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Identifying Subterranean Termites
Termites can cause serious damage to homes before they’re discovered. Nebraska Extension Urban Entomologist Jody Green says knowing what to look for can help homeowners identify subterranean termites before it’s too late.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.
On today's almanac, we start a four part series on identification and control of termites.
We'll be covering how to identify termites from common ants and what to look for if you suspect an infestation, and we'll cover some various prevention and control issues.
To help us with this discussion, extension urban etymologist, Jody Green, talks about what termites look like and how to differentiate them from ants.
[Jody Green, Nebraska Extension Urban Entomologist]
So termites, when they are wings, they have 4 wings that are equal length and size.
So that is actually one of their identifying characteristics to separate them from winged ants.
So we can talk about that, because most times, when we think of ants, we don't consider them with wings, because they're foraging, they're on the ground, and mounds, or under the soil.
But they become swarmers, usually annually, their colonies are big enough that they want to mate and disperse.
So they'll set out winged queens and males.
And that is to mate with other ants of the same species and then dispersed to create new colonies.
And so at that time when they have wings, A lot of homeowners have never seen those before, and they may come out of the woodwork, so they may come out outside through landscape timbers.
They may even come inside through expansion joints in the basement or windows, things like that.
And then people get very alarmed because they believe they're termites.
Because when people think about termites, they do think of the winged form.
So whenever we see either one of these insects, ants, or termites with wings.
We are thinking they are reproductives.
We may call them swarmers.
Another name for that is alates.
So looking at these alates, they're both going to be darker color.
So usually, um, like a black color because, uh, well, termite workers are, uh, like cream colored soft bodies, you don't usually see those outside of, you know, out in the open because they will desiccate very quickly.
So when you do see these swarming uh, reproductive casts, they're going to be a dark color.
They're gonna have 4 wings.
The ants are gonna have wings of unequal sizes.
So their 4 wings or their front wings are going to be a lot larger than their hind wings.
And then they will also have their antennae will be elbowed, or we call it geniculate.
So it kind of is like, uh, I don't know, you want to call it like a gold post?
So they're elbowed.
Whereas the termite antennae will be straight.
We call those bead like.
So if you look very closely, they're straight, they will not bend.
They will not be in an elbow shape.
That's probably the easiest one to tell.
Also, when you look in an ant, most people think, oh, it's got segments, we can see that, they've got like a, I don't know, a thin waist or a node or a pedic- pedicel, or termites, they're broadly jointed.
They do not have that thin little waist.
And so, those are those 3 differences.
So the antennae, they're going to be elbowed in the ants and straight in the termites.
There are gonna be, uh, in the ants, larger 4 wings than hind wings, and then also ants are gonna have a thin waist, whereas termites will have a broadly jointed waist.
When it comes to workers, though, It's going to be something that you don't see.
So those termites are going to be cream colored, very soft bodied.
So we don't see those above ground.
They will make mud tunnels or mud tubes, shelter tubes, and they use the soil, feces, saliva to make those, and then they hide in them because they will dry out in the air.
So what you're looking for when looking for termites are those mud tunnels.
If you see that, going over top of something that's not wood, like your sill plate, or the foundation, that is going to be a sign of termites.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
We'll be covering what to look for around your home for signs of termite infestation in a future episode.
For Nebraska Extension Almanac.
I'm Brad Mills.
Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.
For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
Moving Plants Indoors
As temperatures cool, it’s time to prepare houseplants for their move back indoors. Nebraska Extension Associate Educator Scott Evans says there are a few important things to consider before bringing your plants inside for the season.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.
One of the joys of gardening is taking some of your house plants outdoors during the spring to enjoy them during the season on the patio.
As fall approaches.
It's time to prepare them for the move back indoors.
That takes a little preparation as moving them right back inside will be detrimental to their health.
On today's almanac, extension associate Scott Evans talks about some steps you can take, that will help the plants get accustomed to your indoor environment.
[Scott Evans, Nebraska Extension Associate]
It's hard to believe that we are wrapping up summer and getting ready for full.
