuisance pests, while others can cause damage to our homes. This episode will cover how to tell ants and termites apart, their life cycles, and control methods ( Ants ~6:45, Termies ~19:10).
We also have our:
If you have any garden-related questions, please email us at UMEGardenPodcast@gmail.com or look us up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GardenThymePodcas.
For more information about UME and these topics, please check out the UME Home and Garden Information Center and Maryland Grows Blog at https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/.
University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class.
The Garden Thyme Podcast is brought to you by the University of Maryland Extension. Hosts are Mikaela Boley- Senior Agent Associate (Talbot County) for Horticulture, Rachel Rhodes- Agent Associate for Horticulture (Queen Anne's County), and Emily Zobel-Senior Agent Associate for Agriculture (Dorchester County).
Theme Song: By Jason Inc
Garden Thyme Podcast Transcript: S4:E06 Ants and Termites (July 2023)
Note: The Garden Thyme Podcast is produced for the ear and is designed to be heard. If you are able, we strongly encourage you to listen to the audio, which includes emotion and emphasis that's not on the page. Transcripts are generated using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain errors.
:Up Beat Music:
Mikaela
Hello, listener. Welcome to the University of Maryland Extension presents, the Garden Thyme Podcast, where we talk about getting down and dirty in your garden. We're your hosts. I'm Mikaela.
Rachel
I'm Rachel.
Emily
And I'm Emily.
Mikaela
And in this month's episode, we're talking about two common household pests ants and termites.
:Up Beat Music:
Mikaela
So there are several types of insects that can make their way into our homes. And while some of them are nuisance pests, others can cause some serious damage to our homes. So today we're going to focus on two common household pests that sometimes get mistaken for each other ants and termites. So both of these insects live in social colonies, and the adult reproductive form can look very similar to each other. But there are a few ways to tell them apart. Having a hand lens or some way to kind of magnify these insects because they are indeed small, will help make these characteristics more apparent. So ants have what we call elbowed antennae, and just like that suggests it looks like a bent arm. And they also have a very narrow constricted waist that consists of one or two small segments. Termites, on the other hand, have straight antennae. They do not have a bend at all and do not have this pinched waist. So they have no hourglass figure. They are straight waisted. And we're also going to talk about a few other ways to tell them apart because there are many different kinds of forms of both of these insects, both winged and not winged.
Rachel
Hey, let's go down Rachel's rabbit hole of fun. Ant facts. Ants have been on Earth since the middle of the Cretaceous period, which means they survived mass extinction of 65 million years ago that eliminated the dinosaurs.
Emily
They are old.
Rachel
There are approximately 14,000 different known species of ants, with the possibility of thousands of more species yet to be discovered. And they cover almost the entire terrestrial surface of the Earth, including the Arctic Circle. They are beneficial to the garden and our ecological systems. They are predators, and they help with soil health. They're decomposers, and they help disperse seeds to new areas. There are several species of ants that commonly find their way into our homes, from carpenter ants and Pharaoh ants to odorous ants and acrobat ants and even field ants. For our southern state neighbors, be aware that fire ants are a serious issue, but we will not be covering this topic since we have so much to cover today. We highly recommend that you look into your local or state extension for more information about identifying fire ants and how to control them. They can be discovered periodically in Maryland that come up on plant or materials from the south. If you think you have fire ants, reach out to your local extension or pest control company to have them ID of these ant species that are commonly found in Maryland. The carpenter ants are the biggest issue since they can cause structural damage by tunneling into wood to lay their nest and to lay eggs.
Rachel
The existence of a carpenter ant colony inside a structure is usually the most important sign that there's been a water problem. Most other ants wander into the house in search of food and become a nuisance. They enter our homes when we have extremely dry conditions or extremely wet conditions and you can even find some nests of ants in your lawn. But fortunately, they do not feed or injure our grass and their presence can be slightly annoying.
