|
1. Attracting Backyard Wildlife
By
Paul Hay, UNL Extension Educator
Your backyard can be a haven for wildlife if you plan for their needs as well as your enjoyment. Birds and other animals can bring pleasure and sometimes can be very annoying. Male cardinals and robins who have a love-hate relationship with their own reflection in a window usually only brings pleasure to friends who find humor in your frantic plight. I visited a home recently with a glass enclosed porch surrounded by yard and windbreak. A quality habitat
for numerous bird species with nesting areas, food sources, water and space.
Your first task is to ask yourself what type of area you want and are their particular bird species you want to attract. I enjoy my martin houses and the daring aerial exploits of the intercontinental fliers. They demand a sizable open area away from trees. They also like lines near the house so they can rest and observe the house. This means a new plan for my yard to move the martin houses to a more open area as trees in the current site grow up and over the
current house location.
Variety is probably the best approach to bringing a rich diversity of birds to your yard. Each species of tree, shrub, vine, and perennial brings a different kind of cover, insect population, seed and fruit production and nesting cover. Many birds like dense cover along open areas of lawn or perennial beds combining good cover for hiding and nesting with foraging areas. Adding nesting
sites to these areas can add to the birds using the area. Cardinals and robins usually prefer natural nesting sites, while adding a wren house can get you scolded while doing lawn chores.
Selection of shrubs for your yard can have a large impact on wildlife attraction. They can provide food and cover options throughout the year. Forsythias, lilac, and redbud provide some cover but little in the way of food. Shrubs like dogwood, elderberry, various sumacs, plum, chokecherry, cotoneaster, honeysuckle, various viburnums, firethorn, buffaloberry, caragana, quince, Manchurian apricot, various cherries etc, provide food and cover year around. Several of my plantings have not only helped the birds, but have been pruned naturally by rabbit and deer.
Many backyards are big enough for only a limited number of larger trees. When making selection for your home look around the immediate neighborhood and make selections of trees you like, but also trees that will add diversity to the entire area. Some trees that are quality landscape trees and wildlife friendly include bur oak, white oak, red oak, hackberry, crabapple, pines, hickory, spruce, and hawthorn. Vines like American bittersweet, Virginia creeper, trumpet creeper, and wild grape can add both food and cover. Small fruits like currant, raspberry, blackberry and gooseberry are also quite useful.
With planning and forethought your backyard can be home for many enjoyable species of plants and animals. Add a water source and winter feeder and your enjoyment will be year around.
|
2.
Attracting Butterflies
By Don Janssen, UNL Extension Educator
Nothing frosts the cake of a good garden than a multitude of butterflies flitting around it. Checkout these websites for information on how to attract butterflies to your garden.
Attracting Butterflies to the Garden, http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05504.html
Butterfly Gardening, http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/horticulture/g1183.htm
How to Make Butterfly Gardens, http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/misc/ef006.htm
|
3. Newsflash!! Fence Bugs Bunny
By Scott Hygnstrom and Stephen Vantassel, UNL Extension Wildlife Specialists
|
 |
One of our favorite Disney characters, Bugs Bunny, enjoys carrots almost as much as he likes to befuddle his bumbling buddy Elmer Fudd. That “rascally rabbit” also has real-life kin that can cause tremendous losses in gardens, flower beds, fruit orchards, and home landscapes if allowed to go unchecked. This article will address rabbits, rabbit damage in acreages, and what you can do to prevent it.
Rabbit damage- not the 45 degree angle of cut |
Rabbit fencing for garden areas |
Eastern cottontails can be found throughout Nebraska and they are locally abundant in many areas. Cottontails occupy relatively small home ranges (< 100 acres) and they don’t mind rubbing shoulders with their neighbors—densities sometimes approach ten rabbits per acre. If all ten are in your backyard, you may have a problem. Rabbits are remarkably productive. They can breed at six months of age and each year may produce two to six litters of three to five young per litter. The young are born naked and helpless, but they are out of the nest in about three weeks. Remarkably, females breed within hours of giving birth.