And with that, we need to start thinking about getting our house plants that have been outside all summer, ready to come in for the winter.
I want to share some tips that will hopefully make this a little bit less stressful for both you and your plants.
The 1st thing that we need to do is stop fertilizing our house plants with full strength.
During the growing season, this is a great way to keep our plants happy and healthy, but as we move until fall and winter, House plants are not going to be growing as aggressively.
When we fertilize, this could push some green growth that can cause some issues down the road to make sure that you hold off and fertilizing our plants.
The next thing that we want to do is to enjoy the outdoors and get our plants hosed off.
This is going to be a great way to dislodge any type of hitchhiking insects such as spiders, aphids, mealy bugs.
We want to focus on the backside of the leaves.
This is where the spider mites and white flags like to hang out.
So make sure that you focus your water on the backside.
We don't need to add soap.
Just use water.
And we want to do this a couple times, maybe two or three times, to make sure that our plants are free of any insects.
While they're washing off your plants, try to pay attention to the saucer or the drip tray that might be attached to the container.
Sometimes we get millipedes, roly pulleys, and even centipedes that like to hang out in those spaces.
So before you bring them in, just skip those saucers, a good one's over.
We also want to try to start transitioning our plants to lower light environments.
One way we can do this is to take the plants out of full sun, and place them underneath the deck or in the shade of a tree for a couple hours, and then move them back out into their original space.
This isn't always the easiest thing to do, because a lot of us work during the day, but we could try our best, and that's gonna help reduce some of that stress from coming inside.
The next thing that we want to do is to make sure that we are prepared.
Most of us are gonna wait for that first frost warning before we start bringing plants in.
But in the meantime, we can make sure that we have any type of clear plastic trays, plant caddies, and the spaces carved out indoors for our house plants.
A lot of us probably have a new plan or two since the growing season has started.
So make sure that you have space to put your new plants into.
You can check out our YouTube page where you can find some other segments that we talk about house plants and grow lights, and that can help ease some of those issues that you might be dealing with throughout the winter.
Hopefully, you can find some of these tips helpful to make that transition from outside to inside a little bit easier.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
It takes a little time and strategy to successfully move your plants back indoors.
As Scott said, get them cleaned up, check for hitchhiking insect pass, and gradually move them from sunny places to shady areas.
And make sure you have any equipment set up and ready inside your home.
Following these steps will help you get your plants acclimated to being inside your home for the fall and winter months.
For Nebraska extension almanac.
I'm Brad Mills.
Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media and Nebraska Extension.
For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
Feed Prices Favor Limit-Feeding Stockers a High Energy Diet
Current feed prices may make limit-feeding a high-energy diet an attractive option for growing calves this fall and winter. Nebraska Extension Educator Erin Laborie says higher forage prices relative to grain and co-products could make this approach a cost-effective alternative to high-roughage diets.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.
Limit feeding cabs in a bunk, a high energy diet might be a cost effective option for calves this fall, according to extension educator, Aaron Labery.
While limit feeding is not a new concept, current forage prices might help some producers choose this option as an alternative to feeding high roughage growing diets.
[Erin Laborie, Nebraska Extension Educator]
When I wrote this article, I used our feed cost calculator, which is an Excel-based spreadsheet, um, that you can access on our website.
And it lets you compare feeds on a price per pound of nutrient basis.
And so, I priced hay at $200 a ton with that hay having a total digestible nutrients or TDN value of 52%.
And compared that to corn, uh, 435 a bushel, and the corns around 88% TDN.
And so, um, comparing those 2 alone, the hay was about ¢22 per pound to TDN compared to ¢10 per pound to TDN.
Now, I know corn price is a little bit higher now, but still um, quite competitive when we look at those on a price per pound a TDN basis.
And even wet distiller screens.
I priced at $75 a ton, um, and distillers grains is about 108% TDN, and that comes out to about ¢11 per pound at TDN.
So, Certainly an option to consider compared to our traditional high roughage backgrounding diets is looking at maybe a limit fed.
High energy diet for wintering calves.
Um, you're gonna more efficiently use the bunk space you have available.
