Hi,
I'm new to this group, but hope you guys can give suggestions. I moved
into my new house last May. It has medium-size yards with very large,
thick-trunked trees. I love the trees but they clearly need some trimming.
I've been meaning to get a tree doctor out to tend them, but - well,
summer's been super busy. I still plan to do that, but until then maybe I
can ask you guys some of the questions I plan to ask them.
The large tree in my front yard has ivy growing around it's base and up
it's trunk. I've heard that this is bad for trees, is that correct? Is it
possible to remove the ivy without killing the tree?
The other thing that's bothering me (and this one REALLY bothers me!) is
that my back yard is basically a mosquito hive. A person can walk out there
in shorts for only 5 minutes, and come back in looking like he's got chicken
pox. It's horrible, and since this is Lyme Disease country (northern VA),
it's a potentially serious problem.
There's never any standing water in my yard that I know of. I can't
tell for sure about my neighbors' yards, but I doubt they have standing
water either. It seems kind of like the bugs are living in the lawn. Could
they be living and breeding in the grass or just moist soil? What's the
best way to get rid of them?
I don't know if it helps diagnose, but these pesties are teensy, just a
little bit bigger than gnats. There are also a large number of biting flies
out there, that aren't mosquitos. Is it worth hiring a pest control service
to do periodic service on my yard? What would they do?

--
Sharon, Lurking As Usual
To reply, replace spammersmustdie with jcwoman1963

"Sharon" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this group, but hope you guys can give suggestions. I
moved
into my new house last May. It has medium-size yards with very large,
thick-trunked trees. I love the trees but they clearly need some
trimming.
I've been meaning to get a tree doctor out to tend them, but - well,
summer's been super busy. I still plan to do that, but until then maybe I
can ask you guys some of the questions I plan to ask them.
The large tree in my front yard has ivy growing around it's base and
up
it's trunk. I've heard that this is bad for trees, is that correct? Is
it
possible to remove the ivy without killing the tree?
The other thing that's bothering me (and this one REALLY bothers me!)
is
that my back yard is basically a mosquito hive. A person can walk out
there
in shorts for only 5 minutes, and come back in looking like he's got
chicken
pox. It's horrible, and since this is Lyme Disease country (northern VA),
it's a potentially serious problem.
There's never any standing water in my yard that I know of. I can't
tell for sure about my neighbors' yards, but I doubt they have standing
water either. It seems kind of like the bugs are living in the lawn.
Could
they be living and breeding in the grass or just moist soil? What's the
best way to get rid of them?
I don't know if it helps diagnose, but these pesties are teensy, just
a
little bit bigger than gnats. There are also a large number of biting
flies
out there, that aren't mosquitos. Is it worth hiring a pest control
service
to do periodic service on my yard? What would they do?

--
Sharon, Lurking As Usual
To reply, replace spammersmustdie with jcwoman1963



Hi Fellow Lurker.

I have seen several trees killed by the Ivy and stuff growing upon them.
The safest way is to cut the vines with some type of shear remove a 2-3 foot
section. Then when the vine sprouts out again you can treat the new growth
chemically without to much fear of hurting the tree. Alternately you could
try pulling or digging out the roots.

Don't know anything about the backyard bugs. Those nasty little green flies
give a major hickey when they bite me.


--
Colbyt
Remove " stopspam." from the email address to reply via email

one thing to make sure is if the ivy is poison ivy. if it is, then you will need
protective cloting to remove the ivy. Also if the trees are big enough, the ivy
will not hurt the trees and removing the ivy wil not hurt the tree.


If I was a pest control professional, I would use a special spray and spray the
whole yard once a month. Thats what they will do. It might take atleast a few
month to get rid of them. If I was in your shoes, I might have them come out a
few times each month then see what happens. Also I would check my local harware
stores to see what they have in the way of mosquito contol. The internet is
always a good source of info.

click the link below for a list of websites on this subject.

http://msxml.excite.com/_1_2LN6T9I0E...art=&ver=30493

one thing to make sure is if the ivy is poison ivy. if it is, then you will need
protective cloting to remove the ivy. Also if the trees are big enough, the ivy
will not hurt the trees and removing the ivy wil not hurt the tree.


