Michigan Ornamental Pest Management (Category 3B)

First aid for eyes contaminated with pesticides

* Hold eyelids open and wash with a gentle stream of clean running water. Use large amounts of water. Act immediately; delay of even a few minutes may result in injury. Continue washing for 15 minutes or more. * Do not use medications in the wash water - use pure water.

Examples of protective structures insects construct which protect them from pesticide sprays.

* Some insects gather leaves and twigs or produce silk to construct a tent or case. * Some moth or leaf beetle larvae construct tubular cases from foliage, soil, or other debris. * Bagworms build cases out of host leaf materials. * Webworms and tent caterpillars are moth larvae who feed at night and gather inside of of unsightly silken tents during the day.

Information that Michigan law requires commercial applicators to maintain.

1. Address or location of the pesticide application. 2. Name and concentration of the pesticide applied. 3. Amount of pesticide applied. 4. Target pest of purpose of the application. 5. Where applicable, the method and the rate of application.

Strategies used to manage landscape weeds.

1. Create vigorous ornamental plants. Plant resistance and proper plant maintenance. 2. Prevent seed production. Sanitation, cultivation, cutting and chemical controls. 3. Prevent seed germination. Mulching and preemergent herbicides. 4. Control emerged weeds early. Tillage, cultivation, cutting and herbicides. 5. Control susceptible stages of developed weed plants. Tillage, cultivation, and cutting in addition to herbicides.

Steps of IPM for landscapes are:

1. Detection of agents injuring plants 2. Identification of agents injuring plants 3. Economic significance 4. Selection of methods 5. Evaluation

Safety guidelines to follow when mixing and loading pesticides

1. Do not leave a filling tank unattended. 2. Do not mix pesticides above the recommended rate. 3. Review the pesticide label before opening and mixing. 4. Wear protective clothing and gear 5. Mix in an area with plenty of light and ventilation and is sheltered from the wind. 6. Pour concentrates from the container below eye level and avoid splashing or spilling. 7. Measure accurately and mix only what can be used during that application. 8. Rinse all measuring devices and put rinse water into the spray tank. Store these utensils in the pesticide storage area. 9. Triple rinse pesticide containers as you empty them.

Three normal plant functions that are often confused with pest injury.

1. Evergreen plants routinely shed leaves 2. Yellow leaves of a "Sunburst" honey locust 3. Fruiting, such as the production of cones

Safety guidelines for exterior pesticide storage areas

1. If possible, have a separate building only for pesticide storage. This building should be located away from a well. 2. Secure the area with fences and locks. Bar windows. 3. Provide good ventilation. 4. Post the area with high-visible signs that warn pesticides are stored there. 5. Use fire-proof construction materials. 6. Install a secondary containment structure to prevent groundwater contamination. 7. Provide separate storage areas for volatile herbicides.

Safety guidelines for interior pesticide storage areas

1. Keep an updated inventory sheet. 2. Keep temperatures moderate to prevent explosions or degradation of pesticides. 3. Post NO SMOKING signs. 4. Post fire department and poison control center phone numbers. 5. Have a working fire extinguisher rated for chemical fires. 6. Provide chemical spill adsorbent material such a cat litter or commercial products engineered to absorb spills. 7. Keep a supply of soap and water nearby. 8. Place containers on metal shelving, place drums on wooden pallets.

Ways professional managers can keep up to date with plant disorders and management methods

1. Membership in professional organizations 2. Workshops 3. Trade shows 4.. Industry journals 5. Evening college courses

Two ways to encourage beneficial organisms existing in the landscape

1. Provide alternative hosts and favorable habitat. Limit the destruction of beneficials by applying pesticides only when and where necessary. 2. Use systemic pesticides and avoid broadspectrum pesticides.

Three steps to prevent contamination if a pesticide spill occurs.

1. Stop the spill 2. Contain the spill 3. Clean up the spill

Instances vomiting should not be induced in the case of oral pesticide exposure.

1. The victim unconscious or is having convulsions. 2. The pesticide is corrosive. 3. The pesticide is formulated with petroleum products. 4. The pesticide label specifies not to induce vomiting.

Reasons to limit the amount of pesticide you store.

1. There is a great potential for liability. 2. Stored pesticides degrade. 3. Pesticides can be banned from use 4. Pesticide packaging and labels deteriorate

Ways to categorize pesticides

1. Type of pest controlled 2. Pesticide chemistry 3. Mode of action 4. Pesticide formulation

Examination of an IPM program should answer several questions.

