INSURANCE AGAINST PESTS 



By Ernest N. Cory 

 Maryland State Entomologist 



^X^HILE most trees and shrubs can be depended upon to grow year after year 

 and remain free from insect enemies, there is always a chance that some pesti- 

 ferous Httle "animal" will decide to make your shade trees or ornamentals its 

 home. When they decide to start a family, they multiply so rapidly that it takes 

 a statistical staff to count them. They may multiply in sufficient numbers to 

 do a tremendous amount of damage before you know they have even entered 

 the gate. Therefore, it is well to think of treatments for the control of insects 

 as so much insurance. You may never have a fire, but you keep your house 

 insured. Likewise, if you want to be certain of maintaining your trees and 

 shrubs, it would be well to always apply protective measures. 



Flowering crab apple trees, flowering cher- 

 ries, hawthornes, and many of the deciduous 

 shrubs are likely to become infested with scale 

 insects. There are also several scale insects of 

 conifers, some of which attack the needles and 

 others the bark. Most of these pests can be 

 controlled by spraying in the dormant season 

 with concentrated lime sulfur. In some spe- 

 cial cases evergreens need to be sprayed with 

 a good miscible oil to control red spider eggs. 

 Dry weather is especially favorable for the 

 development of the red spider, but dormant 

 spraying to kill the eggs will do much to pre- 

 vent development of an infestation if we 

 should have a season of drought. 



Another form of insurance that is well to 

 utilize is clean culture. Many insects live over 



winter in old stalks, in dead limbs that are 

 brought down by the winter winds, and in 

 rubbish in and around the flower beds. It is 

 a good practice to clean out all old plant 

 refuse and burn it early in the season before 

 the insects become active. This is especially 

 true with regard to the control of the Iris 

 borer. The parent moth lays its eggs on the 

 dead stems and leaves in the fall; the young 

 hatch from these eggs in the spring, feed on 

 the new leaves and finally bore down into the 

 rhizomes where they may destroy an entire 

 clump of Iris. The columbine leaf miner, 

 which disfigures the foliage of our hybrid 

 columbines, can be reduced a great deal by 

 spading up the soil closely around the plants 

 before spring comes. 



INSECTICIDES AND SPRAYING EQUIPMENT 



For those who prefer to do their own spraying we offer a complete line of 

 the best insecticides and spraying equipment, at the lowest possible price. 



There are however some cases, such as the spraying of large shade trees which 

 necessitate the use of a power sprayer, and is beyond the facilities of the average 

 person. 



We are in a position to do economically, any type of spraying, whether it neces- 

 sitates the use of a small sprayer or a large power sprayer. 



Note: A complete Spray Chart for the proper care of your roses will be found on page lo^. 



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