dendrite

Yeah Lava. You may want to try the zoysia. Maybe try a little area of it to see how it does in your area but it grows fine here. You don’t radiate well either which helps. The zoysia won’t care about sun and dryness once it starts getting established and it will choke out all of the weeds since it almost acts like a weed itself. You’ll just have to deal with a dormant lawn in the beginning of May and Oct/Nov but it should thrive during the summer when you want it green the most. It’s really no fuss. It just takes awhile to fill in...like a few years if you space the plugs a foot apart.

You're right. Just reread Will's post.

I think the goal is to make them use up all of the oxygen. A gap would give them air exchange. How’s it working?

I bust balls with you, but jesus h. That SW slope must just bake. You probably need irrigation to get the look you want...either that or plant a few trees for extra shade. But I’m sure you don’t want to block the views.

Red thread starting to go wild here.

I'm leaning Northeastern Pine Sawyer for mine. I think that's the same thing Bob mentioned based on pics I see. At least it isn't the ALB.

Here’s another one. Guy at work thought it’d be funny to tack this sucker up on the wall to scare everyone. I see they’re invasive, but what do they seriously threaten? Pines?

Yup. I think that's it. Never heard of them.

I've seen 3 of these things in the past few days. I had never seen one before this.

Thanks...def looks like oak borer longhorned beetle.

Wtf is this?

Except July 09.

That's why I asked about permethrin. I have the powder and liquid on hand here as I use it on my chickens to treat for mites. I know it's deadly for bees and other insects too so I try to be careful where I put it. If I'm not directly treating a bird's vent, I put it in their dustbathing bins. https://web.extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/homeowners/040925.html

I know that wasn’t there when I planted the tree a month or two ago. How quickly can they reach those mammoth sizes?

Thanks for the advice all. Wish we could get some 40s in here...looks like torch mins for a few days.

What do they do if you plug the hole? Just dig out?

I have some liquid permethrin, but I've read that will take a couple of minutes to kill them...sounds like a recipe for getting stung while waiting for them to die. My sister is allergic to yellowjacket stings, but I've never been stung. I'm not too excited to jump in there.

It's right next to my newly planted tulip tree. I really don't want to kill the tree.

Lisa got a pic. Guess I was wrong in the dim light last night. Looks like yellowjackets. Nuke’em?

Definitely not bumblebees and pretty sure not yellowjackets. Had more of a subtle yellow/black abdomen and not the vibrant yellow of a yellowjacket. I'll try to get a pic today.

No berries that I could see. One of them has maybe a 2-3" diam trunk.

Not that tiny. Maybe 1/2"?

I have a lot of that invasive glossy buckthorn stuff too, but these 2 trees look different.

One more Q... Anyone got an ID on this? The leaves look very leathery.

So yeah...found a bee nest on the edge of my lawn in the backyard. They look pretty active flying in and out of the hole in the ground. I like me some bees so I don't want to kill them. What do we have for ground nesting bees around here? They almost looked like honeybees, but I didn't get a great look since it was 8pm. Is there a humane way to get them to set up shop elsewhere?