Rabbits are herbivores (plant-eaters) with doubly-paired incisors that are used to clip and consume plants. Newly emerging peas, beans, and lettuce are often clipped off at ground level and grazing can continue throughout the growing season. In addition, cottontails are notorious for clipping and girdling trees and shrubs. Clipping is characterized by a clean 45 degree knife-like cut near the end of a twig or branch.
Girdling is the gnawing of the bark around the stem of a woody plant. If girdling is continuous around the stem, chances are the plant will die.
You can use a variety of approaches to prevent damage by cottontails, such as habitat modification, repellents, frightening devices, live trapping, and shooting. Perhaps the easiest and most effective means, however, is to fence them out. Rabbits typically will not try to dig under or jump over even the simplest of fences. For gardens, purchase a two-foot roll of chicken wire that is long enough to stretch around the perimeter of your plot. Use a hoe to dig a four-inch trench around the plot and lay the bottom edge of the wire in the trench.
Cover the wire with soil and weave 3/8" steel fence rods through the wire and push them into the ground about every ten feet to support the fence. Attach wire guylines to the corners to add some tension on the fence. You may be surprised, but this fence will eliminate all rabbit damage in your garden. You can use the same chicken wire to fashion cylinders that can be installed around young trees and shrubs. Several forms of tree wraps and tree guards are also available at garden stores and nurseries.
Wildlife can be both a joy and a problem on an acreage. Don’t let "Bugs" get the best of you this year--install a fence.
For more information:
Prevention & Control of Rabbit Damage, http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/wildlife/g1526.htm
The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Control, http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu
|
4. Releasing Unwanted Skunks from a Cage Trap
By Stephen Vantassel, UNL Extension Wildlife Specialist
Whenever a cage trap is set on the ground, it runs the risk of catching a skunk. Property owners are regularly surprised to wake up and see a skunk and not a rabbit in their trap. I would like to provide you with a few tips to both prevent catching a skunk in the first place as well as steps to take when you catch one.
Prevention
The easiest way to prevent capturing a skunk is to close the trap before sunset and reset it in the morning. Skunks are nocturnal, and are rarely out and about during daylight hours. Unfortunately, this method only works if you are not trying to catch a nocturnal animal. If your quarry is a raccoon, then closing the trap at night will also prevent you from catching that rascally raccoon.
If you need to catch a problem raccoon or opossum, while avoiding catching a skunk, then the best method would be to set the cage trap at least 18 inches off the ground. For example, since raccoons and opossums can climb, place your trap on a wooden fence by building a platform wide enough to hold your cage trap and to provide the raccoon with a 5 inch walkway to the trap. The walkway will provide these species a way to get to the front of the trap without having to walk on your trap and possibly springing it. Be sure to anchor the trap securely so that it doesn’t wobble or fall off and hurt someone. Trail the bait down the side of the fence to encourage them to climb.
Releasing the non-target cage-trapped skunk
Cage traps come in two different versions, gravity doors and spring-loaded doors, and they require different techniques to open. Gravity closing doors, like the name suggests, rely on the pull of gravity to close the trap door when the trap is sprung. Once the door has reached its final destination, a locking mechanism engages to prevent the animal from pushing his way out of the trap. These traps are rather popular as they are generally less expensive than their spring-loaded door counterparts. To release a skunk from this type of trap, simply take a long extended painters pole (18 feet), fully extend it and then from that distance, gently push the trap onto its roof. Once the trap is flipped over, the gravity door should open allowing the skunk to leave.
Don’t be surprised if the skunk doesn’t leave right away. The presence of people, dogs, and general fear may cause the skunk to remain in the trap. Keep people and pets away from the area and the skunk should leave on its own when things quiet down. If the weather is warm and you are in a hurry, you can use a garden hose to make it rain on the skunk to help encourage it to move on. The key isn’t to hurt the skunk with the force of water. You just want to make it get wet so it runs out to dry cover. A word of warning here, make sure the doors to area structures are closed or you may find that the skunk runs to hide in your garage.