1. Were there negative consequences of the tactics such as excessive environmental contamination, or promotion of other pest problems (secondary pests) due to the reduction in natural enemies? 2. Were the methods proven to be impractical or too expensive. 3. Were plants protected from injury?

Monoculture

A large grouping of the same plant species or cultivar. Hedges and flower beds are common landscape examples of monocultures. The potential for widespread infestation is great, so a pest inhabiting a monoculture may require suppression at a lower density than usual.

Two benefits from early detection of pest problems.

Action to manage pests can be taken before host plants have suffered serious injury. In addition, pest populations are more easily maintained at, than reduced to, innocuous levels.

Butterflies and moths

Adult caterpillars are:

Weed

Any plant that grows where it is not wanted.

Spray with the wind

Avoid doing this because drift will be enhanced.

Spraying against the wind

Avoid doing this because you are then directly exposed to the pesticide.

Nematodes

Because of their small size and nondescript top injury, laboratory analysis may be necessary to diagnose problems with these.

Minute pirate bug, ladybird beetle and green lacewing

Beneficial organisms common in Michigan landscapes.

Reasons to check over fences before applying pesticide

Beware of food plants near target plants.. If pesticide is applied to a food plant, it is bet to remove set fruit or vegetables. Always inspect areas before applying pesticides.

Decline

Cause by a combination of urban and other environmental stresses, and pathogens. Trees and shrubs develop thin areas of foliage adjacent to apparently healthy branches. Dieback usually begins at the top of the canopy of deciduous trees and on the lower branches of evergreens.

Blights

Cause by fungi and bacteria. They kill young, growing tissues, especially leaves and twigs. Affected areas are black and shriveled and remain clinging to drooping shoots. Tip dieback of young shoots results in brown, dead, or curled new growth.

Cankers

Caused by bacteria and fungi. Cankers are dead, often sunken areas on twigs, trunks, branches, or roots that are surrounded by callus and living tissue. Over time, cankers may girdle a branch.

Leaf spots

Caused by fungi, bacteria, nematodes, air pollutants. Develop as a discolored (orange, green, yellow, brown) spot on the leaf which eventually turns black or brown. Spots may look like a target with rings of different colors.

Chlorosis

Caused by viruses or poor soil drainage or fertility, and high pH. Yellowing of normally green tissues on part or the entire leaf. May show up on only one branch or on the entire plant.

Lacebugs

Coating a leaf surface to the point of runoff with a contact insecticide not limit these because they live on the underside of leaves.

One year

Commercial applicators must keep records for general use pesticides for this period of time.

Three years

Commercial applicators must keep records for restricted use pesticides for this period of time.

Herbicide

Do not use a spray tank previously holding this type of product for an insecticide application even if it was washed with soap and water.

Emulsifiable concentrate

EC or E

Lawn mower blight and herbicide injury

Examples of cultural plant disorders caused by poorly-implemented landscape care practices.

Dutch elm disease, fire blight, tent caterpillars and web worms

Examples of diseases and insects that can be managed with hand-removal techniques.

Dermal pesticide exposure

First aid for this includes removing contaminated clothing, and washing with detergent and water.

Granules

G

Winter annual weeds

Germinate from seed in the late summer, overwinter, produce seed the following spring.

Summer annual weeds

Germinate from seed in the spring and die by winter.

Useful tools for investigating plant disorders

Hand and pole pruners, trowel, soil probe, sharp knife, binoculars, hand lens, and specimen bags.

Piercing-sucking insects such as aphids, mealybugs, and some scales

Honey dew and sooty mold is produced by these kinds of insects feeding.

Call a doctor

If you suspect that a severe exposure to pesticides has occurred do this first.

Environmental

Iron chlorosis on Michigan pin oaks is an example of this type of plant disorder.

Contact herbicide

Kill only the plant portions the spray touches.

Rain

Large amounts of this can cause soluble herbicides to leach through the soil or run-off the site. A light amount of this can carry root-absorbed herbicides down into the soil where they can be taken in by the roots.

Benefits of using pesticides in the toxicity categories III and IV (signal word caution).

Less toxic pesticides have fewer regulations governing their use and less liability associated with pesticide accidents.

Very calm (under 4 mph)

Mist blowers must be used under these weather conditions because they produce a great deal of drift.

Liquid formulations

More easily measured in the field.