If I was a pest control professional, I would use a special spray and spray the
whole yard once a month. Thats what they will do. It might take atleast a few
month to get rid of them. If I was in your shoes, I might have them come out a
few times each month then see what happens. Also I would check my local harware
stores to see what they have in the way of mosquito contol. The internet is
always a good source of info.

click the link below for a list of websites on this subject.

http://msxml.excite.com/_1_2LN6T9I0E...art=&ver=30493

Sharon,

I suspect that the reason your being overrun by bugs is because your yard is
the perfect habitat for them. I don't know about the other things you
mentioned, but as for mosquitoes, they love shady, still yards with lots of
vegetation around. Its not where they're hatching from but its where they
love to live as soon as they hatch. I can bet there's some pooled up water
somewhere you don't know about -maybe in the neighbor's old goldfish pond,
maybe in the woods behind the house, maybe in abandoned buckets or other
containers. But if its not on your property there's not much you can do
about that. It only takes a very small pool of water to breed hundreds upon
hundreds of mosquitoes. As for the yard itself, you basically need to cut
away any brush you don't need and try to open it up a little. Try to get
more air and light into the yard if possible. Mosquitoes don't like too much
sunlight or wind. I'm sure they love hiding in the vines covering the tree.

I don't think hiring a pest control guy would do you much good, at least not
in the long term. Unless you get rid of the habitat there going to keep
coming back. You might want to get one to come by once just to see what his
assessment is. Remember that a certain number of bugs in your yard is
normal. Also, certain species of bugs will come and go depending on the
season.

Even though the vines may look pretty they're harboring mosquitoes and other
insects and are eventually going to kill the tree. Do as the other poster
suggested and cut out a section of it near the base of the tree and
everything from that point up will eventually die. Getting the dead vines
off are another problem altogether, you may need to hire someone to do that
job.

One word of caution - make sure the vines are not poison ivy. That could be
disastrous.

CNB

"Sharon" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this group, but hope you guys can give suggestions. I move
d
into my new house last May. It has medium-size yards with very large,
thick-trunked trees. I love the trees but they clearly need some
trimming.
I've been meaning to get a tree doctor out to tend them, but - well,
summer's been super busy. I still plan to do that, but until then maybe I
can ask you guys some of the questions I plan to ask them.
The large tree in my front yard has ivy growing around it's base and
up
it's trunk. I've heard that this is bad for trees, is that correct? Is
it
possible to remove the ivy without killing the tree?
The other thing that's bothering me (and this one REALLY bothers me!)
is
that my back yard is basically a mosquito hive. A person can walk out
there
in shorts for only 5 minutes, and come back in looking like he's got
chicken
pox. It's horrible, and since this is Lyme Disease country (northern VA),
it's a potentially serious problem.
There's never any standing water in my yard that I know of. I can't
tell for sure about my neighbors' yards, but I doubt they have standing
water either. It seems kind of like the bugs are living in the lawn.
Could
they be living and breeding in the grass or just moist soil? What's the
best way to get rid of them?
I don't know if it helps diagnose, but these pesties are teensy, just
a
little bit bigger than gnats. There are also a large number of biting
flies
out there, that aren't mosquitos. Is it worth hiring a pest control
service
to do periodic service on my yard? What would they do?

--
Sharon, Lurking As Usual
To reply, replace spammersmustdie with jcwoman1963

"Sharon" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this group, but hope you guys can give suggestions. I move
d
into my new house last May. It has medium-size yards with very large,
thick-trunked trees. I love the trees but they clearly need some
trimming.
I've been meaning to get a tree doctor out to tend them, but - well,
summer's been super busy. I still plan to do that, but until then maybe I
can ask you guys some of the questions I plan to ask them.
The large tree in my front yard has ivy growing around it's base and
up
it's trunk. I've heard that this is bad for trees, is that correct? Is
it
possible to remove the ivy without killing the tree?
The other thing that's bothering me (and this one REALLY bothers me!)
is
that my back yard is basically a mosquito hive. A person can walk out
there
in shorts for only 5 minutes, and come back in looking like he's got
chicken
pox. It's horrible, and since this is Lyme Disease country (northern VA),
it's a potentially serious problem.
There's never any standing water in my yard that I know of. I can't
tell for sure about my neighbors' yards, but I doubt they have standing
water either. It seems kind of like the bugs are living in the lawn.
Could
they be living and breeding in the grass or just moist soil? What's the
best way to get rid of them?
I don't know if it helps diagnose, but these pesties are teensy, just
a
little bit bigger than gnats. There are also a large number of biting
flies
out there, that aren't mosquitos. Is it worth hiring a pest control
service
to do periodic service on my yard? What would they do?

