As you get ready to start your spring gardening to get your lawn ready for summer, there are some pests lurking about that you’ll need to pay attention to. And they’re not all insects.
As you get ready to start your spring gardening and prepare your lawn for summer, there are some pests lurking about that you’ll need to pay attention to. And they’re not all insects.
“Invasive species are species that have been introduced to a new location,” said Becky Epanchin-Niell, an associate professor and researcher in the University of Maryland’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. “Typically, they either don’t have their predators or they don’t have their diseases that might keep those populations in check.”
The box tree moth, for instance, loves burrowing into boxwood trees. It has only been spotted in Pennsylvania and Delaware so far.
“But it will eventually get here,” Epanchin-Niell said. “The caterpillars will end up eating and destroying the boxwoods.”
Bugs aren’t the only things that can wreak havoc on the ecosystem. There are certain plants, such as vines and wisteria, that destroy vegetation.
“They have that beautifully fragrant, purple flowers that people plant in their yards, but actually end up growing on the trees and choking them out,” Epanchin-Niell said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared April “Invasive Plant, Pest and Disease Awareness Month.”
She advises to not bring home fruit or seeds from an overseas trip. And if you picked up a pet you no longer want, she said to contact your local extension office to find a place for the animal.
“Work to rehome it,” she said. “Figure out what your county might have in terms of helping to rehouse it rather than releasing it out into the wild, where it could end up becoming the next invasive species.”
According to Epanchin-Niell, these are the most harmful things to be watching out for, besides the box tree moth:
- Emerald ash borer: A metallic green beetle that burrows into ash trees to lay its larvae. It often digs into the roots of the tree, eventually killing it.
- Blue catfish: Introduced locally from somewhere else in the U.S. They can grow up to 100 pounds, and they eat everything.
- Common reed: Came from Europe and was used to make thatched roofs. It has displaced native vegetation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
- Vines: Wisteria, kudzu and English ivy. They smell good, but they climb up trees and can choke them.
You can get more information on these species and other agriculture through the U.Md. extension office’s website.
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