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Utah Plant Pest UTAH PESTS Diagnostic Laboratory USU Extension Summer 2017 / QUARTERLY Vol. XI NEWSLETTER IN THIS ISSUE High Tunnel Arthropod Pest Management High Tunnel Arthropod Pest Management p. 01 Elm Seed Bug p. 3 Featured Author: Dr. S. Nicole Frey on Choosing the Best Traps for Controlling Pocket Gophers p. 04 Pest Spotlight: Gypsy Moth p. 06 USDA Downy Mildew of Spinach p. 07 High tunnels can extend the growing season in a cold location such as northern Utah. CRISPR DNA Technology for Managing Pests p. 08 Use of high tunnels or field greenhouses Some of the primary tactics that can be used Neonicotinoid: Retailer is a popular production method in Utah to effectively suppress pests in high tunnels Phase-Out and Potential to substantially extend the length of the include: Alternative growing season. Tunnels can provide p. 10 benefits beyond temperature regulation, • Place floating row cover over Predicting Billbug such as increasing humidity, shading, and susceptible plants for concealment Management in reducing populations of some pests through and to exclude pests that have entered Intermountain West Turf exclusion and concealment. However, some the high tunnel. Row covers, or low p. 11 insect and related pests can thrive in the tunnels, can exclude insects that fly Elm Leafminer plastic-covered environment. If plants are or jump onto plants, including thrips, p. 12 irrigated with driplines, the dry soil between flea beetles, leafhoppers, whiteflies, plant rows is a conducive location for ant aphids, leafminers and grasshoppers. IPM in the News p. 14 nests. Moist, shaded plants can be attractive Additionally, curly top virus infection of to slugs and earwigs. Other common high tomato, pepper and other susceptible Picture of the Quarter tunnel pests in Utah include thrips, spider host plants tends to be very low where p. 16 mites, aphids, leafminers, whiteflies, flea the vector, beet leafhopper, is excluded. beetles, and grasshoppers. • To physically remove small arthropods, NEW FACT SHEETS such as aphids, mites, thrips and Early detection through regular and whiteflies, wash down plants with a stiff Spider Mites in Raspberry thorough plant inspections is important for spray of water from a hose-end nozzle. effective pest management. In addition Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Repeat every 2-3 days until pest to visual inspections, gently shake plants numbers subside. Elm Seed Bug over a light-colored tray or sheet to collect dislodged insects. Use a hand lens (10-30× • Use lower toxicity insecticides with magnification) to help with identification of physical modes of action, such as small insects and mites. insecticidal soap and horticultural and plant oils, to suppress soft-bodied insects continued on next page UTAH PESTS TEAM High Tunnel Arthropod Pest Management Diane Alston and mites. Apply early in the morning Entomologist or evening when temperatures inside the [email protected] tunnel have dropped below about 80°F 435-797-2516 to avoid injury from ‘burning’ of plant leaves. Ryan Davis Arthropod Diagnostician School IPM Associate [email protected] Learn About Nature 435-797-2435 Marion Murray Pavement ants can feed on plants, and IPM Project Leader Utah Pests Quarterly Editor are attracted to dry soil inside high [email protected] tunnels for building nests. Jerry Brust, University of Maryland 435-797-0776 • When high tunnels are fully enclosed, they can be an effective site for Cami Cannon Spider mites can thrive in the hot Vegetable IPM Associate releasing biological control agents. It Graphic Design, Utah Pests conditions of a high tunnel. is critical to select the correct species Quarterly Newsletter of natural enemy to target each • Use biological insecticides, such as Bt [email protected] pest species, as food preferences (Bacillus thuringiensis) for caterpillars, 435-797-2435 can be narrow. Additionally, select and spinosad for thrips, earwigs, natural enemies well-suited for the and leafminers. Use a molluscicide Claudia Nischwitz environmental conditions at the time of containing iron phosphate for slugs and Plant Pathologist release. [email protected] snails. 435-797-7569 ○ The USU publication, Greenhouse Biocontrol in Utah provides information Ricardo Ramirez for biocontrol agents in high tunnels, Entomologist including where to purchase. [email protected] The Sustainable Agriculture Research 435-797-8088 ○ and Education (SARE) fact sheet Lori Spears titled Sustainable Pest Management USU CAPS Coordinator in Greenhouses and High Tunnels by [email protected] Judson Reid, Cornell University, provides 801-668-4056 University of Missouri Extension additional details on selection and release of biological control agents. Thrips are a common pest of cucumber, squash and melon grown in high tunnels. Utah Plant Pest For more information on pest management Diagnostic Lab • Pavement, harvester, and field ants are in high tunnels in Utah, see the Utah Pests BNR Room 203 the most common ant pests of plants