Emily
Ants are social insects that live in a complex society. They do undergo complete metamorphosis. So you're going to have larvae, pupae and adult ants all living in a colony together. Within ant colonies. Similar to honeybees and wasps, they will have adults that will care for those young or those larvae ants. You oftentimes have two or more generations of adults in the same nest at the same time. And there is a division of labor specifically between numerous non reproductive workers providing food and quality of life for the reproductive or royal workers. Within ant colonies, you're going to have three distinct groups. So you're going to have the queen, which is the reproductive females. You're going to have males and you're going to have workers in ant colonies. The majority of your workers are all going to be female. Almost all of the adults will emerge as sterile wingless females. These workers set about doing all the manual labor for the colony. So they're cleaning and enlarging the nest. They're foraging for food, they're feeding and caring for this larvae and they are defending the nest against invaders.
Emily
When the colony is well established and sufficiently vigorous reproductive adults will be created. These sexually developed winged males and females are called swarmers. Nests and colonies can be located just about anywhere. They do not necessarily all nest in ground. Oftentimes, ants can seek crevices or under other objects like logs, baseboards or areas where there's decomposing or moist damaged wood. Adult winged males and females will leave the nest and swarm. During the swarming period, males will seek out females to mate. The mating occurs in midair. Sadly, the males die soon after mating as we've seen in a few other insects colonies. Males are particularly there to donate genetic material soon after mating. The female will then fly around until she can find a crevice or some other place to establish her colony. She'll then remove her wings and then form a small cell where she'll start to lay some eggs. These will be early workers. She'll then tend to and care for these legless grubs or workers until they pupate. Once they pupate, they'll emerge as workers. They'll then take over tasks of enlarging the nest forging for food and so forth. And her sole purpose, just like in a honeybee hive will be reproductive, so it'll just be laying eggs. Queens have been known to live as long as 20 years, and adult workers may live for weeks or for over a year.
Mikaela
So there are a wide range of techniques that can be used to employ while trying to control ant population. I think sanitation is the most important step, especially to avoid attracting ants into a home. Families with small children, best of luck to you. It was nice knowing you. Just kidding. So you want to store human and pet foods that are attractive to ants in insect proof containers. So these would be sealable containers like glass jars, plastic containers, something with an airtight lid, and you also want to clean all kitchen surfaces regularly to help remove any of that food residue. Again, we understand how that can be really difficult to do sometimes, but those sugary kind of materials or food particles that get left in the kitchen definitely are more attractive to these kinds of ant species. If you can seal cracks that ants are using to enter the home because of their small size, this isn't always a practical approach, but it is definitely one of those things in your arsenal that you can use to help combat them. Sticky barriers or water moats containing soapy water that prevents ants from reaching plants and other items.
Mikaela
This is also another technique you can use, although mostly outside in that regard. You can also remove debris that encourage ant nesting. So piles of sticks, tree stumps, thick mulch, another incentive not to have too thick mulch leaf litter next year buildings. And I have often found that plants that stay in pots for too long are really prime locations for ants to help build nests in. So getting those plants in the ground, it's always do as I say, not as I do, because obviously I have not planted all my stuff this year. So the most effective way, though, to control ants that are inside your home is by using baits. So it's a bait system. Workers feed on this bait and take it back to the nest, where they share it with the rest of the colony. Baits are delivered into inaccessible areas that insecticide sprays can't reach, so while it's fine to wipe them off the counter, and certainly that's another technique you can use that doesn't necessarily help you address the core of the issue, which is that there is a colony that is coming in and out of the house. So ant baits act very slowly, and it may take several days to several weeks, even months sometimes, to eliminate a colony, depending on the size and how bad it is.
Mikaela
It is not advisable, however, to create your own ant bait or pesticide, especially when this kinds of advice comes from our favorite social media posts on Facebook. So that's just another friendly reminder to go professional. Use something that is rated for this kind of use. Ant baits sold in stores for home use are generally labeled for common household ants. And it's really important to pay attention to whatever pesticide or whatever it is that you're using is rated for where you plan to use it. So don't use an outdoor ant spray inside of the house. There's a reason that's meant for be outdoors, so different species of ants will not be equally attracted to all baits. Do not spray an insecticide when you are using the bait because it interferes with the process that the bait needs, because the ability of the ants to bring that bait back to the nest is what it needs to do to address the core of the issue. The insecticide just kills what is visibly apparent in front of you. And make sure to place baits where foraging workers are active. Now, these ants sometimes lay down pheromone trails that they can use as a signal for the ants behind them.
