Beck's offers insect control for lawns and trees. In Upper Michigan and Northern Wisconsin there are many destructive insects that can harm or kill your trees and lawn. Please refer to the list below for more details.
Call Beck's today for a free estimate or diagnosis. (906) 563-8604
Carpenter ants are the most common found in Michigan, they are the largest of the ant family ranging from 1/4-3/4 in inches. They nest in wood but unlike termites they do not eat it. Carpenter ants like moist or rotted wood where they create barrows and tunnels to create their nests. They are active and cause most of their damage during warm summer months. Monitoring their activity at night can help locate their nests, for they are nocturnal and are most active in the evening.
White grubs are c-shaped larvae of many different beetles. They feed on the roots and thatch of turf during the spring and fall months. Infestations over 6 to 10 grubs per sq. ft. can be devastating to turf, causing large brown areas of dead grass. The best time to control grubs is right after egg hatch in mid summer.
Small, beige adult webworm moths start flying over lawn areas during early summer. If lots of sod webworm moths are observed in the evening, watch for damage in about 10 to 14 days. This is when their eggs begin to hatch into caterpillars. These caterpillars chew off the grass blades close to the soil surface leaving brown stubble as damage,
Adult sod webworms, also referred to as "lawn moths" are buff-colored, about 1/2 to 3/4 inches long. Sod webworm larvae (caterpillars) are gray to tan with small dark spots on the body and brown heads. They reach 3/4 to 1 inch when fully grown.
large areas of turf can be defoliated and even killed during periods of summer heat and drought.
They burrow 3 to 12 inches below ground, also referred to over wintering
Grub feeds near surface
Grub forms cell & prepares to pupate
Grub changes to pupa & then adult; it then emerges from ground. Pupa - Approximately the same size as the adult, the pupae may be creamy white, pale yellow, or dark brown.
Beatle lays eggs in ground. The egg is a dull, pearly white when laid, but it turns dark just before hatching. Oval to spherical shaped, it is 1.5 to 3 mm in diameter and encased in a cell of soil particles.
When the eggs hatch young grubs feed near the surface.
Grubs continue to feed and grow through fall.
Grubs go down 3 to 12 inches and make winter cells
Life Cycle of Grub Species
More than 200 species of white grubs are found throughout North America. Most Commonly found in this area is the European Chafer shown above. The European Chafer has a one year life cycle and swarm in the trees in late June to early July. To identify them look at the arrangement of the spines on their raster.
The larvae of the European Chafer feed on the roots and rhizomes of your turf grass in the midsummer. The turf grass roots are unable to regenerate at this time and thus creating irregular brown patches.
European Chafer
Sod Webworm
This arrangement will be two rows of spines that diverge near the tip of the abdomen. Their threshold is 5-10 grubs per .1 square meter on non-irrigated turf. 10-20 grubs per .1 square meter on irrigated turf.
White Grubs
Carpenter Ants
Lawn Pests
Insects That Can Harm your Trees
Forest Tent Caterpillar
The forest tent caterpillar the larva of a North American moth, found throughout the United States and Canada.
These tent caterpillars do not make tents, instead they weave a silky sheet where they lie together during molting. They lay down strands of silk as they move over branches. A trail pheromone secreted from the ventral surface of the posterior tip of the abdomen rather than the silk guides and stimulates trail following. These caterpillars are social, they travel and feed in masse. The caterpillars live in deciduous trees, which they strip of leaves after emerging from their eggs. The moths like oak, sweetgum and tupelo, aspen trees, and sugar maple for oviposition but the larvae can be found feeding on many other species of woody trees or shrubs when they disperse from ovipositional trees during outbreaks. The females lay eggs in masses of up to 300, which are stuck to twigs and covered with a gluey cement called spumaline which prevents them from desiccating or freezing over the winter. The eggs hatch the following spring.
Forest tent caterpillar egg masses
Forest tent caterpillar larvae
Forest tent caterpillar pupa in cocoon
Forest tent caterpillar adult moth
Photo credits:
Ronald S. Kelley, Forest Insect and Disease Specialist, Vermont Department of Forests,
Parks and Recreation, Morrisville, VT
Eastern Tent Caterpillar
This caterpillar forms its nests in trees and is sometimes confused with the gypsy moth or the fall webworm. The moths lay their eggs (also referred to as oviposit) particularly on plant trees and shrubs such as cherry and apple. The caterpillars are hairy with areas of blue, white, black and orange. The adult moth lays her eggs in a single batch in late spring or early summer. The egg masses contain on average 200-300 eggs. When the caterpillars hatch they initiate the construction of a silk tent. The Eastern caterpillar has the largest tents of the tent caterpillars. They are most noticed in the spring/early summer every year. These caterpillars generally are not a serious tree health threat; they are more of a nuisance then anything.
Fall Webworm
This is another Tent Caterpillar that nests in Apple, cherry, ash, willow, oak, birch, elm, other deciduous species. The feeding of these insects may occasionally strip small or large trees of their leaves. By August and September the webs may become very large and may even join together. This insect creates a problem on ornamentals as well as roadside trees. It is not considered a threat to hardwood forests, nor is it a threat to the health of infested trees as it occurs too late in the season after trees have already stored up much of their food reserves.
In early fall, the caterpillars overwinter as a pupa in the soil. The winter is spent as a pupa and the following summer the adult snow-white moth emerges, usually around late June and early July in this area.
Shortly after emerging, the moths lay their eggs, usually on the underside of leaves. Hatching occurs within 2 weeks. Mature yellowish caterpillars about one inch long have many tufts of long hair and black and brown markings. Webworm larvae feed within the nest whereas the eastern tent caterpillar feeds outside its tent.
Spittlebugs
Immature spittlebugs (nymphs) are small, green, soft-bodied insects that have an unusual and distinctive characteristic that distinguishes them from other insects. The nymphs, clustered in between leaves and stems, surround themselves with a frothy, white mass that looks like spittle, which protects them from sym and preying insects. Adult spittlebugs are small (¼ inch), winged insects that hop or fly away quickly when disturbed. They feed on plant sap and lay their eggs inside of stems or between the leaf blades and stems of many garden plants and forage crops. The greenish nymphs that hatch from the eggs suck sap from the plant. The insect excretes drops of undigested sap mixed with air. Its tail moves up and down as if working as a bellows, forcing out bubbles of sap. The bug then reaches back and covers itself with the frothy spittle. Spittlebugs are most often noticeable in the spring when the nymphs are feeding, but adults may be found on the plants throughout the summer.