And really, depending on, on the amount of time you have, labor and your pen design.
You could consider.
Leveraging that amount of bunk space by, um, feeding one group of calves in the morning and then rotating in possibly a 2nd group in the evening.
You're also going to improve your health management of calves, and when we think about those lethargic or sick calves, they're going to be easier to spot compared to those calves that are eager and healthy coming up to eat at feeding time.
And it's also gonna improve your pen conditions, which is gonna result in less maintenance due to, um, manure.
And Kansas State has actually done some research on this and shown a 40 to 45% reduction in manure output when limit feeding stalkers.
And to me, that number is just huge.
So when we 1st get those calves started, it is important to have some, some long sum hay available in bunks, but, um, we'll start out that 1st day's fee delivery, um, about .75% of body weight and that's on a dry matter basis.
And then we can just slowly work those calves up to about 2.2% of body weight within 14 days, depending on how they're cleaning that up.
And then as those calves grow, we just want to make sure we continue to increase that amount of feed that's being delivered.
So we stay on target for that targeted average daily gain.
Feeding it the same time each day is also going to help, as well as providing the right amount of bunk space, so at least 15 inches per head, just so we can prevent any digestive upsets.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Today's program was a portion of an interview from a beef watch podcast offered by Nebraska extension to read the detailed article on this topic or hear the entire interview.
Go to beef.unl.edu or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
For Nebraska Extension Almanac.
I'm Brad Mills.
Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media and Nebraska Extension.
For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
Soybeans vs Distillers Grains in Beef Diets?
A new University of Nebraska - Lincoln study shows roasted soybeans could provide a good protein alternative to distiller’s grains in beef cattle diets. UNL Animal Science Professor Jim McDonald discusses the research and how different soybean options may help producers manage protein needs in growing cattle.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.
Producers looking for a high protein alternative to distillers grains, might want to check out a new study from the University of Nebraska, focusing on whole or roasted soybeans.
UNL Animal Science Professor Jim McDonald, talks about some of the key factors that the research uncovered and why whole or roasted soybeans would make an appropriate alternative to distillers grains.
[Jim McDonald, UNL Animal Science Professor]
Surely from a nutritional standpoint, roasted soybeans are very interesting and, you know, they're kind of fun to work with.
You heat the entire soybean.
You can crack it, but many times you just heat the entire soybean, roughly to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and you will get increased the bypass protein in the soybean itself.
And of course, in either of those circumstances, if you're feeding whole soybeans or roasted soybeans, you know, the fat is all still there.
So you've got something that's about 20% fat.
Smells good.
Cattle seem to like it.
So it's kind of fun to work with because, because it gives you a nice response and, you know, it's not something that you mind having around if you like the smell and works really nice in a growing diet and even a finishing diet as well.
So we looked at 3 inclusions of 3 different sources.
Okay, so 7, 14 or 21% inclusion of roasted soybeans, whole soybeans, and distillers grains.
Now, remember my previous comment that in this type of diet, um, about 15% distillers grains will meet the metabolizable protein requirements.
So that 14% got us about to where we expected the MP requirement to be met, and if you just look at the distillers grains response, it was, it was largely a flat line from there.
A little bit of an increase from the negative control.
Most of the response happened at 7%, which is typical.
You'll see the largest single response in the 1st inclusion of the protein supplement, and then kind of leveled off from there.
The whole soybeans, all of the response happened in the 1st inclusion.
In fact, based on our data, you know, I would say there's very little value in continuing to add whole soybeans, whole unprocessed soybeans past, you know, somewhere between 5 and 10%.
In this case, the number was seven.
I don't know that there's anything magical about that number, but somewhere between 5 and 10% soybeans, if you're going to use whole soybeans in this type of diet, I don't see an advantage in going beyond that.
Distillers grains, right?
As we would expect, kind of topped out at about 15%.
Roasted soybeans were different.
We continued to see a response through 21% inclusion.
Presumably, you know, we were able to utilize the bypass protein as a protein source, but then I think the fat and combination between the protein profile and the fat profile of those roasted soybeans gave us an additional response over either the distiller's grains or the whole soybeans.
