During the winter months insect pest such as aphids, mites and scale nest in landscape plants. Spraying plants with dormant oil blocks the spiracles through which insects breathe, thus killing them by suffocating them. This is an effective and ecologically friendly way to handle many pests and even some diseases.

Yes, we use both a contact and systemic insecticide that is very effective against Japanese Beetles as well as many other insects.

No, the insecticide has a little white residue but does not leave a stain.

Our spray equipment can actually spray upwards to 100 feet in height; however, depending on the location of the tree, surrounding vegetation, neighboring property considerations and wind drift we prefer limiting our services to about 30 feet maximum.

Timing is very critical in spraying evergreen trees for bagworms. Our insecticide used not only prevents new bagworms from being established it also kills any that may be present at the time our tree and shrub treatment is applied.

The dormant oil treatment is a safe ecological treatment but the remaining 4 treatments have combinations of insecticides and fungicides which are not safe on eatable fruit trees.

Multiple possible issues, first your burning bush needs plenty on sun light, second the soil needs to be slightly acidic and not alkaline. But the most common issue we have experienced is spider mites. Spider mites feeding on a burning bush will cause discolored leaves and leaf drop. Spider mites will suck the sap out of the leaf. This can severely stress the plant. Hot dry weather and water stressed plants favors a population explosion of spider mites. You may see webbing on the leaves and branches. To determine if the plant is infested with spider mites, hold a sheet of white paper underneath some of the discolored leaves and tap the leaves. Tiny dark specks about the size of pepper that move around on the paper are spider mites. (See the next question for more information on spider mites)

Yes this is true. Predatory mites are natural enemies of other spider mites and typically predatory mites are red in color with longer legs and are more active. Spider mites are small and often difficult to see with the unaided eye. Their color range from red and brown to yellow and green, depending on the species of spider mite and their appearance can change throughout the season.

An insecticide destroys, suppresses, stupefies, inhibits the feeding of, or prevents infestations or attacks by an insect and the mode of action that they work will either be by contact or systemic. Many pesticides are 'contact' pesticides. This means to be effective they must be absorbed through the external body surface of the insect. Other pesticides are systemic in action. Systemic pesticides can be moved (trans-located) from the site of application to another site within the plant where they retain a longer residual protection against insects. At TurfGator, we mix both modes of action contact & systemic for a highly effective treatment for controlling insects.

Any ornamental tree or landscape shrub that flowers after June 15^th should be pruned in early spring, preferably before April 1^st

Evergreen trees (trees that maintain their leaves or needles year-round) - Depending on the species, most pruning should be done between late-winter through mid-June.

Deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves once per year) - Ideally pruning should be done while the tree is dormant over the winter and it is recommended to wait until late-winter such as February or March.

Ornamental grasses and many ground-covers should be pruned annually before new growth appears in the spring. Perennial vines need to be pruned periodically to control their aggressive growth, but care needs to be taken to limit removing flower buds.

Most non-flowering shrubs can be lightly pruned at any time during the growing season but it is best to wait until the shrub goes into dormancy, during the winter, before doing any major pruning or reshaping.

Any ornamental tree or landscape shrub that flowers prior to June 1^st should be pruned immediately after the spring flowering to avoid removal of the buds for the next growing season.

Continuous blooming shrubs, ones that flower throughout the growing season (spring, summer and fall) can be pruned throughout the year but avoid pruning just prior to winter as new stimulated plant growth can become susceptible to cold weather damage.