New house, new bugs, and an apple tree... I need som help

[Tog]

Two weeks ago, we moved into a tiny little house of our own. This has given us a few things that we've never had to deal with before. At least, not directly.

First, we have two trees in the back yard. An apple tree and a box elder tree.

What do we have to do to get viable apples from the tree? By that I mean, bug free. The ones that it dropped last year are a good size, and look to be yellow with a hint of red, and sort of round as opposed to the shape of a Red Delicious. I'm hoping they are Fuji.

Short of nuking the whole site from orbit, is there anything we can do to eliminate or minimize the box elder bug population?

The back yard will be in shade most of the summer, but the front yard will have direct sunlight from noon on. When would be the best time to water and mow the lawn? Right now, it's looking pretty grim.

[mugaliens]

Amazingly! Typing in "how to nutralize a box elder bug population" yielded tremendous results: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=...e8282151d3029e

And in particular, this.

Did you try this approach?

[Tog]

I did, actually. I got a number of pages that all said basically that exact same thing. Rip out the trees. Since ours is not the only such tree in the immediate area, I didn't see that as a viable option. Also, I'm not sure how to tell if out tree is male or female. I didn't even know tree could be male OR female. I always thought they were both.

As for control that doesn't involve tearing out trees, the only other options I find are Spray with soapy water and "Consult an expert". Knowing that there was at least one entomologist as a member, and probably wouldn't charge me an 85 dollar service fee to come out to the house and say "rip out that tree", I was hoping that I might get an option that didn't appear on the pages that pop up in a basic search.

BTW, I have similar issues with the lawn care and apple questions. A lot of conflicting information or people trying to sell me stuff.

[Ronald Brak]

Water the lawn? Wow. That really takes me back. My parents had an actual device for spreading water on the lawn. It was called a sprinkler.

As for mowing the lawn, all I recommend is mow after the sun has had a chance to dry it out. Mowing damp grass can be twice the work. But don't water it. That will just make it grow again.

[Tog]

What I meant was that I have heard a number of different strategies for when is best to do those things. Some say to water it in the morning, before it can evaporate, while others say it's best to do it while the sun it full on it. The places I've lived before had the sprinklers on timers that came on in the middle of the night.

The same issues about mowing. I've heard that mowing in direct sunlight can dry out a lawn and make it require more water, while other sources say the exact opposite, that you want to cut it in the afternoon to let it dry a bit, then put water on it in the evening so it can soak it in faster and then sit all night.

I realize these are silly questions, but up until last week, the only thing I had to know about the lawn was not to be on it at 3 AM when the sprinklers kicked on.

[swampyankee]

Automatic sprinklers are silly, especially when they're on during rain storms If you don't get enough rain to keep a lawn happy, it's either been planted with the wrong kind of grass or it's in a desert, and just shouldn't be there.

As for mowing? I've always wanted to get a few goats, but my wife (definitely) and neighbors (probably) would complain

For the apple tree issues? See if there are any organic orchards in your area.

[rommel543]

If you are getting hot weather, then yes the best time to mow the lawn is late afternoon. When you cut the lawn you are exposing the moisture in the the grass so it will evaporate in the hot sun. Cutting it in the late afternoon helps avoid that (and it's not as hot for you as well). As for watering the lawn, early evening. If you water in the morning or afternoon you will be loosing a lot to evaporation.

Also the best thing to keep the weeds away is to over seed your lawn. I thatch rake my lawn in the spring (or now that my kids are old enough they do it) then spread a large bag of seed over it. I spread another bag in late summer. The thickness of the grass helps keep the moisture in the soil also because the young grass is so fast growing and nutrient hungry it chokes out any weeds coming up. And as a reward you get a great looking lawn with less maintenance, cost and in the summer it is more drought resistant.

[Fazor]

In the summer I won't mow during the day if it's really hot. I don't know if it matters, but if nothing else, it keeps me from killing myself by mowing outside when it's really hot. I keep the grass a little taller when it's hot and dry; I've heard that mowing it too low in those conditions can be bad for it. True? I don't know. It's always worked for me. Not that I have a trophy lawn. I have a "just barely good enough to keep the city off my back" lawn. The grass quality is okay, it's the fact that I hate to weed and only use the weed-whacker about every-other week. Which would be fine, if our weeds didn't grow to a few feet in what seems like 4 days. Stupid fence.

[HenrikOlsen]

BTW, I have similar issues with the lawn care and apple questions. A lot of conflicting information or people trying to sell me stuff.

What's the questions about apples?

If it's about pruning, Kipling's "nine and sixty ways" apply, but it would help if you noticed if the apples were at the ends of the branches or near the base, since that absolutely determines which set of pruning styles apply.
One set will prune all branches to various lengths(determined by style) every year in order to divert energy from growing branches to making apples but if the variety is one that carries at the ends, it would have no apples if pruned that way because there'd be no new ends; the other set is about encouraging new young branches in order to have many carrying ends, but if the variety is one that carries near the base, too much energy is used so make branches to it'll have fewer apples.

