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Prepare for Early Spring Blooms by Planting Hardy Bulbs in the Fall
Don’t put away your gardening tools quite yet! Fall is the perfect time to plant hardy, spring-flowering bulbs.
Foreign Grain Beetles in New Construction
As new homes are constructed around South Dakota, we continually receive questions about small, brown insects showing up in bathrooms and basements. These insects are foreign grain beetles.
Bring New Life to Worn-Out Summer Containers: Ideas to Fall in Love With
With just a bit of imagination and a little time, your worn-out summer containers can gain new life with a variety of cool-season flowers and plants that come in brilliant fall colors!
West Nile Virus Update: Sept. 17, 2021
The South Dakota Department of Health's latest update indicated that West-Nile-virus-positive mosquitoes were detected in Beadle, Brookings, Brown, Codington, Hand, Hughes, Lincoln and Minnehaha counties in South Dakota.
Planting Garlic
Garlic is planted late in the fall, before the soil freezes. It is easy to grow, takes very little space and is a true treat. Grow some yourself this fall to enjoy next year!
Soldier Beetles Visiting Flowers
Flowers in many gardens are currently being visited by soldier beetles. While these orange beetles have a strong preference for flowering plants, they are predators and pollinators and don’t pose a threat to your garden.
Picnic Beetles and Multicolored Asian Ladybeetles Bothering Produce
Ripe fruit that has been injured can attract undesirable insects into your garden. Some of these insects will feed on the produce, which can completely ruin it by increasing the rate of decay and make it unappealing.
Millipedes in Yards and Homes
During late summer and early fall, millipedes are typically a hot topic as they are observed moving into homes, sheds and other outbuildings. When found indoors, they are considered accidental entrants, as they are not able to reproduce indoors and will eventually die.
Grasshoppers in Gardens
Due to large populations and dry conditions, grasshoppers are moving into gardens and feeding on whatever they can find. In a normal year, grasshoppers can be a nuisance in a garden, but during an outbreak year, they can present a real threat to gardens, shrubs and small trees.
Bumble Flower Beetles Are Here
One of the insects that starts to attract attention this time of year are the bumble flower beetles. These large and noisy beetles somewhat resemble June beetles, but they show up later in the season.