Mikaela
This is the trail. This is the way to food. So you want to make sure that you're hitting those locations where you see the ants using a trail, setting it 2ft away from where you see the line of ants marching through your kitchen might not be enough to actually attract them to the bait. Is that right, Emily?
Emily
Yes. Ideally, you want to put bait, in places like corners or areas where you'd see them wandering because, it doesn't do you any good to put bait in, like, the middle if they're not there.
Mikaela
And let me tell you something. If I ever redo the kitchen in my house, I have a black countertop, because you can't see the ants and you can't see food residues. So it's really bad for ant control anyway. So don't have a black countertop.
Rachel
Oh, my gosh. I didn't even think of that.
Mikaela
Oh, it's awful. And it's like a speckled black, so that's even worse. It really obscures spills and stuff, but it's awful for spotting ants.
Rachel
It's the perfect ant camouflage, they're probably like, yeah, this is our kitchen.
Mikaela
So there are several methods that are not effective to get rid of ants, and we often see people either recommend them or try to employ them. So flooding nests with water is not an effective way. Pouring gasoline into a nest is not only dangerous, but it can also cause environmental pollution. Studies have also shown that using spearmint gum, red pepper, orange peel, cinnamon, a lot of these other herbs and essential oils, they are not really effective. In the long term, they may temporarily provide reprieve or repellent, but ultimately, they would either need to be reapplied, or in the long term, they just aren't as effective. And certain types of ants can be more challenging to control than others. And if ants continue to be a problem after control efforts have been employed, consider consulting a pest management professional who can at least maybe help you get down to the issue or the location that these ants are entering into the house.
Emily
All right. Termites.
Rachel
I think this is one of the most dread calls that we get is when a client calls and they automatically think that they have termites.
Emily
I think the only thing worse is bedbugs.
Rachel
Yeah, bedbugs are right up there with termites.
Rachel
So termites are native to Maryland and are subterranean. Apart from the Hymenoptera bees ants and wasps termites are the only insect that like to live in social groups. But they are not closely related because they undergo incomplete metamorphosis. So they don't have a pupa stage. In fact, unlike the bees and ants even the young termite nymphs are active in running the termite community.
Emily
No freeloading babies in termite colonies man.
Rachel
The structure of a mature termite colony is complex and termites have a caste system with kings and queens and workers and soldiers. Is this medieval times Emily?
Emily
It could be.
Rachel
So the king and the queen are responsible for reproducing. And while social ants, bees and walls have a queen termites have both a king and a queen. And they begin life with two pairs of long wings which are a similar size. And the wings are delicate and last long enough for the king and queen to fly to find each other and establish a nest. Sounds like Shakespearean drama. The king plays a continuous part mating with a queen at regular intervals whereas in Hymenoptera, the male dies shortly after mating. The queen can have a huge egg filled abdomen up to 10 CM long in some species and lay thousands of eggs each week. But what would happen if the king or the queen died? Dun, dun dun. Among the workers, there are wingless stand in kings and queens. And this is because, unlike bees and wasps and ants in which the workers are always sterile females termite workers can be both male or female. They can step in and take over if anything should happen to the king or queen. Little stand ins like they're off in the wing just waiting for the king and queen to die. I'm telling you, this is like Shakespearean drama potentially could happen.
Emily
Haa, forget The Bee Movie or Antz or any of that. They should have done a Game of Thrones styled termite movie.
Rachel
Termite tutors?
Emily
Termite tutors. I like it.
Rachel
So do I. That would be awesome.
Rachel
The king and the queen are found in chambers in the wood or underground and they concentrate their efforts on egg production. And they are fed, intended to by an entourage of workers. What's the 1800 show? Their queen has her ladies in waiting.