Spring-loaded traps are more difficult as the door must be manually manipulated to be reopened. In light of that, you should always place a cloth cover over half the length of the trap (at the end opposite the door) whenever you set it. The cloth allows you a way to approach the skunk without being seen. The cloth should be durable, like a towel, canvas or denim, as well as disposable. Secure the cloth on the trap so it won’t blow away. Make sure you are comfortable with opening the trap door BEFORE setting it. If you catch a skunk, you will need to be able to open the door quickly to reduce the risk of being sprayed.
Once you discover a skunk, you will need another cloth, large enough to completely cover the trap, and a brick or object that is tall and wide enough to keep the trap door open at least 5 inches but one that won’t block the skunk’s escape. With this equipment in hand, quietly approach the trap from the cloth side (so the skunk can’t see you), holding the large cloth in front of you. Gently drape the cloth completely over the cage. Get the object that you will use to keep the door open. (Some spring-loaded traps actually have a device to do this.) When you are ready, take a quick peek to make sure the skunk is at the opposite end of the trap. Chances are he will be facing you as the noise will peak his interest. Quickly open the door prop it open. As you walk away, take the large blanket with you. Keep the blanket open between you and the trap as you quietly and methodically back away. While it is possible for the skunk to bolt out of the cage, it rarely happens. Usually, the skunk remains in the covered portion of the trap until he feels safe enough to walk out. Don’t be surprised if he remains in the trap until nightfall.
Keep in the mind:
- Always wear quality leather or canvass gloves when handling traps. They will protect you from various scratches and reduce your exposure to feces and urine.
- Skunks will pound their front feet (thump, thump) when agitated. If you hear this sound, it means the skunk is warning you that he is likely to spray. It means you have been too noisy or have come too close for his comfort.
- If the skunk sees you, don’t loom large. Crouch down so you appear less threatening. Sometimes quietly talking to the skunk can have a calming influence.
- Rural skunks tend to be more fearful of people than urban and suburban skunks.
- Skunks are less likely to spray what they can’t see. But if you handle a caged skunk in a rough manner, such as shaking, banging etc., they will spray.
- Follow these instructions and the likelihood of being sprayed is very remote.
Feel free to contact me if you have further questions on trapping and releasing skunks or other issues related to wildlife damage management.
Stephen Vantassel
svantassel2@unl.edu
402-472-8961
The Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management also has a great deal of helpful information too. http://wildlifedamage.unl.edu
Properly covered springloaded door trap.
All photos taken by Stephen Vantassel,
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension
|
|
|
Donna Vantassel (my wife) demonstrating the proper approach to the trapped skunk.
|
Spring-loaded door propped open with a strong stick. Other items may be used.
|
|
|
After door is propped open, Donna quickly but cautiously removes the blanket and backs away. |
|
5. The Truth About Chiggers
By Paul Hay, UNL Extension Educator
If I flew to the moon, there would be a chigger on the dark side waiting for me. They are waiting for me every summer in every lawn task I do, every farmer's field I examine, and every picnic I attend. I thought in this article I would examine what a chigger is and why they choose to invade my world. There must be a reason!
There is a reason -- I can't see them. The adult chigger mite is about 1/20th of an inch in size. It does not feed on humans. It is the larval stage, which are 1/120th - 1/150th of an inch in size, that feed on humans. No wonder I can't see what makes me itch.
These chigger larvae crawl up on grasses, weeds, flowers, and shrubs of all kinds and snag onto passing travelers. Chigger larvae are so small they have no problem passing through the weave of most fabrics. They do not burrow into the skin, nor do they suck blood like a mosquito or tick.
They are even more sinister. They pierce the skin, inject digestive enzymes that liquefy the skin tissues which are sucked up by the chigger larvae over a four day period. Bathing and laundering clothing helps to remove most larvae before they complete their feeding. This is small solace as the injury and intense itching are left to heal slowly. The itching usually starts three to six hours after the larvae have fed. You notice the injury after the work or fun is done and you have cleaned up.
