By: John Weeks, Ettingers Landscaping, Montoursville PA

Do you have any trees or shrubs that look weak, discolored, partially dead or that just plain don't look healthy? It never ceases to amaze me the number and variety of plants I see in my travels that can be (or worse, could have been) saved if only the condition had been recognized early enough and the proper treatment applied. Many valuable plants are either lost or severely affected due to the owner's inability to recognize various inset symptoms early enough.

Volumes have been written about the many inked problems that can occur. New and sometimes serious pests seem to "come out of the woodwork'' so to speak, each year. There are also many types of controls for these pests ranging from natural predators such as ladybugs, praying mantis and bacterial controls, along with many pesticides available over the counter from lawn, garden and nursery retailers.

Many times proper identification and the most effective treatments are best accomplished by professional licensed applicators. They have more experience and many times have specialized equipment with which to apply their products. Examples of this would be high pressure sprayers, soil injectors and tree injection equipment.

Licensed professionals should have the experience, knowledge and resources to properly identify the pest problem and come up with the best "plant of action'' for each individual case. Such decisions may depend on many favors such as species of plant and pest, stage of activity, time of year, life cycle of pest, weather and type and number of applications required. Beware of applicators that make ''general sprayings" as they may be spraying products not labeled for some plants and pests and not getting the control you expel and are paying for.

On the other hand, many times it may be difficult or impossible for even the best professional applicator to guarantee success. The degree of damage under the bark or in the root system, the overall health of the plant, etc. is sometimes not visible and is an unknown. We sometimes have to make our best educated guess as to the degree of damage and the possible/probable success of our treatment. A judgment must be mode on the chance of success and the cost of treatment versus the plants value.

Sometimes you just have to accept it - my beautiful Birch tree is dead! Now we come to the important part - how you the homeowner can recognize some of the more common pests in our area and the plants they are most commonly associated with.

APHIDS. PSYLLIDS.ADELGIDS
Aphids show up on many plants but most commonly on the leaves and stems of roses, burning bushy spire pine, birch and beech. They can range in color from white, yellow, tan, through green to black. One quick spraying usually knocks out colonies of these pests easily. Psyllids are most commonly seen on boxwoods and cause tile leaves to soup's. Both Aphids and Psyllids usually cause only cosmetic damage. Adelgids, Hemlock Wooly Adelgid in particular are, on the other hand, a serious pest of hemlock trees. They e-'m severely e and kill hemlocks if left untreated. They are recognized as small wooly clumps at the base of the needles and resemble small sleet particles at a distance.

BORERS
Borers are a serious pest and usually cause extensive damage if left untreated. Bronze Birch Borer is probably the most common and recognizable borer in the area. Symptoms are weakening of foliage growth and die back in the upper branches, on down into the trunk, reddish brown stains on the bark and lumpy Arnold on the limbs and trunk. Rhododendron Borer is also quite common and cause die back of the limbs. Look for hollow twigs and limbs and small holes lower on the trunk with sawdust lemming. Other common corers are Dogwood Borer and the Flatheaded Borer found most commonly in apple, crabapple and oaks. The earlier any borer is recognized and treated the better.

SCALE
There are several scale insets common to the area. Elongated Hemlock Scale shows up visually as a pale, white washed look on hemlock needles. Wipe away this white residue from the underside of the needles and small red-brown specks arc visible. These are the adults in their protective waxy coating. Crawlers hatch out from these protected areas and are invisible to the naked eye. They are pale yellow in color and continually hatch from April through November. Multiple speaking through the year to control populations has been the only treatment to date. There is now a promising new systemic control for use on trees too large to spray. Other common scales in our area are Magnolia Scale, Globose Scale on Purple Leaf Plums, Tulip Tree Scale on Tulip Poplars and Azalea Bark Scale. These last several scales are best heated by both coned (spraying) and systemic (injections) applications and are difficult to control. Often there 11 be black "sooty mold'' and sticky "honeydew'' on the trunk, limbs and ground. The presence of bees, flies and ants abraded by the honeydew arc a good indication scale is present.

LACEBUG
Most commonly seen on Azaleas, Piers, Rhododendron and Sycamore, ladybug e appears as a frosty, mottled, tan look on the leaves. The insects are found on the underside of the leaves. Foliage damage is unsightly but the plant |11 return to a healthy dark green appearance following treatment.

SPIDER MITES
Most common on Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Hollies and Arborvitae. They cause a distend fading/discoloration of the foliage and generally require a specific filicide to control. Miticides are different than insecticides.

LEAFMINOR
Birch and Holly are the most common hosts. Damage is a swallowing out'' or tunneling between the top and bottom layers of leaves giving them a tan/yellow look. Generally treatments are made early in the year as a preventative since by the time damage is noticed the insects arc about done feeding.

CATERPILLARS
Includes Tent Caterpillar, FBI Webworm! Gypsy Moth Caterpillar and Mimosa Webworm. Tent Caterpillars and Fall Webworm are easily identified by their silk tent nests while Mimosa Webworm shows up a Browne webby leaf tips on Honey excuse trees. Gypsy Moth Caterpillars are identified by rows of blue and red spots on their backs. They do not build tent nests. They can be very serious pests during periods of heavy infestation. In large trees the best controls are injections for all caterpillars. Spraying or simple removing the insects'' will work on small trees and shrubs.

BARK BEETLES
Most common on Arborvitae, Cypress and Pine. Look for tiny holes in the bark of trunks and stems plus weak colored page foliage. Spraying with a powerful insecticide is usually necessary.

WHITE PINE WEEVIL (and relatives)
Most common in the tops of pines, spruces and fir. Very difficult to control. Repeated sprayings from early April through mid May to kill/repel adults before they lay eggs is the recommended treatment. After c occurs, cut out the damaged top until no holes or larvae arc present under the bark and re-shape top of the tree.

My job focus at Ettingers is the identification and treatment of insect pests and diseases found on our customer's properties.

Many of Ettinger's employees are either certified pesticide applicators or licensed pesticide technicians. Ettingers are fully insured to cover pesticide application. If you suspect there is an insect problem with any of your landscape plants and you would like an evaluation, please give me a call. The investment you have made in your landscaping is significant and is worth protecting.