Emily
This is the new Queen Charlotte like Bridgerton series.
Rachel
Yeah. Hello.
Emily
Imagine it, but with like termites instead. I'm sorry listeners, if anyone's still listening to this.
All Laugh
Rachel
Periodically mature termite colonies produce a brood of winged reproductive offspring called swarmers. These winged termites fly in large numbers to disperse and initiate new colonies. Flights of termite piles of shed wings are often the first sign to a homeowner of an infestation. These swarmers are not a danger to structures and most die of dehydration as they fly and they indicate a healthy termite colony nearby and that the problem should be investigated especially if swarmers are found indoors.
Mikaela
So let me get this straight. The winged insect group themselves may not be something to be concerned about but it is a bad sign that there is something nearby you should be worried about? Precisely because I think that's often the only time people see termites is when they're in the winged form because that's when they make it overground and they're a little bit more obvious and in your face.
Rachel
Yeah, We get most of the calls like the end of May, beginning of June when the swarms are actively happening.
Emily
Yeah. And again, termites comparative to ants are subterranean. So all the workers live underground and normally they're tunneling through wood anyway. So you're very rarely seeing workers unless you're outside like digging in your yard or in mulch or someplace where the colony is living. You're not going to typically find the workers or the soldiers in your house the way forging ants are because they're forging underground. Because the species we have here in Maryland are subterranean ones. So the workers in general are about a fourth of an inch long and they're cream in color and oftentimes eyeless because, again, they're subterranean. They live underground. They don't need coloration and eyes and all that. They navigate and perform all of their carrying duties. So the division of labor, the feeding, the building, the nest, the tending, the young all that is done through tactile so touch or through pheromone or chemical communications. Termite workers will eat wood. Some of them will carry food back for the immature as well as the reproductive stages and they'll maintain a network of food transfer and communication among the colony members. Now, the soldiers are a little bit more unique. They are going to be slightly larger and they're going to have a large head.
Emily
In most species with large mandibles they only make up about 5% of the colony and their job is to guard and defend both the colony nest itself as well as those workers that are out foraging. They typically are also cream colored or colorless because, again, they're subterranean so they're not actually going out and being exposed to sunlight either versus the swarming termites are.
Mikaela
Now, the swarming termites or the winged ones can be dark in color.
Emily
Yeah, those are typically dark brown to black and color
Rachel
And that's why people get them.So confused with ants?
Mikaela
Yeah, they do.
Emily
Now, just like ants had some ecological benefits, termites, also out in nature, do have a lot of benefits. They do a lot of the similar things. They help aerate the soil, they help break down wood. They're high in protein for other animals. So they do serve a purpose out in nature. It's just when they start encroaching into our homes that we get a little upset. I think we always get a lot of calls about people concerned about them because particularly if they damage those foundation wood, which is the stuff that's touching the soil, that's costly to repair.
Mikaela
So how do you detect termite activity and damage? Even very active infestations can be really difficult to detect because just like the habits we described, they're subterranean. So a lot of those cryptic habits are underground. But they do tunnel inside wood, leaving an outer shell that might appear completely normal unless you're starting to see holes or the wood is fragile. So if you notice any of the following in your house, call a pest control operator for a professional inspection. So things like dirt tunnels or shelter tubes, these are typically about a quarter inch wide. Sometimes they can be wider on foundation along exposed wood or dangling down from the ceiling. These are transit tubes built by termites, and they will be made up of either dirt or wood particles so they'll appear brown in color. You want soil packed in cracks and crevices. The piles of silvery insect wings, all about a quarter inch long, is a pretty good indicator on floors and windowsills. Like I said, that's usually from the swarmers. But again, it's an indication that there might be a bigger issue nearby. And then any evidence of structural weakness, settling cracks, sagging floors, wood starting to fall apart.