The microbes should not have been deficient in nitrogen in any of the diets.
And then we displaced corn from an economic standpoint.
You're comparing a protein source to corn, but knowing that you're bringing in a bypass protein source in these growing calves, where that's often the 1st limiting nutrient in terms of their growth.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Today's program was a portion of an interview from a beef watch podcast offered by Nebraska extension.
To read the detailed article on this topic, or hear the entire interview, go to beef.unl.edu or download from Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
For Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills.
Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR media, and Nebraska Extension.
For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.
Scouting for Termites
Scouting around your home can help identify and prevent termite problems. Nebraska Extension Entomologist Jody Green says homeowners should watch for conditions that may attract termites, as well as steps they can take to discourage these destructive pests.
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[Brad Mills, Program Host]
Nebraska Extension Almanac.
This is part two of a series of our discussion on termites, and today, extension animologist Jody Green will be talking about certain conditions to be aware of around your house that could be inviting the termites.
[Jody Green, Nebraska Extension Urban Entomologist]
Termites are naturally beneficial insects because they break down the most abundant material in the world, which is cellulose.
So rotting wood, anything that's made out of paper, anything, plant material, that breaks down.
And we need insects like carbon orients or termites to break those down for us.
So when we do discover them out in the yard, it's usually in a stump, in a rotting log, in um, landscape timbers that have broken down.
And they are just generally decomposing this material.
People worry, though, because they worry about their house, their house is their investment and their buildings.
So when that happens is maybe you're, you know, digging something up or turning over a log and you'll see these white little soft bodied insects just start moving around and disappearing really quickly.
And that is actually okay that they're out in the yard.
You want to consider how far it is from the structure and things that you want to protect, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's in the house.
You'll see lots and lots of them.
So these, at this stage, they don't have eyes, they will, they're very soft bodies, so they'll dry out in the air.
So they want to get hidden as quick as possible.
But you can dig them up.
They are going to be, like we think of soil wood contact.
So if you got anything, um, like a deck that's right on the ground instead of, you know, um, with concrete posts and or is elevated a little bit.
So those are kind of things that you want to think about.
But just because your neighbors have termites doesn't mean you have termites in your house.
So the goal is to protecting your home and investment.
So, you know, the yard is one thing, your home is another thing.
Ways you can prevent termites from infesting your home is to really think about your landscape and make sure the grade, um, you know, the, the grade is the proper grading.
So you want to have the water that comes down to flow away from the house.
You also want to make sure your down spouts and your eavesdrop are working correctly so that water isn't, you know, being held close to the house or dripping over.
You want it to, uh, be taken away from the home.
You don't want to have firewood or other wood to soil contact really close to the home.
And another question I get is mulch.
So mulch is not going to, you know, bring in termites or attract termites, but termites may be living under that mulch.
Sometimes, if you've got things that are breaking down, they may be there, may be a bridge.
So what you want to do is make sure you can always see the foundation of your home.
You never want your wood siding to go right into the mulch or go and hit the ground.
You want to dig some of that away.
And if you've got any, uh, water damaged windows or roof or any structural, you know, timbers that have moisture damage, you want to have those replaced because that is going to be attractive to termites.
Termites are going to be more likely attracted and infest wood that's been damaged by water, then dry, treated, intact wood.
So many times when people are renovating, that's when they're going to see termites because they're going to be hidden behind the walls or, you know, things like that.
And, They cannot, can come through cracks in um, a garage or cement, basement.
So you want to make sure to have any cellulose pulled up off the ground on shelves, things like that.
Sometimes people even find them in cardboard boxes that they've been storing items in.
They pick that up and they realize it's been eaten by termites.
[Brad Mills, Program Host]
On a future program, Jody will continue this discussion about termite damage from the perspective of inside your home, for Nebraska Extension Almanac, I'm Brad Mills.
Nebraska Extension Almanac is a production of IANR Media, and Nebraska Extension.
For more information on how your university is serving Nebraskans, go to extension.unl.edu.