--
Sharon, Lurking As Usual
To reply, replace spammersmustdie with jcwoman1963





On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 20:18:41 -0400, "CNB" wrote:

Sharon,

I suspect that the reason your being overrun by bugs is because your yard is
the perfect habitat for them. I don't know about the other things you
mentioned, but as for mosquitoes, they love shady, still yards with lots of
vegetation around. Its not where they're hatching from but its where they
love to live as soon as they hatch. I can bet there's some pooled up water
somewhere you don't know about -maybe in the neighbor's old goldfish pond,
maybe in the woods behind the house, maybe in abandoned buckets or other
containers. But if its not on your property there's not much you can do
about that. It only takes a very small pool of water to breed hundreds upon
hundreds of mosquitoes. As for the yard itself, you basically need to cut
away any brush you don't need and try to open it up a little. Try to get
more air and light into the yard if possible. Mosquitoes don't like too much
sunlight or wind. I'm sure they love hiding in the vines covering the tree.

I don't think hiring a pest control guy would do you much good, at least not
in the long term. Unless you get rid of the habitat there going to keep
coming back. You might want to get one to come by once just to see what his
assessment is. Remember that a certain number of bugs in your yard is
normal. Also, certain species of bugs will come and go depending on the
season.

Even though the vines may look pretty they're harboring mosquitoes and other
insects and are eventually going to kill the tree. Do as the other poster
suggested and cut out a section of it near the base of the tree and
everything from that point up will eventually die. Getting the dead vines
off are another problem altogether, you may need to hire someone to do that
job.

One word of caution - make sure the vines are not poison ivy. That could be
disastrous.

CNB


About the mosquitoes, Cutter makes a hose end spray called "Bugfree
Backyard". You spray it on your lawn just like a liquid herbicide and
it works for 2 or more weeks. I use it all the time with no bad
effects to the lawn or bushes and my yard stays mosquito free for,
sometimes a month. My city doesn't spray so it is a must to treat your
own property. Very good product and is available at most garden
stores.

"Sharon" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this group, but hope you guys can give suggestions. I move
d
into my new house last May. It has medium-size yards with very large,
thick-trunked trees. I love the trees but they clearly need some
trimming.
I've been meaning to get a tree doctor out to tend them, but - well,
summer's been super busy. I still plan to do that, but until then maybe I
can ask you guys some of the questions I plan to ask them.
The large tree in my front yard has ivy growing around it's base and
up
it's trunk. I've heard that this is bad for trees, is that correct? Is
it
possible to remove the ivy without killing the tree?
The other thing that's bothering me (and this one REALLY bothers me!)
is
that my back yard is basically a mosquito hive. A person can walk out
there
in shorts for only 5 minutes, and come back in looking like he's got
chicken
pox. It's horrible, and since this is Lyme Disease country (northern VA),
it's a potentially serious problem.
There's never any standing water in my yard that I know of. I can't
tell for sure about my neighbors' yards, but I doubt they have standing
water either. It seems kind of like the bugs are living in the lawn.
Could
they be living and breeding in the grass or just moist soil? What's the
best way to get rid of them?
I don't know if it helps diagnose, but these pesties are teensy, just
a
little bit bigger than gnats. There are also a large number of biting
flies
out there, that aren't mosquitos. Is it worth hiring a pest control
service
to do periodic service on my yard? What would they do?

--
Sharon, Lurking As Usual
To reply, replace spammersmustdie with jcwoman1963





On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 20:18:41 -0400, "CNB" wrote:

Sharon,

I suspect that the reason your being overrun by bugs is because your yard is
the perfect habitat for them. I don't know about the other things you
mentioned, but as for mosquitoes, they love shady, still yards with lots of
vegetation around. Its not where they're hatching from but its where they
love to live as soon as they hatch. I can bet there's some pooled up water
somewhere you don't know about -maybe in the neighbor's old goldfish pond,
maybe in the woods behind the house, maybe in abandoned buckets or other
containers. But if its not on your property there's not much you can do
about that. It only takes a very small pool of water to breed hundreds upon
hundreds of mosquitoes. As for the yard itself, you basically need to cut
away any brush you don't need and try to open it up a little. Try to get
more air and light into the yard if possible. Mosquitoes don't like too much
sunlight or wind. I'm sure they love hiding in the vines covering the tree.

I don't think hiring a pest control guy would do you much good, at least not
in the long term. Unless you get rid of the habitat there going to keep
coming back. You might want to get one to come by once just to see what his
assessment is. Remember that a certain number of bugs in your yard is
normal. Also, certain species of bugs will come and go depending on the
season.

Even though the vines may look pretty they're harboring mosquitoes and other
insects and are eventually going to kill the tree. Do as the other poster
suggested and cut out a section of it near the base of the tree and
everything from that point up will eventually die. Getting the dead vines
off are another problem altogether, you may need to hire someone to do that
job.

One word of caution - make sure the vines are not poison ivy. That could be
disastrous.