Mikaela
Now, wood does naturally fall apart over time, it does decompose. But looking for those tunnels, combined with all these other signs, that might be a good indication that you should have an inspection done. Any dark or blistered areas on wood palleling, peeling paint on wood usually is an indication that there is moisture under the paint from perhaps termite activity. So it doesn't hurt to do a little bit more investigation, do a little bit of digging, no pun intended. You can also always look for if there are active insects crawling around and to get a sample of those. And that is usually very helpful to have if you can find somebody to identify them or to give them to a pest control company to properly identify. So if you do have an active termite infestation, do not panic. In order to cause serious structural damage, the termites must be working for a very long time. So it can take weeks or even months to evaluate the problem and come up with a treatment plan. And a key element for any inspector is to determine where the termites are gaining access to the house. Usually they need soil to wood contact directly.
Mikaela
So if you have a foundation or some kind of poured concrete, they need a way to get to the wood from the ground. So this knowledge can help in planning a treatment program and making structural or landscape modifications to help prevent future issues or future infestations.
Emily
So if you're seeing potential signs of termite damage around your home, the next thing that you're going to want to do is consult with a pest control company about possible treatment options. Now, when looking for pest control companies and potentially hearing options for control methods, it's important to shop around to find a pest control company that will work with you the same way you would look for a doctor or another service provider. You can begin by getting recommendations from friends and neighbors. Most companies are going to provide you with a free estimate where they can discuss potential treatment plans and costs. You're going to want to compare these different treatment programs to figure out which one is right for you. There are several different pesticides that are registered for termite control and they'll oftentimes use different combinations or formulations that can vary between companies. A company should fully disclose to you on which type of chemicals or which chemical they are using as well as any safety protocols that should be used in consideration when using this. If you live in the state of Maryland, you can consider checking the Maryland Pest Control Association or the National Pest Control Association to see whether or not that company is licensed and properly as well as you can also look at their rating at the Better Business Bureau before using them to make sure that are respectable.
Emily
All pest control companies have to have an active certified license with the Maryland Department of Agriculture in order to use restricted use chemicals. It's worth noting that just like termites take time in order to infiltrate your home and cause damage, it also takes time to solve termite damage or to ridge your house of termites. This is not going to be one of those things where someone's going to be able to come and apply one chemical one time and get rid of the problem. Most termites in order to get them under control is going to be a year long, if not a multi year process. Termites in general are difficult because they are subterranean. So the best company will do a good job. Even the best company will not be able to do it in a one and done. So you need to plan for kind of a more long term control method for them. I know that one question we oftentimes get, particularly with people who are moving to the shore or moving into Maryland, is that when they buy a home, should they get it inspected for termites. And normally I generally recommend that to include it with their home inspection when inspecting the home, or if not, to have someone come out and check for termites right after they've purchased the home.
Emily
Better to know early on whether or not you have it. And even then, sometimes with some companies, they can set up either yearly inspections or every few years, they can come out and check for them.
:Birds Chirping: " It;s the Native PLant of the Month with Mikaela" :Birds Chirping:
Emily
Okay, Mikaela, are you ready for our native plant of the month?
Mikaela
Yeah. Since I figured we were kind of doing deep dives on ants and termite culture this month, I tried to sort of relate it to what we were talking about. So my native plant of the month is wild mint. And as far as I can tell, it's probably not the only native mint to the US. But it is definitely the most widespread, probably the most common, aside from the commercial mints that we're used to seeing. So this is Mentha Arvensis. So wild mint is one of those few native mint species that has a very wide growing range across the continental US. Here in Maryland, you will see it most often in the Piedmont or in the western half of the state, and it favors full sun to part shade in moist soils, thickets, and in wet meadows. So I don't see why it wouldn't be a good candidate for growing out here on the Eastern Shore. But either way, wild mint produces clusters of these small purple flowers in a ball like shape, and all of those flowers are around nodes along the plant stem. So it's not just the top of the plant where you see the flower.