Organophosphates

One of two classes of chemicals that inhibit cholinesterase. Examples include diazinon, dursban, malathion, acephate.

Carbamates

One of two classes of of chemicals that inhibit cholinesterase. Examples include carbaryl and oxamyl.

Reasons why it is important to maintain neat, clean equipment and applicator gear

People equate professional ability and integrity with the appearance of you and your equipment.

Two kinds of plant injury caused by pests.

Pests sometimes threaten the health of ornamental plants. Often seriously injured plants do not immediately die, but are permanently weakened so that their ornamental value is greatly reduced. The most common landscape pest injury detracts from the aesthetic value of the plant, but does not seriously threaten its welfare. This includes unappealing changes in plant appearance, and visibility or nuisance caused by the pest or its activities.

Smaller droplet size

Provides better coverage but less vertical height. The smaller the droplet, the more drift is produced.

If you are asked a question that you cannot answer,

Refer the person to a resource, or investigate the matter yourself. Never improvise an answer to "save face."

The inevitable result of over-simplifying plant problems and relying too heavily upon one method of control.

Results in unacceptable pest injury to plants.

Two categories of pest management tactics

Short-term suppression and long-term maintenance. For example: a rose garden heavily infested with Japanese beetles would require immediate action, most likely multiple applications of a relatively toxic insecticide. This tactic alone will not in the long-run remedy the Japanese beetle problem. Because the ultimate goal of a pest management program is to create a landscape which can be by itself maintain pest populations below injury thresholds, long-term as well as short-term suppression tactics must be used. In this instance, the rose garden could be permanently changed in a number of ways to discourage Japanese beetles.

How plants can be resistent to insect damage.

Some plants have an ability to outgrow, repair, or withstand insect damage.

Application method for applying against a fence

Spray from side to side into the plant, down into the top of the plant, or from against the fence outward.

Wick applicator

Systemic herbicides can be applied to weeds growing among ornamental plants with this kind of applicator.

Reasons to adjust the spray gun orifice when switching from tall tree spraying to foundation plant applications.

Tall tree spraying requires a medium orifice for height. Better coverage with less spray solution output can be obtained with a small orifice.

Describe the method to confirm that mites are infesting a plant.

Tap an infested plant part over a white piece of paper. Dislodged mites will appear as tiny specks moving on the paper.

Poor growing conditions

The majority of landscape plant injury is caused by these

Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt

The most commonly used microbial insecticide. Kills many insect larvae including armyworm, eastern tent caterpillar, gypsy moth, and fall webworm.

Infection

The part of the disease cycle in which inoculum enters the host.

Product label

The reentry period for a pesticide is generally found here. It is generally safe for people and pets to enter an area after pesticide sprays have dried and dusts have settled.

Mice, rats, moles, voles, and chipmunks

The trapping of wildlife is regulated by the MDNR. These landscape pests are exempt from such regulations.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

The use of all available strategies to manage pests so that an acceptable yield and quality can be achieved economically with the least disruption to the environment.

Training

There is a direct relationship between the experience and this of an applicator and the number of problems that can be expected on the job. Taking time to do this is well worth the time and money.

Systemic herbicide

These are absorbed into and travel within the host plant. Used to control established perennial weeds because they will kill the underground plant portions.

Dry formulations

These are easily transported and stored. Unmixed products are not as affected by temperature extremes.

Selective herbicides

These are effective on only specific species of weeds and have many landscape uses.

Snails and slugs

These are generally non active during the day. You can determine where they have traveled by looking for the shiny slime trail on plants and soil.

Ladybird beetles, lacewings, and predacious mites

These are natural enemies of mites.

Relief valve

These are necessary on high-pressure sprayers to prevent excessive pressure and to regulate the pressure going into the spray gun.

Weeds

These are often a result, not a cause of poor landscape plant performance.

Galls

These are produced by species of fungi, insects, mites, and nematodes.

Two-spotted or red spider mite

These are the most frequently encountered landscape mite pests. Plant injury symptoms include fine speckling of foliage, stems and fruit. Plants may appear off-color. Fine webbing may be seen on the plant.

Barriers

These are used to prevent pests from coming in contact with ornamental plants.