CNB


About the mosquitoes, Cutter makes a hose end spray called "Bugfree
Backyard". You spray it on your lawn just like a liquid herbicide and
it works for 2 or more weeks. I use it all the time with no bad
effects to the lawn or bushes and my yard stays mosquito free for,
sometimes a month. My city doesn't spray so it is a must to treat your
own property. Very good product and is available at most garden
stores.

"Colbyt" wrote in message ...
"Sharon" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this group, but hope you guys can give suggestions. I
moved
into my new house last May. It has medium-size yards with very large,
thick-trunked trees. I love the trees but they clearly need some
trimming.
I've been meaning to get a tree doctor out to tend them, but - well,
summer's been super busy. I still plan to do that, but until then maybe I
can ask you guys some of the questions I plan to ask them.
The large tree in my front yard has ivy growing around it's base and
up
it's trunk. I've heard that this is bad for trees, is that correct? Is
it
possible to remove the ivy without killing the tree?
The other thing that's bothering me (and this one REALLY bothers me!)
is
that my back yard is basically a mosquito hive. A person can walk out
there
in shorts for only 5 minutes, and come back in looking like he's got
chicken
pox. It's horrible, and since this is Lyme Disease country (northern VA),
it's a potentially serious problem.
There's never any standing water in my yard that I know of. I can't
tell for sure about my neighbors' yards, but I doubt they have standing
water either. It seems kind of like the bugs are living in the lawn.
Could
they be living and breeding in the grass or just moist soil? What's the
best way to get rid of them?
I don't know if it helps diagnose, but these pesties are teensy, just
a
little bit bigger than gnats. There are also a large number of biting
flies
out there, that aren't mosquitos. Is it worth hiring a pest control
service
to do periodic service on my yard? What would they do?

--
Sharon, Lurking As Usual
To reply, replace spammersmustdie with jcwoman1963



Hi Fellow Lurker.

I have seen several trees killed by the Ivy and stuff growing upon them.
The safest way is to cut the vines with some type of shear remove a 2-3 foot
section. Then when the vine sprouts out again you can treat the new growth
chemically without to much fear of hurting the tree. Alternately you could
try pulling or digging out the roots.

Don't know anything about the backyard bugs. Those nasty little green flies
give a major hickey when they bite me.


Deer ticks are the primary vector for Lyme disease, not mosquitos.
Mosquitos can carry West Nile. Not sure which is worse actually. If
you've gotten rid of all the standing water, including clogged
gutters, areas under gutter leaders, any open buckets, etc, you've
done what you can to prevent them from breeding.

The best solution to control mosquitos is one of the new mosquito
killing machines. These units use propane and a chemical attractant.
They have a catalyst which turns the propane into CO2. That together
with the attractant draws mosquitos in, at which point they get sucked
up. One unit will clear an average size home yard. Some units
require electricity, others are self powered. You can find more info
online or some of the home centers carry them. I don't have one, but
I have heard that they are effective and if I had a problem, that
would be my solution.

"CNB" wrote in message
...
Sharon,

I suspect that the reason your being overrun by bugs is because your yard
is
the perfect habitat for them. I don't know about the other things you
mentioned, but as for mosquitoes, they love shady, still yards with lots
of
vegetation around. Its not where they're hatching from but its where they
love to live as soon as they hatch. I can bet there's some pooled up water

Yes, that describes my yards perfectly. I plan to not only have a tree
doctor trim up the trees, but also to get landscapers in to clean up the
lawn and shrubbery (*twang*). The only problem is it can't happen too fast
for me. hah! I'm going to have to get them in for quotes and then do one
whilst I save for the other. Trees first, though; and what you're telling
me reinforces that decision, thanks!
After I clean up the trees and bushes, if there are still swarms of
biting things, I'll invest in one of those traps another poster mentioned.
Oh, another possibility... there are two medium-sized pear trees in the
back yard (along with the other BIG trees) that are in full-fruit and
dropping pears frequently. I wonder if the biting bugs are living or
breeding on the rotting fallen pears. I'm kind of thinking of having the
tree doc yank out those pear trees. I don't have the energy to care for
them properly or to clean up after them.

I don't think hiring a pest control guy would do you much good, at least
not
in the long term. Unless you get rid of the habitat there going to keep
coming back. You might want to get one to come by once just to see what
his
assessment is. Remember that a certain number of bugs in your yard is
normal. Also, certain species of bugs will come and go depending on the
season.

Good point. I'm ok with bugs as long as they don't carry disease and
stay out of the house. Last night when I mowed the front yard, there were
crickets scrambling everywhere. Hoards and swarms of them. Ugh. But they
seem harmless, so I don't mind them.

