Great tips to keep your lawn healthy in the Summer!

Posted on August 4, 2010 with No Comments

Here is a great video R came across that tells your how to maintain your lawn in the summer time.

A few tips to keep your lawn green in the Summer

Posted on July 21, 2010 with 4 Comments

Today Postbulletin.com published a short article with some tips to keep your lawn green, whether its is sunny or cloudy, dry or moist outside.  A local lawn expert says you should water each section of your lawn for only 15 minutes each day.  The soil can only absorb so much water and after 15 minutes, the water will just wash away the soils nutrients. The best time to water your lawn is between 6 am and 8 am.  A common problem homeowners do is cut their lawn too short.  Cutting your lawn too short will stress the grass.  You should keep your lawn 3 to 4 inches tall.  By keeping your grass at this height, it will shade the ground so it will not dry up.  JP McHale is a New York lawn care company and for more information on how JP McHale can help you protect your lawn, visit our tree and turf department or contact us by phone 800-479-2284, email, live chat, twitter, or facebook.

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Mange on Dogs ALERT!!

Posted on July 12, 2010 with No Comments

What are they?

Canine scabies, also known as sarcoptic mange, have been affecting a great number of dogs in the recent months. The sarcoptic mites invade the skin of healthy dogs and puppies which can create problems.  The most common effects are severe scratching and hair loss.  From the intense scratching, most dogs will develop sores and infections on the skin.  The mites like to latch on to dogs but they can also live on other animals and even humans.  The female mite will burrow into the skin and lay eggs there.  These tunnels can get to be several centimeters long! The eggs will hatch 3-8 days after the females lays them.  The babies will grow as the mother dies off.  The whole process takes 2 to 3 week.  Mites that live in cool moist environments can survive up to 22 days, but the mites in room temperature will live only 2 to 6 days.

How does my dog get them?

An animal can get scabies by being around an animal that is already affected.  Wild dogs, coyotes, and foxes have a good chance of carrying the mites.  They do not have to come in direct contact with the animal, but just be in the same areas that they were once in.  Once your dog gets the mites, when he goes inside of a house they can affect other pets and even humans.

JP McHale Pest Management can offer a comprehensive solution to any Mange problem.  Simply contact us by phone 800-479-2284 or email to talk to someone about protecting your home from mange!

BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR JAPANESE BEETLES!

Posted on July 7, 2010 with No Comments

Is your property being invaded by Japanese beetles? They are metallic purple and green and will feed on your landscape plants causing considerable damage. It doesn’t stop there, In a few weeks after reproducing, females will lay eggs near the soils surface. Later in the season eggs turn into larvae (also known as grubs) and feed on organic matter in the soil around your grass roots, causing even more damage to your landscape. JP McHale can deliver an environmentally sensitive two fold program to protect your plants and grass roots from damaging Japanese beetles. Timing is critical so call for an evaluation today! 800-479-2284

Mosquito Breeding Area

Posted on June 19, 2009 with No Comments

We have had a lot of rain lately, so the mosquitoes, tick and carpenter ants will be out in full swing. We would like to give you a tip on keeping your landscape’s mosquito population to a minimum.

Get Rid of Stagnant Water

A perfect example is a bird bath. The picture on the right shows a typical bird bath in someone’s garden. While they do look nice, they attract mosquitoes. Other areas on your property that mosquitoes love are old tires. Old tires collect rain water and sit for months and even years. We previously wrote about foreclosed homes, and why they are perfect areas for mosquitoes, mainly because of the pool. Ensure that your pool is up kept properly to avoid breeding areas.

These are just a few tips on reducing the pest population on your property this summer. These tips are part of a program called Integrated Pest Management. IPM is a program designed that will keep pest populations to a minimum with reduced amounts of pesticides, and keeping a clean living area.

Enjoying your lawn this summer? Grubs are attacking

Posted on June 19, 2009 with 3 Comments

Summer is a great time to enjoy your beautiful lawn and landscape with your family. Unfortunately, grubs are going to enjoy it also, just not quite the same way. Grubs start down deep in the ground below the frost line until soil temperatures start to rise. As temperatures increase, grubs make there way up to the surface were they can find moisture and organic matter. This is normally about two inches below your lawn smack in the middle of your grass roots. As grubs feed, they destroy your lawns valuable root system. Symptoms and signs of grub infestations are; browning of turf areas, Birds, skunks and other animals digging in specific locations or lawn areas rolling up like a carpet do to a severed root system.   This is only half the story, as grubs are the larvae of adult beetles that feed on the foliage of your valuable trees, shrubs and flowers.

Timing and proper materials are imperative in achieving environmentally sensitive grub worm control. As mentioned earlier, grub larvae spend the winter below the frost line. As temperatures increase in the spring and early summer, grubs rise to the service in search of moisture and organic matter to feed on. Grubs feed for short period and then enter the pupa stage of development before emerging as adult beetles during the months of July and August. Adult beetles search for a food source, such as fruit trees, ornamental shrubs and flowers. Certain species like Japanese Beetles (green and purple metallic) feed in clusters causing total defoliation of certain trees and shrubs. All beetles have chewing mouth parts so leaves will appear eaten and not stippled. When feeding is complete, females will return to the soil and lay her eggs around mid August. The eggs will them develop into grub larvae and feed vigorously until soil temperatures cool and they move below the frost line. This is when grubs cause the most damage to your lawn. Most effective control of grubs’ occurs just after eggs are laid and larvae are small. Damage at that time is minimal and grubs are small and easier to control.

Controlling the adult beetle is also an option. By reducing the number of adult females returning to the soil to lay eggs can drastically reduce the number of grub larvae in the soil. This can be achieved by using environmentally sensitive controls combined with strategically placed allure traps.

If you have had grub infestations in the past, there is a good chance they will return annually to conditions that favor them. They also tend to stay with in a mile of the area they originated from.

J.P. McHale Pest Management, Inc has a Tree and Turf Division that is overseen by our University of Delaware Graduate Plant Pathologist, Douglas McHale. If you think you have grubs, or any other lawn or tree problem, please arrange a free inspection with us to determine your problem and show service options.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to call us, email us, live chat, Facebook or even twitter.

Picture source http://www.backtonaturellc.com/btn/web/faq_topic.php?ftopic=5