News Spring 2012 edition (page 3) for Utah State University in northern Utah. Apply homemade an article that includes disease prevention 5305 Old Main Hill or commercial ant baits to suppress strategies and more. Logan, UT 84322 nearby ant colonies. Pavement ant food preferences vary with the needs of the To subscribe, click here. colony. They prefer a variety of foods, including sweets, greases, proteins, Diane Aslton, Entomologist All images © UTAH PESTS and seeds. Boric acid is an effective and USU Extension unless active ingredient that can be added to otherwise credited. homemade ant baits. See Ryan Davis’ comprehensive article on homemade ant bait recipes in the Spring 2016 Utah Pests News edition (page 8). utahpests.usu.edu www.utahpests.usu.edu Utah Pests Quarterly / Spring 2017 / page 2 PEST ALERT Elm Seed Bug Elm seed bug adults hiding under overlapping elm leaves. Elm seed bugs are on the rise this summer. Since mid June, the UPPDL has received many calls concerning elm seed control. Elm seed bugs are most prevalent on and in structures that have nearby elm trees. Their small size allows them to easily enter houses through sliding windows, doors, and even picture windows. Fecal spots of elm seed bugs on a window frame. Appropriately labeled pyrethroid insecticides applied Elm bugs are very small and excluding them from the as a barrier perimeter treatment around foundations, home is the primary control method, but it can be difficult. windows, doors and eaves may provide some relief from Focus on sealing windows and doors. Windows are a migrating bugs. However, reports from callers indicate particularly favored entry point. Even if you have new that immediate kill of elm seed bugs from at least two windows or picture windows, elm seed bugs may infiltrate pyrethroid insecticides - bifenthrin and lambda-cyhalothrin around the frame, tracks, or even between the glass and - does not occur and entry into the home may still take frame. Exclusion efforts must be extremely thorough to be place before elm seed bugs die. If you have had pesticide effective. Inside, vacuum bugs that enter the home. applications made for elm seed bug, please contact the UPPDL to discuss the product used and its performance. For more information see the new Utah Pests fact sheet on Elm Seed Bug. Ryan Davis, Arthropod Diagnostician Late-stage immature elm seed bug. www.utahpests.usu.edu Utah Pests Quarterly / Spring 2017 / page 3 FEATURED AUTHOR: DR. S. NICOLE FREY Choosing the Best Traps for Controlling Pocket Gophers Dr. S. Nicole Frey is a Wildland Resources Associate Professor with USU Extension. Her work focuses on solving wildlife management issues in southern Utah. She also teaches Principles of Natural Resource Management at Southern Utah University, is involved in 4-H at the national and state level for the Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program, and serves as the Continuing Education Coordinator for the Jack H. Berryman Institute. Pocket gopher (left) and pocket gopher mound (right). Valley pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae) are a common In 2015, we compared the effectiveness and efficiency of agricultural pest in many areas of Utah, Nevada, and three types of kill traps—Macabee, DK-1, and Cinch—in California. Pocket gophers predominantly eat roots, 4 alfalfa fields in Beaver County, Utah. Beaver County although they will pull vegetation into their burrows, ranks 10th in the state in the number of acres in hay, grass and eat plants immediately adjacent to their burrow silage, and greenchop production. The study began the holes. In a survey conducted by USU Extension in the first week of April and continued for 6 weeks. We chose 1990s, agricultural producers in Utah reported that the April date to ensure that we were trapping during the pocket gophers were one of the most abundant threats breeding season and to determine which trap would be to production. Because pocket gophers are active year- most effective if used once alfalfa had begun to grow. round, farmers require management options to protect their crops throughout the season. Removing pocket gophers We found the Macabee trap to be the most effective at via lethal control during their breeding season (March trapping pocket gophers (Table 1) and the most time- –April) is often the most effective method because this efficient trap (Figure 1). The trap is easy to use and has removes the adult population and reduces the potential for an appropriate size. Macabee traps caught more pocket juveniles during that season. gophers per total visits to the trap, but there were also a large number of traps tripped or plugged each week. It Using strychnine baits is a common method to control is possible that the Macabee traps, while attracting the gophers, but acquiring the bait and timing this method most attention, were unable to capture larger animals. with the gophers’ reproductive season can be tricky, when This could cause animals to become trap shy, ultimately we often have snow on the ground through March.