Mikaela
You can see the flowers all along the stem. It's a very unique looking plant. It's very cool. Honestly, this plant wasn't even on my radar until I started doing more digging into plants that might repel ant or termite activity. There's a lot of myth about using peppermint oils and things like that to repel insects. So while I cannot advocate for this plant as a control method for any serious insect activity, there's still a lot of evidence supporting the use of menthol, which is the oil derived from mint plants, as a repellent to pests because of the strong odor. There's also some kind of cool evidence that it does repel mosquitoes to a degree as well. So the same can be said for browsing by larger animals. But fun fact, like many of our cultivated mints, the leaves can also be used in culinary applications, as long as you identify the plant properly, of course, which is always my caveat to eating plants. So while this all sounds great and I do love mints, but much like many other plants in the mint family, it also supports beneficial insect activity, including a few number of pollinators.
Mikaela
It's not as strong of a mint as menarda or some of the other things in terms of pollinator activity, but it still has a very positive correlation. Now, I don't have any experience with this plant, but from what I have gleaned is that anyone planting mint should be aware of the tendency for these plants to be aggressive and to overwhelm small garden spaces. So plant with a grain of salt. Be cautious where you put this, but honestly, I think this plant is going to go on my list for something I'm going to hunt for and put into, like, a wet meadow where it can be allowed to run rampant.
Rachel
That plant sounds amazing.
Emily
Nice.
Mikaela
You guys got to Google it. The flowers are really neat. It looks a lot like mountain mint, except that the flowers are all along the stem, so it looks like a Dr. Seuss-y kind of plant. It's neat.
Rachel
Oh, it is beautiful.
Emily
This is one that I'm going to have to go buy, like another big pot in order to put in well.
Mikaela
Yeah, I was going to say contains space. Right? And honestly, I don't think I've ever seen it on the Eastern Shore. But according to Maryland's Biodiversity Project, it has been spotted, I think, in Kent and Queen Annes County.
Emily
It's neat with the little flower clusters going all the way up.
Mikaela
Very cute. That's a very distinguishing feature. There's not a lot of other plants that do that.
Rachel
It's beautiful.
Mikaela
It's cool. I would put it in a wet meadow for sure.
:Buzzing nosie: "It's the Bug of the Month with Emily" : buzzing nosie:
Emily
So this month's bug of the month is the Golden-backed Snipe Fly. The Snipe flies tend to be a larger families with really long legs compared to their body sizes, but they have really nice round heads and a little tapered abdomen. This particular species is known for having smoky wings with dark veins that are translucent. But the most distinct feature is the one that gives it its name, which is the brilliant gold hairs that are along the top of the thorax. So that's that middle segment in an insect. One of the other. Distinguishing features from this from other species is that it has these little light strips along the edges of its abdomen, so the back segment. However, sometimes that's not seen when the flies at rest because of the way its wings are, and those are interrupted, so they don't wrap all the way around the body. So it almost looks like it's got white dots along the side, but they actually go underneath it. As with most insects, the female of the species is a little bit larger, a little bit more robust. This insect will be about ten to 12 mm in length.
Emily
You can find this insect throughout eastern North America, but it's oftentimes observed resting on low vegetation in kind of shade areas or woodland areas. Typically, you tend to see them late May through early June here in the mid Atlantic area, depending on where you are. A lot of times people will continue to see them through July, but by the beginning of August, they tend to kind of die out. So this is like a late spring through summer insect that you're oftentimes to see. We don't actually know a lot about their life cycle in particular, but most flies that are in the same family are known to have their larvae developing in kind of those moist soils or rotten wood, and they would have maggots for larvae because they're a type of fly. So little legless, like wiggly worms, adult Snipe flies are typically predatorial on other insects, so these guys are considered beneficial in that way. But unlike mosquitoes, these guys don't feed on human or mammal blood. So these are beneficial ones. I think they're super cute and they're just like a bright bit of color in your garden. So, yeah, a very short bug of the month, since most of the rest of the episode was very insect heavy.
Mikaela
No, it's a very cool bug.
Rachel
I love finding these. It's one of my favorite mid-May finds and I've seen a lot of them this year, like a lot more than normal.
Mikaela
It's been a booster year of these, I think, because I've noticed a lot more and I've never seen them on my property before.