If it's about bugs, I expect it depends a lot on which bugs.
Here, the most common problem for apples is the Codling Moths(Cydia pomonella) that can be handled without spraying toxins by using a sticky trap with female sex pheromone bait, this traps many of the males and confuse the rest so they can't find mates. That way the females don't have any eggs to lay in the apple flowers and they won't get wormy.

[chrissy]

For the grass problem Rommel543 said it best, water the grass on an evening, especially when the sun is not too hot otherwise it scorches the lawn and I would suggest airating it with a garden fork once in a while.
As for types of apples, I found this: About apples, it might be useful.

The adult Box Elder bugs sometimes eat fruit and go into homes to winter. You will need to repair things around the home outside as well as inside, vents and cracks. 2 tblspns of natural soap and a gallon of water and spray, it can be used inside the home too but this might cause some staining to furniture etc.
Get rid of the female.
Oh! are you sure it is box elder and not a milk weed bug? Milk weed bug is on the right btw.

[ABR.]

Hi Tog,

chrissy asked me to look in on your thread to see if I had anything to add about the bug issues. I think between mugaliens, chrissy and Henrik, you've gotten some good information. The only things I might add are these. For many of your questions on fruit trees, the box elder tree and any pests you might be experiencing, your local county extension agent is a good source of information. Here is a list for your area.

As for the box elder bug situation, I saw this link within one of those that mugaliens gave. It goes into detail about the relative harmlessness of the box elder bug. It also gives details on distinguishing male from female box elder trees.

On campus here, we have a pretty large box elder bug population. Other than finding them in the buildings during the Fall/Winter, I haven't see any harm done. To have any hope of identifying any pests that might be hitting your apple tree, I'd have to see specimens. Your county extension agent will be able to sight identify or probably even identify by verbal description.

Good luck on the new home and I hope your apples are delicious no matter the color or variety.

[Ronald Brak]

I think you could try to pass a law banning the watering of lawns. If no one's allowed to water their lawn, everybody's lawn goes a nice yellow brown colour when it's dry and stops growing so much and everyone can spend less time mowing the lawn. It's win win!

[swampyankee]

I think you could try to pass a law banning the watering of lawns. If no one's allowed to water their lawn, everybody's lawn goes a nice yellow brown colour when it's dry and stops growing so much and everyone can spend less time mowing the lawn. It's win win!

Where I live, you've got a chance of having a green (well, greenish) lawn without watering. Most of the time. The way I figure it, if my lawn can't compete with the native plants (aka "weeds"), it's in the wrong place.

[pantaz]

Lawn: I know Rainbird offers a system that tracks rainfall and automatically adjusts the watering schedule.

Bugs: I've always found the best advice from a local gardening center. They are always up to date with regional conditions and problems.

[Tog]

Thanks for the replies.

Okay, lets see. I'd never even thought about calling local orchards. I'm sure there have to be some around. The apple questions were about what we needed to do to bug proof them, and how important it is to get last year's fruit off of the tree. Some are still up there, and rotten, but I can't reach them to knock them down.

Yes, I'm positive they are Box Elder bugs, Yup, I know they are 99% harmless, and if I could train them to not crawl over my face when I sleep, stay out of my food and drinks (they seem to like Coke), and not be everywhere I put my foot, we might be able to negotiate a truce. After all, the spiders are welcome.

Turds on the best time to mow and water. That's when I sleep.

[chrissy]

If they like coke......Yes I am being evil now, make traps for them in the garden, in plastic containers oh! and use cheap coke.

[Jim]

Beer. To trap slugs, you fill a bowl with beer and leave it in the garden. The slugs are attracted to the beer, fall in and can't climb out, and either drown or the alcohol gets them. But, they do die happy 'cause it's beer. Might work for box elder bugs.

As for the grass, mowing it about 2-2.5" is probably optimal. This makes for a thick lawn and provides insulation to reduce water evaporation while still allowing aeration. Use a mulching mower and cut about 1/2" off the top and you don't need to bag. Some thatch is desirable; this acts as mulch/compost for the lawn.

Watering can be done about anytime except during the afternoon or a stiff breeze. You lose to much to evaporation and overspray. Also, try once per week, 1-1.5". Any more can promote fungus growth and/or runoff; any less could cause the roots to stay too shallow.

Or you could do what a former neighbor did. Rip out the grass and lay artificial turf. High initial cost, but no need to water or mow.

[pantaz]

... Some are still up there, and rotten, but I can't reach them to knock them down....

You need a "fruit picker" -- http://www.google.com/products?q=fruit+picker (also called a "fruit harvester")