The Landscape Design Site Landscaping Blog

WHAT ARE THOSE WOOLY THINGS?

It’s interesting that this article came out when it did as yesterday I was noticing and thinking “why are there so many of these fuzzy caterpillars everywhere?”. Maybe they’ve always been this many this time of year but I’ve never noticed. Anyway, as Woods Houghton points out in the following article, this is just part of the natural life cycle of the tiger moth.

Article By Woods Houghton

I have been getting lots of calls wanting to know what is with the black fury caterpillars. Most of the ones I have seen are tiger moth larva; there are 63 species in New Mexico and 260 in the United States. Many species have ‘hairy’ caterpillars which are popularly known as woolly bears. Tiger moths get their name from their bold, contrasting coloration of the adult moth, which often includes gold and black strips much like those of the jungle cat. In various geometric patterns, red, white, and gray round out the colors of the tiger moth rainbow. You can usually identify adult tiger moths by color patterns alone; but, in general, these insects are also heavy bodied, slow, and deliberate fliers. When at rest, they fold their wings roof like over their bodies.

Many of the caterpillars and adults are active during the daytime. If disturbed, woolly bear caterpillars will roll into a tight spiral. Common folklore has it that the forthcoming severity of a winter can be predicted by the amount of black on the Isabella tiger moth’s caterpillar, the most familiar woolly bear in North America; however the relative width of the black band varies among instars, not according to weather. Isabella tiger moths (Pyrrharctia isabella) overwinter in the caterpillar stage. They can survive freezing at moderate subzero temperatures by producing a cryo-protectant chemical or insect antifreeze.

The life of a tiger moth begins when an adult moth lays an egg on the surface of a food plant. A few days later, the egg hatches and the larva begin feeding on plant food. Tiger moth larvae are distinctively hairy, which is a common characteristic of the family. Have you ever seen caterpillars covered by a dense coat of prickly hairs or by a sparser coat with long, hairy tufts concentrated at the head and posterior regions? They are almost always tiger moth larvae. Some people are very allergic to a chemical secreted onto the hairs or spines for self defense so you need to be careful when handling them. These caterpillars are really cool in that when bat ultrasonic locating sound waves hit them they emit a counter sound to confuse the bats.

Behaviorally, tiger moth larvae are of two types: they either enjoy company or live as hermits. Larvae of most species are solitary and rarely occur in large groups. For example, the banded woolly bear is often seen scurrying alone across roads in late summer and early autumn. The fall web worm is one of the more social of tiger moths. Large aggregations of fall web worm larvae live in web nests on their food plants–trees such as black walnut and elm. For the fall web worm, there is safety in numbers. If you find a fall web worm nest, gently tap the surface with a stick or your finger and watch what happens. The larvae immediately begin jerking their bodies back and forth in unison, presumably to dislodge predators or parasites. If you’re patient, you may see this show repeated when a real parasite lands on the nest.

Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

Among all the other Fall and Winter gardening tasks we’ve been discussing here in the blog, we can include treating and eliminating Winter weeds from our lawns and gardens. While it may require you to drag the lawn mower out one more time, you can also add pre-emergents, and post-emergents to your weeding plan. In the following article, Woods Houghton goes more into detail regarding post and pre-emergent herbicides to treat and eliminate Winter weed problems.

The fall season brings winter weeds. They germinate in the fall, grow through the winter and spring, and then die in the late spring. Most people think that when the grass slows it’s growth that there is no more to do to the lawn, however, fall is the second best time to control weeds using the pre-emergent method described later. The only drawback is that you cannot seed and apply a pre-emergent weed control at the same time.

These weeds can be controlled with proper methods. The two methods used are pre-emergent, and post-emergent. The pre-emergent method is the most effective because the weeds are controlled before they emerge this way the lawn looks cleaner because you never see the weeds.

A pre-emergent herbicide is used to prevent weeds such as; Crabgrass, Goosegrass, Quackgrass, Henbit, Chickweed, Plantain, and some 30 to 40 other weeds. The timing is critical on applying pre-emergent herbicides. If you put it down to early, you miss the late summer weeds, if you wait to long to apply, you’ll miss the crabgrass. Usually the weather in your area will dictate the proper timing. When Forsythia starts to bloom in your area is a good clue as to when to apply.

Using chemicals to control weeds is a tricky matter. Used correctly, they pose no problem.(Contrary to many beliefs)More harm is done to the environment each year by homeowners trying to do something that they don’t understand than by all of the professional applicators put together. Just be careful, read the label, AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.

The second method of weed control is Post-Emergent control. This involves spraying the weeds after they are already up and showing. Commonly this is called broadleaf weed control because usually the weeds controlled are broadleaved. Dandelion, plantain, chickweed, oxalis, wood sorrel, wild onion and garlic, purslane, and clover are all examples of broadleaves. These have to be controlled by applying the herbicide to the leaves or to the soil as to reach the root zone of the plant.

There are many sprays available and granulated products also. The granules may be easier to apply if you’re not good with a sprayer. Sprays work much faster because you don’t have to wait for a rain or irrigate to activate the chemical. Check at your garden center or discount store for available broadleaf herbicides. Just be careful around your shrubs and flowers, they are also broadleaves and it is not hard to kill them inadvertently. I see this every year.

Eddy County Extension Service, New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educator. All programs are available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, or national origin. New Mexico State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Eddy County Government Cooperating.

The resources on this page should leave you with very few if any questions on how to build your own retaining walls. From gathering your first design ideas to drainage issues to finishing your wall, we’ve tried to cover all the bases.

Retaining walls have found their place as one of the most common additions and inclusions in both professional and do it yourself landscaping projects. For creating raised beds, retaining slopes, creating focal points, and a list of other landscaping applications, the concrete retaining wall block is an easy to install cost effective element.

Besides being easy to install, pre fab concrete retaining wall blocks are available in a variety of colors and styles that will go with the exterior and style of most homes. And while the styles and mechanics of blocks will vary by manufacturer, the basics of installation and construction are pretty much the same for all of them.

Retaining Wall Ideas And applications

Most applications of retaining walls have a purpose such as terracing a slope or creating raised planting beds. And while building a wall for such a purpose seems pretty straight forward, there are endless creative ways to do it. The first directory of retaining wall ideas and pictures that we created has hundreds of pictures of retaining wall projects designed by some of the most talented landscaping contractors and designers in the business.

See Retaining Wall Ideas.

Excavation And Preparation

Taking an assessment of your work site, digging your footing, and preparing your base might require a little thought and simple engineering to ensure your walls are stable and level. The following videos will lead you through the steps while also making some good points for thought in your landscaping project.

Again, while these videos may be from specific manufacturers of varied types of wall blocks, the principles of construction are basically the same. And regardless of many variations in block types, they all have basically the same shape and mechanisms for locking together. Keep that in mind while watching the videos.

Designing
Planning
Retaining Walls Building Materials
Project Preparation And Layout
Creating A Level Base Course

Construction

This first video is of a complete raised flower bed project from start to finish using the type of retaining wall blocks that are most commonly found at your do it yourself or home center. While the other videos in this directory cover a lot of details, this video shows how to build walls in its simplest form. It may be the only tutorial you need. See How To Install Retaining Walls.

Another one of our earlier directories is a collection of step by step instructions for building walls and raised planter beds. See step by step wall building instructions to get a good education on the basics of building and construction. And along another path but worth mentioning here is the option of building walls from natural stone. See Rock Garden Walls if you may be interested in creating a retainer from natural stone.

Additional Support

Using Geogrid For Added Wall Support

Backfill And Finish

Back Filling And Compacting