The adult chigger feeds on the eggs and nymphs of springtails, and mosquitoes. Like every critter they have good points and bad points. Farther south they have numerous generations per year. In Nebraska we are only bothered by two generations per year in the warmest parts of the summer from May through August.
Chiggers are also pests of snakes, birds, turtles, and other mammals. Animals will suffer the same itching, and the reactions will reduce growth and can lead to secondary infections. Chiggers are not known to carry diseases like mosquitoes or ticks can do.
DEET-based repellents used for mosquitos can be effective for several hours. Apply to upper edges of socks, cuffs, waistbands, and exposed skin in these same areas. This will reduce the chigger bites. Some always find their way through to my ankles and knees. Avoid itching these areas. If you do itch try to scratch the surface and not cause further infection by opening and reopening the small sores. Treat as necessary with anti-itch lotions and/or disinfectants.
I enjoy summer, but I like spring and fall better. I have trained myself to use protection more often, but when I find that I need to wade through the ditch to look at the crop I still go and suffer the chigger attack if it comes as part of life in Nebraska.
For further information:
Chiggers, http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/Insects/nf269.htm
|
6. Oak Gall Itch Mites
By Dave Keith, UNL Extension Entomology Specialist
In September 2004 a small itch mite, associated with insect galls on pin oak leaves, was identified as Pyemotes herfsi. This mite was linked to the outbreak of itchy, red welts received last fall by hundreds of individuals in Lincoln, other southeastern Nebraska towns and cities, and in Kansas, Missouri and Texas.
Typically, the bites of itch mites are red, from 1/4 - 3/4 inch in diameter, with a hard, raised “pimple” in the middle. The bites are intensely itchy but when scratched, little relief is felt - - in fact, scratching is painful.
The bites first showed up in August and continued well beyond the late fall frost, into late November, occurring mainly on people who had been outdoors raking leaves. Others who had been mowing their lawns and handling the grass clippings were similarly attacked by mites still active in the clippings. Others were bitten while sleeping at night near open windows when the microscopic mites were blown into the room by night breezes. Others received bites while sitting outdoors on surfaces that had received large numbers of airborne mites during massive emergences or “mite showers”. Some bite reports were received as late as the first week in December.
While some documentation exists on earlier mite activity, the Fall 2004 outbreak was the first directly attributed to this pest in North America. Since then, entomologists at UNL and Kansas State University are collaborating on a grant to study some the habits of these mites and answer questions about their life cycle - - how they winter, their full range of host insects, how they transfer to the trees and invade the galls and the conditions under which the insect galls and subsequently the mites, become so abundant, as they did in 2004.
So far this spring UNL entomologists have received only two unconfirmed bite reports by mid-April, one from a Lincoln woman who was removing dead leaves by hand from her flower beds. So, how can you protect yourself while working in your garden or landscape?
- Go ahead and get outdoors. If you have pin oak trees lining your street, or were in an area affected in Fall 2004, keep an eye out for developing leaf edge galls on pin oaks, and red and black oaks.
- Wear a DEET repellent when working outdoors under pin oak trees when mites are active.
- Contact your local extension office, and watch Backyard Farmer and the papers for “mite shower” warnings. Entomologists be following the situation at least in Lincoln throughout the summer.
- During “mite showers”, do not handle grass clippings or leaves with bare hands and plan to bathe immediately after mowing near pin oak trees. Do not wear yesterday’s clothing without laundering. Plan to take a warm shower and lather well after working in the yard.
- As a general treatment for biting insects and mites, we suggest calamine lotion, benadryl cream or hydrocortisone cream, any of which should reduce itching. Wash the site often with soap and use an appropriate antiseptic and antibiotic ointment to keep the wound clean and to promote healing. Don’t scratch.
