"I have now spoken to both the lawn care & tree/shrub technicians and continue to believe that doing business with your company is the right decision. Thank you! Please keep up the excellent service!"

Matthew, Fairport

"Playing fields covered with dense turf have proven safer, as demonstrated by a simple egg drop test. When a dozen raw eggs were dropped from a height of 11 feet onto a two-inch thick piece of dense turf, none broke; two thirds of them broke on thin turf from that height; and from just 18 inches up, all broke on an all-weather track!"

Mites

Spider mites are closely related to spiders and ticks, but are not actually insects. Spider mites will have 4 pairs of legs and 1 body part, whereas insects will have 3 pair of legs and 3 body parts. A spider mite is almost microscopic, yet a large population can cause significant damage. Spider mites are widely distributed and can attack various types of trees and shrubs. They can range in color from yellow, to green, to orange or to red and the colors can vary within a species. A fine web over the leaves of the host plant or numerous, small, light colored to brown mottled spots on the leaves may be an indication of a spider mite population. As the damage increases, leaves or needles may drop or appear distorted. A paper test and a hand lens should be used to identify the specific mite problem. Damage to the plant material depends on the type of mite, the mite population and the condition of the host plant. Infestations may be a result of environmental conditions or from the use of insect controls that can destroy populations of beneficial insects and mites. Plant material under drought stress or transplant shock are the common targets of spider mites. The spruce spider mite can be found on many evergreens including spruce, hemlock, arborvitae and juniper. On broad-leaved plant material, the oak mite, European red mite and the two-spotted spider mite are commonly found.

Controlling spider mites in the landscape can be done by cultural or mechanical methods, or with a specific mite control product. Cultural control can be done by not planting susceptible plant material in heat or drought stressed areas of the landscape. Mechanical control can be achieved by a periodic wash of the plant material with a strong stream of water from a garden hose. The best results will come from a spray application program beginning when mite populations are just beginning to increase, typically in May or June. Additional applications of controls may be done as needed.