Tag Archives: video

How to treat your crapemyrtle for bark scale

YouTube is both a tremendous waste of time and also one of the best things to happen to DIYers in, like,… forever.  I find myself checking it constantly for instructions on how to do everything, from troubleshooting my computer to making repairs on my car.  So why not a video on how to control crapemyrtle bark scale? What is crapemyrtle bark scale (CMBS)? It’s a small sap-feeding insect that lives on the bark of certain plants, especially crapemyrtle. Thanks to its sugary excrement, it turns crapemyrtles with beautiful… Read More →

A day in the life of a mint

  Growing plants is so much more interesting when you get to know your garden’s wildlife. Few of us will ever take the time to spend an entire day watching all the insects, spiders, birds, and reptiles attracted to our backyard garden. But if we did, we would probably be amazed at all the critters calling our yards “home.” Fortunately for us impatient folk, retired entomologist David Cappaert has done just that. Last summer, after noticing an unusual abundance of insect life attracted to just one kind of plant… Read More →

New videos on mosquito control around the home

Today is the last day for my summer intern, Jeremy Farmer, and one of our final projects this week was making four new how-to videos about mosquito control.  These videos cover much of the material addressed in my last blog, but sometimes a picture (video) is worth a thousand words. The videos cover: Mosquito Control – Protecting Yourself Reduce your risk of mosquito bites by using a good repellent.  This video describes why you should use repellent and (at the end) lists repellents that are currently recommended by the… Read More →