WE DO NOT recommend tree removal, spraying of oak trees to prevent midge galls nor do we recommend spraying lawns for mites. Remember too that many other types of critters can bite you and cause red, itching welts. These include mosquitoes (active already), chiggers, fleas, black flies (found near moving streams) and spiders.
|
7. Mulch For Summer
By John Fech, UNL Extension Educator
Now is the time to mulch! Many gardeners who are aware of the benefits of mulching are anxious to put it down right away in spring - shortly after planting. While this is good in that you get the job done before you forget about it, it's too early. Actually, it is harmful. In early spring, exposed earth will absorb the warm sunlight rays, due to the dark color. Warmer soils encourage rapid root growth of the transplants. If covered by a light colored mulch, the soil will stay cooler, slowing down establishment.
So what is this mulching all about - why do it anyway? The main purpose is to keep soil cool in summer, so that the roots can continue growing at a moderate rate. Just as cool soils limit root expansion, hot soils also have a slowing effect. 2-3 inches of a light colored, air mulch will prevent the soils from warming to their maximum potential. In general, mulched soils will remain 8-10 degrees cooler than bare soils.
An important caveat of mulching: The organic mulches are cooling, whereas the rock mulches actually increase the heat of the soil. In the case of annuals and perennials, the plant can almost "cook" in the mulch. These rarely survive the summer. The reflected and retained heat from the sun is just too much stress on the plant. So, apply wood chips, sawdust, ground corncobs, pine needles and similar materials.
So, whether it's veggies or perennials, annuals or shrubs, apply mulch in summer. Other benefits include reduced annual weed germination, keeping grasses away from plants (which also keeps the lawn mower away), and aesthetic appeal of the mulch.
|
8. Small Changes Can Make A Big Difference In Home Water Use
By
Sharon Skipton, UNL Extension Educator
Around the house, minor adjustments can go a long way in conserving water and saving money. The key is to maintain, change, equip and think.
Fix leaks and dripping faucets. In many homes, leaks can account for 14 percent to 25 percent of all indoor water use.
About one-fifth of toilets leak, wasting up to 200 gallons or more of water each day. To test a toilet for leaks, put a few drops of food dye in the tank. If color appears in the bowl after 15 minutes, the toilet has a leak that should be repaired. Usually, this means the toilet flapper needs to be replaced or the water level readjusted.
Leaky faucets can waste 10 to 20 gallons of water each day. Often, they require inexpensive and simple repairs such as changing washers or O-rings.
To check for leaks throughout the house, turn off all water taps and check the water meter reading. If it has significantly increased after three or four hours, there is probably a leak.
Be more aware of conservation measures when using water around the home and act on them. Some ideas include:
- When doing laundry, adjust water levels to laundry load size and soil. Try to wash full loads, which use less water.
- Take quick showers instead of water-consuming baths.
- When spraying off patio furniture and vehicles, do it on or near the lawn so the water can be used by plants. Use environmentally safe mild cleaners so the plants won't be damaged.
- Use brooms instead of a hose to clean decks and driveways.
- Don't leave rinse water running while washing dishes. Instead, use a rinse basin or sprayer.
- Don't use toilets as trash cans. These unnecessary flushes waste water.
Replace old appliances or other items around the house with water-reducing equipment. New toilets use 1.6 gallons or less per flush instead of the 8 gallons per flush that toilets installed before 1993 might use. However, the amount of water older toilets use can be reduced by installing toilet dams, 1.6 gallon flappers or water-filled plastic containers in the tanks.
Horizontal axis laundry machines, usually front-loading, use about one-third as much water as vertical axis machines, usually top-loading. Certain features on laundry machines also help conserve water -- look for machines that sense the load size and soil of water and fabric and adjust the water level to match, that have high-pressure rinses that spray clothes during the rinse cycle and reduce water consumption, or that have adjustable water level settings.
Shower heads made after 1994 use less than 2.5 gallons of water per minute, as compared with older shower heads that use up to 8 gallons per minute. Faucet aerators restrict water flow while adding air to make the flow appear the same. On-demand water softeners use less water than traditional ones because they respond to actual water use and water hardness rather then a timed schedule.
