9/07/08 CONTROLING SOME PESTS AND DISEASES

Sunday, 7:45 AM. 47 degrees, wind SW, light to moderate. The channel is dimpled. The sky is almost cloudless, and the barometer predicts partly cloudy skies. We had a fire in the fireplace last evening, it felt and smelled good. I hope to keep the furnace off for a few weeks yet, but the woodshed needs to be replenished; there is no such thing as a free lunch, or free heat.
Speaking of fires, there have been some obvious sign of fire blight, a bacterial disease affecting members of the rose family, around town. I lost a large branch on the old apple tree, and the damage pictured here is on a mountain ash tree on 9th and Manypenny. The disease affects mainly apples, crabapples, hawthorns and mountain ash, but can attack roses and others in the Rosaceae as well. The symptoms mimic the name, the leaves and branches looking as though scorched in fire, the young branches becoming brittle and the bark sunken. The spores can be spread in many ways, and when diseased material is removed it should be burned, buried or taken far from susceptible plants. Pruning tools must be sterilized with alcohol or bleach after each cut to prevent spreading the disease. Orchardists may use antibiotic sprays but that usually is not practical for the homeowner, and sanitation is the best preventive.
The paper wasp nest pictured has been on the deck all summer and seems to be effective in keeping wasps and hornets away from the environs (wasps have always tried to nest under our eaves and I have had to spray them). These insects are territorial and it is thought that the presence of a nest will keep others away. The summer, paper nests do not contain over wintering larvae or adults, and can be safely kept inside the house. I have always found them decorative, and I am now pretty well convinced of their utility as well. I will look for additional nests this fall and will keep the experiment going next summer.
I have been very busy, and will be so next week, starting with a tree symposium in Ashland tomorrow morning, so today is going to be a day of church and rest and not much else.