More about pests, bushes and trees

Questions about pests, bushes and trees came in by phone and e-mail in recent days. Here are some examples of conversations at the Lynchburg Extension Office.

Q. Now that we’ve pretty much controlled the stink bugs, we have a new plague. We’re finding small black worms in the house. They’re about one to one and a half inches long, less than an eighth of an inch in diameter, with a beige underbelly. What are they, how do we get rid of them and how do we keep them out? L.W., Lynchburg
A. It sounds like you could have millipedes coming indoors. They survive on rotting plant material, so there is a good chance you have plenty of them hiding under the mulch, leaves and other organic debris outside your home. Cleaning up outdoors around the foundation of your home is one way to discourage these hard-shelled pests. Doors and windows are the usual routes of entry and you could spray insecticide on the ground outdoors next to them in an effort to prevent millipede invasions in the future.

Q. I have a gorgeous big azalea bush out front and for the first time in 20 years it has been blooming ever since the spring. I would like to know if there are azaleas that bloom this time of year? C.D., Lynchburg
A. Perhaps the wet spring weather, combined with mild summer temperatures, caused your azalea to bloom over an extended time. Fall azalea flowers can be explained by the cold snap in late September followed by warm October weather. Some azaleas have long blooming seasons. An example is Encore azalea.

Q. I do landscape design and I have a customer on Link Road whose Green Giant arborvitae that was about five years old turned dead as a doornail almost overnight. I have no clue what would do something like that. I don’t know whether I can plant back in the same spot with another arborvitae. I need to know what to do and what caused its demise. J.M., Lynchburg
A. The tree’s death was possibly caused by a fungal disease called botryosphaeria dieback. This is a potentially devastating disease for an evergreen widely recommended as a substitute for leyland cypress, and we discovered it in Lynchburg for the first time last summer. Replanting with more Green Giants or another arborvitae would not be advisable.

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The future of Extension in the Lynchburg area will depend on input we receive from citizens Nov. 12 at the Lynchburg Public Library Community Meeting Room. Please join us from 10 a.m. to noon for a stakeholders’ dialogue about programs Extension should offer over the next five years. Everyone is invited, whether you live in the city or county.

Davis is an Extension Agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension. He can be reached by calling 455-3740.