Rachel
And maybe it has something to do with our winter because it was a really mild winter. Maybe it's been a drier spring slash summer as well.
Mikaela
You would think flies would prefer, like, a moisture spring, but yeah, that's true.
:Horns: " Get your Garden Tip of the Month here with Rachel" :Horns:
Rachel
All right, so if you haven't noticed or been outside, we are in the midst of a hot, dry summer, and it can do significant damage to our plants and our garden. So here are some tips to help you manage your plants during this hot weather. So, drought is a really big issue because it can lead to temporary or permanent plant damage. Symptoms and consequences of droughts in our plants include wilting or leaf scorch, reduced vegetable and fruit harvest, premature fall color, and even some early defoliation. So drought stress plants are even more susceptible to plants and diseases. So for gardeners, the first symptom of water stress in plants is usually wilting, and additional symptoms can be upward curling or rolling leaves. We can also see some yellowing or browning of leaves, particularly around the leaf margin and on the tips. Or you might see some undersized or off colored fruits or vegetables. You might even notice limited shoot growth. Sometimes you'll see flowers dropping or immature fruit drop, and you might even see some fluorosis of the foliage so that's yellowing between the leaf veins. A more severe symptom or sign of drought stress is increased damage by insect or an increased susceptibility to plant diseases.
Rachel
Blossom end rot in our tomatoes, our peppers, our squash and melons, and then long term would be diminished winter hardiness or die back of the branch tips and young growth. So what do we do to mitigate this? What do we do to kind of help our plants get through our hot, dry summer? Wet the soil around the plant base. Avoid overhead watering, so we don't have an increase in disease, which is going to stress your plant out even more. And we're going to use some soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems. If you planted a new tree or shrub or perennial this spring, you want to make sure that you're checking on that plant every week and that you're doing a really thorough watering. So you're going to make sure that you're watering like a good six to eight inches down deep to encourage that deep root growth. If you're watering short intervals frequently, you're going to have a plant that doesn't have a really deep root system and that they're going to have just an inability to make it through our winter because their roots are not going to be really close to the surface.
Rachel
And the University of Maryland Extension has a really great page for watering your trees and shrubs that I would highly recommend everyone go check out. So that's the drought stress tips. I do have some tips for your vegetable gardens. If you're harvesting your onions, you want to wait until the tops dry back. They've probably already dried back because it's so dry outside. You want to let them dry in the garden after you dig them up. And then you tie the stems together and you hang them up in your garage or your attic, somewhere where you have really good air circulation. And you want to store your onions in a cool, dry place. If you're digging up your garlic, you want to do that when the tops are yellow and they're nice and dry like onions. You're going to let them dry in the sun and then store them in an airy place before braiding. And these are ones that I would recommend storing in a mesh bag and then hanging up in a dry place. My favorite summer insect should be out and active, and that's the tomato hornworm I like to call him the from monster to Mall.
Emily
I thought you were going to say squash bug.
Mikaela
That's right.
Emily
I have two hornworm pupae in a cup at my house. Because when I was planting my sweet potatoes, I had the leftover potting soil that my tomatoes were in last year. And as I was sorting through it, I found them and I was like, oh, I've got hornworm pupae.
Rachel
Oh my God, that's so cool.
Emily
Hopefully I can hatch them out to moths. We'll see if they survive or not.
Rachel
I thought about ordering some online. I know, that's horrible.
Emily
You can get them at PetSmart to feed them to lizards. I get them every time I need kids. I need bugs for kids activities. But anyways so Rachels favorite insect the hornworm is out.
Rachel
We digress it's out and it has about a three week lifespan. And these caterpillars can gain more than 1000 times their weight in three weeks. So they go from this little tiny little caterpillar to this six inch huge monster. And he's bright green and they're so fun and they're great when you're in a classroom, like Emily said, and you need something fun for children to look at. But us as gardeners sometimes get really upset when we see them because they can really defoliate a tomato plant. But I kind of just leave them alone. And I have a trap crop of tomatoes that I just put them on and then let them live out their life cycle because they're just a fun little caterpillar to have around.
