AgAlerts 2002 From Griggs County
By John Swenson, Griggs County Extension Agent


Issue # 13, August 29, 2002


Farm Bill Calculators

    Successful Farming has put a list of links to several sites that are offering farm program excel worksheets to help with determining the best option for the new farm program.  The Texas A& M calculator is a very good site that will give you a very detailed print out.  NDSU is in the process of writing a spread sheet for Excel that should be available shortly.  The Successful Farming web page is Agricultureonline and the links to farm bill calculators is in it's Toolbox page.

Grazing and Feeding Restrictions for Roundup Applications

    This year there has been an increase in the use of Roundup (glyphosate) with the increase in Roundup ready crops and pre-harvest applications.  The following grazing and feeding restrictions are from the 2002 NDSU Weed Control Guide on pages 117-119.

Winter wheat, HRSW, Durum, Oats and Rye
    Pre-plant = No restrictions
    Broadcast = 14 days after application
    Spot Treatment = 8 weeks after application
    Pre-harvest = 7 days after application

Corn
    Do not graze of feed until 8 weeks after application    

Soybean
    Pre-plant = No restrictions
    Broadcast = 14 days after application
    Spot Treatment = 8 weeks after application
    Selective equipment = 7 days after application
    Pre-harvest = 25 days after application

Wasp and Hornet Control

    Questions continue to arise about wasps and hornets nesting around houses and yards.  The first thing to do is to locate the nest or nesting site.  Once this is located, purchase one or more cans of "Wasp and Hornet Killer".  This can be purchased at most hardware stores or garden centers.  These products can spray a a concentrated stream about ten feet.  This allows treatment of a nest from a safe distance.  Treatment of the nest should be done in the early evening when insect activity is reduced.  Locate the entrance hole and direct the stream of spray into this area until the can is empty.  This spray has a quick knockdown action and the insects rarely exist the nest alive.  Monitor the nest the following day for any activity and retreat if necessary.  Once activity has ceased, you can tear down the nest.

Insects Moving Into The Home

    Now that fall is approaching, many insects are looking for places to overwinter.  What better place than in the home.  Most common insects seeking shelter include crickets, boxelder bugs, millipedes, spotted wing flies and cluster flies. 
    Spotted wing flies and cluster flies tend to enter the house around the eves.  They normally are attracted to the east, south or west sides of the house since these are the warmest sides of the house.  The will try and gain access to the house and enter dormancy between the walls.  During the winter, they may break dormancy and enter the house through cracks around windows or wall electical sockets.  These flies tend to migrate to south facing windows due to the warmth of the sunlight.  During the day, inspect the eves of the house and look for any swarming around any openings and seal any that are found.  Check around windows and any other entrance areas.  A multi-purpose insecticide can be used to spray around eves and windows, but it could affect certain paints or sidings.  Read the label for any warnings or precautions.   
    Millipedes and centipedes.  These arthropods frequently become nuisance pests in damp, dark areas such as basements.  Both millipedes and centipedes resemble worms with many legs.  Centipedes are able to move rapidly while millipedes are relatively slower.  Millipedes are grayish-brown or black worm-like animals with two pairs of legs on each body segment and one pair of short antennae.  They often curl up into a tight C-shape and remain motionless when disturbed.  Millipedes range from 1 to 4 inches in length.  Centipedes are generally reddish-brown, flat, multi-legged animals.  They have an elongated appearance with one pair of legs attached to each body segment.  The common house centipede is approximately 1 inch long and has 15 pairs of conspicuous long legs.  The antennae and pair of legs on the terminal segment are each twice the length of the body.  House centipedes are gray in color and the legs appear to be banded.
    Since centipedes and millipedes require moisture for survival, effective control may be achieved by keeping all rooms in the household dry.  Seal all cracks, crevices and other entry ways in foundation wall, doorways and around basement windows.  Eliminate excessive moisture in basements and provide adequate ventilation when possible.  In general, insecticides are not recommended indoors for controlling millipedes.  The best approach is to exclude them from gaining entry and eliminate moisture problems.  Perimeter treatments of insecticides around the home can help with high numbers of millipedes trying to gain access.      
    Crickets and boxelder bugs
can be controlled similar to millipedes.  The main line of defense is to eliminate any sources of entrance.  Check for cracks around the foundation, old or missing weather stripping, cracks around basement windows or any other area that could be a place of entrance.  Treating with a general purpose insecticide around the outside perimeter of the home can help reduce their numbers and limit the number that can get inside.  When making this application, it is also useful to spray on the foundation if possible.  For more information, contact your local County Extension Office and ask for bulletin "Insects Invading the Home". 

Spring Wheat Variety Survey

    Each year the North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service conducts a survey of what spring wheat varieties are currently being planted.  Alsen was planted on 30.8% of the spring wheat acres in 2002.  In 2001, Alsen was only planted on 6.7% or spring wheat acres.  Rounding out the top four varieties was Gunner with 9.1%, Reeder with 8.6% and Parshall with 7.9%.  Russ was the most popular variety in 2001 with 18.2% but dropped to seventh in 2002 with 6.0%. 


 

Please Contact Our Office For Additional Information
E-mail: griggs@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Go to the 2002 AgAlert Index Page