- Error
Snails & Slugs
Decollate snail: This species will prey upon the Brown Garden Snail and is sold as a beneficial predator, however, if there are no garden snails to feed upon it can become a serious pest of emerging seedlings and bedding plants.
Snails and slugs move by gliding along on a muscular "foot." This muscle constantly secretes mucus, which later dries to form the silvery "slime trail" that is a clue to the presence of these pests. Slugs reach maturity in about a year. Snails and slugs are most active at night and on cloudy or foggy days. On sunny days they seek hiding places out of the heat and sun; often the only clue to their presence is their silvery trails and plant damage. Snails and slugs feed on a variety of living plants as well as on decaying plant matter. Managing snails and slugs involves a combination of strategies, such as handpicking, habitat modification, barriers, traps, baits, and commercial molluscicides.
One popular type of do it yourself
bait is beer traps
Barriers:
Snails and slugs do not like to cross barriers made of certain metals. Copper strips around the base of a container or as a protective ring at the base of the plant has been proven helpful.
Barriers of diatomaceous earth, sand or ashes provide only temporary control.
What's Bugging the Sun Cities
Windscorpion
Windscorpions, sometimes called sun spiders or solpugids. The body is as much as an inch and a half long, with a pair of heavy pinchers. Windscorpions get the name from their speed and general resemblance to scorpions. They subdue their prey with ther pinchers, which lack poison glands.
Source: Insects of the Southwest
Varied Carpet beetle
Adult carpet beetles are about an eighth of an inch long, and round in appearance. The backs of the insects have much the same color scheme as the larvae. The larvae have small, hairy, soft bodies about a quarter inch long, depending on the instar. The larvae feed on a wide variety of foods, including carpets, furs, woolens, skins, stuffed animals, leather, feathers, silk and many plant products. The adults feed on nothing except pollen and nectar from flowers outside.
In spring and early summer, the adult will lay up to a hundred eggs, usually cemented to the product, or on furs,...
Tarantulas
The Desert Tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes)
This is our office mascot, she’s about 9 years old.
Tarantulas are harmless to humans and can be trained as pets.
For details about Tarantulas visit Desert USA.
Syrphid Fly or Flower Fly
Springtails
Springtails are minute insects without wings in the Order Collembola.
They occur in large numbers in moist soil and are found in homes with high humidity, organic debris, or mold.
Homeowners sometimes discover these insects in large numbers in swimming pools, potted plants, or in moist soil and mulch.
They feed on decaying, damp vegetation causing organic material
and other nutrients to return to the soil which are later used by plants. Occasionally, springtails attack young seedling and may damage
the roots and stems. 650 species in North America. Worldwide,...
Pillbug, Sow Bug, Isopod
Sowbugs and pillbugs are the only two crustaceans that have adapted themselves entirely to land. They actually have gills instead of a trachea (insects lungs) with which they breath.
They are also related to snails and slugs.
Sowbugs are virtually the same as pillbugs but have a wider body and cannot roll themselves into a ball. Sowbugs have two appendages that protrude from the rear of the body. They have oval bodies which have 7 overlapping plates, as well as 7 pairs of legs. Head...
|
Need to talk to someone sooner? Required * |
Local Weather
Listed with the Sun Cities HOA