Even though the vines may look pretty they're harboring mosquitoes and
other
insects and are eventually going to kill the tree. Do as the other poster
suggested and cut out a section of it near the base of the tree and
everything from that point up will eventually die. Getting the dead vines
off are another problem altogether, you may need to hire someone to do
that
job.

I don't think the vines are particularly pretty. Some previous owner of
the house obviously thought so, though. Actually I'm surprised I don't have
as many slugs and snails as I thought I would have because of the stupid
stuff. I'll probably have the tree guys take care of the ivy for me while
they're trimming the tree. I'd rather pay them to dig it out and rip it off
the tree, than do it myself.

One word of caution - make sure the vines are not poison ivy. That could
be
disastrous.

Nope, this is standard landscaping ivy that people often plant against
trees and houses. Nasty stuff, in my opinion. Good only for the
occasional houseplant.

--
Sharon, Lurking As Usual
To reply, replace spammersmustdie with jcwoman1963

We have a ton of crikets which don't bother me to much they don't
cause much visible damage. My big problem this year has been yellow
jackets! They are everywhere. I live on a city lot and have taken out
two nests just on my little lot. One was int eh ground and the other
was up under our siding at the foundation. Part of the problem is our
apple tree. I tried to keep the fallen apples picked up to keep them
away but it has been pretty hard and the stinking things will eat
holes into the apple and then eat it from the inside out so you can
pick up one that looks liek it hasn't been touched yet and it has 10
bees inside it that aren't happy you picked up the apple. It's down
right dangerous to try to pick them up now. I finally went out and
sprayed the ones on the ground with sevin the other day to posion the
suckers. I don't want to take out the tree but I'm afraid one of the
kids are going to get stung..I don'r suppose they make a spray to stop
fruit development?

"Sharon" wrote in message ...
"CNB" wrote in message
...
Sharon,

I suspect that the reason your being overrun by bugs is because your yard
is
the perfect habitat for them. I don't know about the other things you
mentioned, but as for mosquitoes, they love shady, still yards with lots
of
vegetation around. Its not where they're hatching from but its where they
love to live as soon as they hatch. I can bet there's some pooled up water

Sharon,whatever you do,remove the ivy from the tree.You can do this by using
a hand pruner,and cut the ivy down as close to the base of the trunk as
possible.Once the ivy is cut,the remaining ivy on the tree will die and fall
off.The ivy can choke the life out of the tree.In winter if you have an ice
storm,the ivy can freeze and the weight of it can actually bring down limbs
or the whole tree,I have seen that happen too many times.
All I know about mosquitoes is that I hate them.Good Luck!

Some ivy can overtake a tree. I would cut the runners and let it die. If it'
s poison ivy wear gloves or wash your hands. The bugs sound like noseeums
(not sure about their scientific name). I bought a Mosquito Magnet T and it
seems to work. I can't really swear that it is 100% effective since my
mosquito problem declined dramatically after I bought it but the trap doesn'
t seem to be that full of dead bugs. It takes about 4 weeks to work before
it depopulates your general area; mosquitoes are reported to be territorial.
It also works on noseeums but I don't know about biting flies.

"Sharon" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm new to this group, but hope you guys can give suggestions. I
moved
into my new house last May. It has medium-size yards with very large,
thick-trunked trees. I love the trees but they clearly need some
trimming.
I've been meaning to get a tree doctor out to tend them, but - well,
summer's been super busy. I still plan to do that, but until then maybe I
can ask you guys some of the questions I plan to ask them.
The large tree in my front yard has ivy growing around it's base and
up
it's trunk. I've heard that this is bad for trees, is that correct? Is
it
possible to remove the ivy without killing the tree?
The other thing that's bothering me (and this one REALLY bothers me!)
is
that my back yard is basically a mosquito hive. A person can walk out
there
in shorts for only 5 minutes, and come back in looking like he's got
chicken
pox. It's horrible, and since this is Lyme Disease country (northern VA),
it's a potentially serious problem.
There's never any standing water in my yard that I know of. I can't
tell for sure about my neighbors' yards, but I doubt they have standing
water either. It seems kind of like the bugs are living in the lawn.
Could
they be living and breeding in the grass or just moist soil? What's the
best way to get rid of them?
I don't know if it helps diagnose, but these pesties are teensy, just
a
little bit bigger than gnats. There are also a large number of biting
flies
out there, that aren't mosquitos. Is it worth hiring a pest control
service
to do periodic service on my yard? What would they do?

--
Sharon, Lurking As Usual
To reply, replace spammersmustdie with jcwoman1963