Tag Archives: crape myrtle bark scale
Scale insect misery loves company
It’s probably true that misery loves company. For the past several years we gardeners in the Dallas area have sadly watched our beautiful crape myrtle trees succumb to a new insect pest. The crape myrtle bark scale is a messy little critter that causes trunks to blacken and plants to drip sticky bug poop. True, it’s small consolation to know that the scale that invaded Texas has now spread to at least six other states and appears to be ready to follow crape myrtle in the U.S. wherever it is… Read More →
Update on new scale pest of crape myrtle
Texans (and many other southerners) love their crape myrtles! And why not? It’s one of the few trees that bear colorful flower displays through much of the summer, come in a variety of stunning colors, is easy to grow, and until now has been relatively pest free. Unfortunately, the pest-free reputation is changing with the advent of a new exotic scale pest. Several years ago I wrote about a new scale pest of crape myrtle. At that time we speculated that it was a newly introduced species of… Read More →
Upcoming webinars on garden and pest control topics
Dr. Mengmeng Gu is Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Horticulture at Texas A&M University and is producing a series of webinars this spring on topics for both professional and amateur gardeners. I think some of these will be of interest to many of the subscribers to Insect Updates. According to Gu, the seminars are “designed to be no longer than 30 minutes and give you a quick insight look at some of the progress, issues, and problems that we are facing today in the green industry.” Earlier this… Read More →