Come up with creative ways to personalize water conservation measures around the home. These measures should all be safe and sanitary, but can be effective and simple.
To involve children, come up with educational and fun ways to teach them about water conservation. Look for games and activities on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site, http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/index.html
|
9. Establishing Turf-Type Buffalograss From Seed
By Bob Shearman, UNL Turfgrass Specialist
Buffalograss is native to the Great Plains of North America, ranging from Mexico to Canada. It is perennial, stoloniferous, sod forming, and has male and female plants. The female plants produce burs that contain three to five seeds. These flowers are located in the canopy of the buffalograss sward.
Burs are commonly used to seed buffalograss stands, and historically, buffalograss establishment has been slow, taking two or more growing seasons to establish an acceptable turfgrass stand. Slow establishment may be due in part to growth-inhibitors located in the bur that reduced germination. Various methods have been tried to increase germination by reducing the impact of these growth inhibitors on establishment of seeded burs. These methods include acid and chemical dust treatments, soaking and chilling treatments, and mechanical removal of the seeds from the bur. Deburred buffalograss seed established more rapidly than burs, but the deburring procedure is expensive and not readily available in the industry. Therefore, the majority of buffalograss stands are seeded with burrs that are chemically treated and chilled. Very little information is available in the turfgrass literature regarding bur seeding rates with the exception of extension publications, which often conflict with one another as far as rates to use. Recommendations for buffalograss bur seeding rates range from 0.5 to 7.5 lbs per 1000 sq.ft. depending on the need for rapid establishment.
Results from a University of Nebraska study indicates that buffalograss bur seeding rates influence turfgrass quality, shoot density and cover of improved, turf-type cultivars, like Bowie. Bowie established most rapidly with seeding rates of 4.0 to 8.0 lbs per 1000 sq. ft. However, seeding rates > 1.0 lb per 1000 sq. ft. established acceptable turfgrass quality and cover within the first growing season. With these results in mind, we would recommend seeding rates between 1.0 to 4.0 lbs per 1000 sq.ft. for establishment of most general turfgrass areas with a turf-type buffalograss. Higher bur seeding rates should be used when rapid establishment is desired or is needed to prevent soil erosion and potential weed encroachment.
|
10.
Milky Water
By Sharon Skipton, UNL Extension Educator
Have you ever experienced water that is milky or white in appearance? It could be air in the water. How might it happen?
Air bubbles may be present in water after there has been a break in or draining of a water main. If the main is filled rapidly or if there are no air valves in the line, air is trapped within the main. Water can absorb more air at higher water pressure. Water under a pressure of 40 psi is capable of absorbing about four times the amount of air it absorbs at normal atmospheric pressure. A reduction in pressure (for example when water fills a glass) releases air bubbles and results in a milky appearance.
Cold water can hold a greater amount of air in solution than warm water. Water at normal atmospheric pressure and a temperature of 30 degrees F can retain 14.6 mg/L of dissolved oxygen in solution; whereas, water at atmospheric pressure and a temperature of 80 degrees F holds only 8.14 mg/L. Therefore, air is released upon warming cold water saturated with air. The air is released in the form of small air bubbles, which give the water a milky appearance.
Sometimes air in water can be traced to the overheating of hot-water tanks. This can occur in homes where there are old-style, manually operated heaters. However, it can occur in newer homes where automatic hot-water tanks fail to operate properly or where the thermostat is set above 140 degrees F. Water releases air bubbles when it is heated. For this reason, hot water usually contains some air bubbles. Milky water is most noticeable in the first water drawn from the hot-water tank after the tank has been idle overnight.
In addition, it is not unusual for water to release air bubbles as the result of cold-water lines being warmed. For example, milky water might be delivered from cold-water lines in a warm basement.
Source:
Information adapted from Opflow @, April 2005, Vol.31, No.4. American Water Works Association.
|
|
|
|