Emily
I feel like typically by the time we find them, it's when they're like the three or four inches and by that point, they've already eaten a lot of your plants.
Rachel
Yeah. If you really want to go out and hunt with them, you can find some YouTube videos that show you how to convert your cell phone into a black light camera. And you can go hunt for them at night because they're going to biolumines because of those white lines. Cool. Yeah. Or you could just buy a black light camera online or flashlight online and try to find them that way. And the eggs will light up and so will like, the tiny, tiny caterpillars. If you want to scout in the middle of the night.
Emily
I feel like this is another good one that really commonly gets parasitized. So if you find the parasitized ones, leave those be as well.
Rachel
Yes, because you're just going to have a lot of little parasitic wasps that are beneficial insects for your vegetable garden and we like to have those around. And parasitic wasps are not going to sting you. They're not dangerous. They're very tiny and they're a great bug to have in your garden to help you combat those bad bugs that you don't want. So squash vine borer larvae are out and they're feeding inside of your squash and pumpkin stems. If the leaves are wilting, or if you see holes in the lower stems or sawdust like frass that's bug poop coming out of the holes. You can take a little razor blade and slit above the hole with a razor and try to remove the larvae. But at this point, if you're seeing squash vine bore damage, I usually just rip it out and then put the squash plant in a black trash bag and let it bake in the sun for a little bit and just get rid of it. I kind of feel like squash is one of those that are easy to start again because the seeds germinate so quickly. I would not recommend putting those bent, wilted plants in your compost bin, because the larvae are just going to sit there and continue to feed on the material, and then they're going to be in your compost bin and you're going to get another hatch of squash vine borer.
Rachel
And as Emily mentioned, my other favorite garden insect is out that's squash bug. And you're going to see these little copper eggs along the stem or underside of your squash leaves. If you have a really heavy presence, you're going to find squash bug eggs everywhere. They don't care where they lay their eggs. They'll lay them on the side of your raised beds. They'll lay them on your weed fabric. They have no care in the world. They can set their young free wherever they want. So the eggs hatch in about ten days and the nymphs mature in about four to six weeks. And both adults and the nymphs will hide under leaves. And then when they're disturbed, they kind of scatter like cockroaches and they're completely and utterly disgusting. Yeah, that's about it for July, I think.
Emily
Awesome. Tell us how you really feel about squash bugs, Rachel.
Rachel
I think anyone that's listened to this podcast for the last three years know that I cannot stand these things.
Mikaela
We don't have any strong feelings, you guys.
Emily
No strong feelings.
Mikaela
None whatsoever.
Rachel
They're right up there with boxwoods for me.
Mikaela
Just burn them with fire.
Rachel
Yeah, burn them with fire. It will be fine.
Mikaela
No, we are not recommending fire as a control method for either.
Emily
Maybe for boxwoods. But not for insects.
Rachel
No, definitely not.
Emily
Okay. Well, thanks, Rachel. Those were some great tips.
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Emily
Well, that's all we have for this episode, listener. We hope you enjoyed it. And we'll tune in next month for more gardening tips. If you have any garden related questions, please email us at umegardenpodcast@gmail.com or look us up on Facebook at gardenthymepodcast. That's garden. T-H-Y-M-E for more information about University of Maryland Extension and these topics, please check out the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center website at go.Umd.edu/HGIC. Thanks for listening and have fun getting down and dirty in your garden.
Good Bye.
Mikaela
The Garden Thyme Podcast is brought to you by the University of Maryland Extension. Hosts are Mikaela Boley- Senior Agent Associate (Talbot County) for Horticulture, Rachel Rhodes- Agent Associate for Horticulture (Queen Anne's County), and Emily Zobel-Senior Agent Associate for Agriculture (Dorchester County).
Emily
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Rachel
There are several species of ants that are commonly find our way. Sorry, my siri watch just joke about ants. Maybe we just let siri do it. Can you talk about ants today.