Tree cattle are good. Tree cattle form a very tight web along the trunk and limbs of a tree, like a lady’s white stocking pulled up the tree. This webbing, although it looks like a big, bad, biting spider might live somewhere nearby, is a protective covering for an insect that is cleaning your tree. Tree cattle eat organic matter and lichens that gets trapped in the cracks and crevices of the bark of the tree.

Since tree cattle are good guys, I would leave them alone and let them do their thing. I do know of one municipal building that some of the employees and some of the people coming to do business there were freaked out over the webbing. In this case, a strong blast of water fixed the issue. There is no reason to kill these insects.

With the bad economy, many of you had a garden for the first time in a while or the first time ever. Stink bugs hit the tomatoes pretty hard in the last few weeks. Insecticidal soap (an organic control), Cyonara Lawn and Garden, Carbaryl (Sevin) liquid, Malathion or Neem PY (an organic control) should take care of this stinky bug.

Sod webworms and armyworms are starting to munch on some turf. Spinosad, Thuricide (Bt) and Neem PY are three organic products that will control these turf eating varmints. Bug Blaster, Tirade, or Lebanon Insect Control are other control products that will manage these serious eaters life cycle.

At dusk look for moths in your yard that fly a few feet then land. These moths are the adults laying eggs. If your yard appears to be mowed and you haven’t cut it recently, there is a good chance the worms have been munching. You can also see birds feeding on the worms in your yard.

Many of you have webworms in your trees as well. Depending on the tree and the amount of damage, you will need to decide if it is worth treating. Webworms are often confused with tent caterpillars. Tent caterpillars are in the crotch of the limbs and are not as common here. Fall webworms are at the tips, like someone through a cast net over the branch.

Spinosad, Thuricide (Bt) and Neem PY are three organic products that will control these tree leaf eaters. Some factors that will help you decide if treatment is needed would depend on the size of the tree, health of the tree, time of year and the amount of damage.

Since leaves generate food for the tree, it would be nice if the caterpillars were not eating them. In our mild climate, a deciduous tree’s leaves can produce food for the tree well into November (depending on the tree species). Since the trees do not put on leaves until March, an attack of webworms in August could cut the production of food by these leaves by one third. If the tree is under some stress (construction damage, fungus attack, other insect attack, newly planted, drought, etc), lowering the tree’s diet by one third might not be a good idea. A qualified tree professional can help you make this decision.

Gray Leaf Spot and the nasty rascal the chinch bug are still attacking St. Augustine grass!

Preemerge your lawn and beds now or forever hold your peace!

 Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply, 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511).  Fax your questions to 406-2700 or e-mail them to your newspaper’s editors. You can also call in your questions to “ The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from 12-1 p.m., on 1250 WTMA  (The Big Talker).