Garden & Yard Issues

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White grub with a C-shaped, white to cream-colored body, tan to brown head, 3 pairs of legs, and transparent abdomen.

White Grub Damage to Lawns

White grubs are root-infesting larvae that are the immature stages of scarab beetles. Grub-infested turfgrass may turn brown and die from drought stress due to the inability to take up water from loss of roots.

hands holding a sample of turf with thick thatch.

Understanding Thatch in Turf

Many homeowners have a misconception that thatch in turfgrass is undesirable and should be eliminated; however, when thatch is not excessive it is actually beneficial to the turf.

cluster of bright red raspberries with small black beetles burrowed inside some berries.

Picnic Beetles on Raspberries

Picnic beetles, a small beetle that loves fermenting fruit (and potato salad at picnics), commonly feed on raspberries. The beetle can quickly ruin a ripe raspberry as they burrow around inside the fruit.

What's Bugging Your Garden? Cucumber Beetles

Striped cucumber beetles are little yellow and black striped beetles that are fairly small, but what they lack in size they make up for in numbers and appetite.

A yellow-orange insect with 10 narrow stripes running down the length of its body.

What’s Bugging Your Garden? Colorado Potato Beetles

Colorado potato beetles have become all too common in many home gardens and also in community gardens where potatoes are commonly grown. If left untreated, they can defoliate potato plants, drastically cutting yields of the delicious tubers that so many of us love to eat.

spruce tree seedling with weeds beneath it

Weeds Around Spruce Seedlings?

I have many producers call wanting a control for the broadleaf weeds coming up around their young Colorado and Black Hills spruce seedlings. At this time of year we are looking at post-emergence herbicides to control weeds that have become established.

two orange and white caterpillars feeding on green plant leaves.

What’s Bugging Your Garden? Broom Moth

There is a new pest problem for flower growers that enjoy Baptisia (false indigo) called the Genista Broom Moth. It is actually the caterpillars that cause the damage.

apricto leaves with several small holes throughout

Shot Hole Disease in Apricots

Shot hole disease of apricot trees can be identified through symptoms on leaves and fruit. Small holes will appear on leaves while brown lesions with a deep purple band will show up on fruit.

plastic container with lid removed. several earwigs are floating in the oil inside.

Earwigs in the Garden: Less-Toxic Control Alternative

Since earwigs provide some ecological service as natural enemies, I hesitate to recommend a pesticide application to control it. As an alternative least-toxic solution, bait trapping the earwigs should work to reduce the insect’s population to the non-threatening levels.

Mulberry Trees

Every year about this time I received a few samples of mulberry trees. This is a very common tree in South Dakota, not so much from being planted by people but from birds.