Cultural controls

These can be used to create an environment more hospitable to ornamentals and less suitable to pests. 1. Provide deep irrigation for trees and large shrubs (reset the irrigation system; water with a hose). 2. Improve drainage (alter terrain; install drain tiles). 3. Improve soil fertility (fertilize; change4 pH). 4. Increase soil aeration (vertical mulch; fertilize by soil injection). 5. Create shade (install plants, trellis, or awnings). 6. Increase sun exposure (prune away shading limbs; remove shading structures). 7. Increase crown aeration (thin out planting or plant crown). 8. Provide winter protection (fence or wrap with burlap; apply antitranspirant). 9. Improve water penetration (mulch; till or aerate soil). 10. Lessen plant competition (thin out plantings; remove weeds).

How leafminer larvae feed

These eat the plant tissue between leaf surfaces, leaving hollow areas, or mines, in the leaf.

Mice

These feed on the bark of trees. If the feeding injury extends all the way around and girdles the main stem, the plant will die.

Nonselective herbicides

These kill most or all vegetation. Be careful to protect nearby ornamentals.

Pesticides

These must be used in a manner consistent with its labeling or it is a violation of federal law.

Healthy plants

These plants are better able to combat pests and withstand pest injury.

Sanitation

These practices reduce pest habitat and inoculum in the landscape. Managers can prevent the destruction of ornamentals by removing brush heaps, trash piles, weed patches, and other rabbit refuge. Spading under or removing flowering plants in the fall discourages these pests. Mowing seeding weed patches newar landscape plantings and disposing of leaves infested with diseases are examples of reducing weed seeds and disease inoculum through this process.

How nematodes feed on plants.

These puncture plant parts with a needle-like stylet. After injecting digestive juices, they consume plant cell contents. They may spread bacterial diseases. Leaf-feeding ones feeding results in blackish areas between the veins. Root-feeding ones cause wilting, stunting, dieback, and lack of vigor.

Leftover, unopened pesticides

These should be returned to the dealer or manufacturer, or offered to another qualified applicator.

Miticides and araricides

These types of pesticides will limit mites.

Biennial weeds

These weeds complete their life cycle in two years.

Perennial weeds

These weeds live for three or more years.

Broadspectrum pesticides

These work on numerous species of pests, including beneficial insects.

Inspection and implantation

This application method poses the least risk for environmental contamination.

Landscape

This cannot simultaneously be pest-free and benefit from biological control.

The unmixed, or concentrated

This form is the of pesticide is the most hazardous to handle.

Microclimate

This is a small area with growing conditions different from those of the surrounding land. Plants growing in these are favorable to disease development, such as wet areas, and will be more heavily and consistently infected.

Propagule

This is a specialized plant structure at or below the soil surface which produces new shoots. Stolons, bulbs, rhizomes, and tubers are examples. Each year during the fall, food reserves are moved from the dying plant crown into the roots and this structure.

Cholinesterase

This is an essential chemical in the nervous system. Exposure to some insecticides can affect this chemical production and lower an applicator's level below a healthy level.

Infectious disease

This is caused by living things, or pathogens, such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, and mycoplasmas. Only infectious disease can spread between plants.

Noninfectious disease

This is caused by non-living agents such as drought, salt exposure, and nutrient deficiency.

Equipment that is not routinely inspected and maintained.

This is the cause of many accidents with pesticides.

Seedlings

This part of the weed life cycle is the most susceptible to cultural and chemical controls.

Alcohol

This should never be given or taken by a person exposed to pesticides because it intensifies effects of pesticide poisoning.

Insects, fungi, nematodes, and bacteria

Thousands of species of these are harmless or beneficial to landscape plants.

Reasons applicators should stay current on the industry requirements of state regulatory agencies such as the MDNR, MDEQ and MDA

To keep up to date with the latest requirements for conducting your business.

Compressed air, backpack, small power sprayers and rotary nozzle sprayers.

Types of sprayers useful for applying pesticide to small ornamental plants. Properly fitted hydraulic sprayers are also useful for spraying small plants.

The best way to dispose of pesticides

Use them in a manner consistent with its label.

Wettable powder

WP

Whole plant

When diagnosing plant disorders, investigate this.

Beneficial

Whenever possible it is best to leave these types of insects in the landscape. A small amount of these insect populations are needed.

Degree day

You can precisely measure pest development through using these. It is a 24-hour period of accumulated time in which the temperature was above a base level. The base temperature correlates wit the onset of plant or pest activity. The Crop Advisory Team of MSU records for various areas of Michigan the number of these over 50 degrees F, the base temperature at which insect development occurs.