Thursday, June 11, 2015 Chiggers Ahhhh….the joys of rain.  While we haven’t had rain in the past week, we are still dealing with the rain the we got in May.  I’ve been getting a lot of questions about mosquitoes of course.  I’ve also been getting questions on chiggers.  This is one that we really haven’t… Continue Reading

June 2015 Newsletter Cicadas Cicadas are fairly large insects but can vary in size with some growing over 1 ½ inches. Color may also vary depending upon species, but many are brown or green. All cicadas have bulging eyes and, on adults, wings that are held roof-like over the body. The wings are semi-transparent with… Continue Reading

June 2015 Newsletter#2 Mosquito Repellents With all the rain we’ve been getting, mosquitoes are emerging in large numbers. We have many different mosquito species in Central Texas and their activity times can vary. Some mosquitoes are most active during dusk and dawn hours while others are active during the day. Since mosquitoes are capable of… Continue Reading

Friday, May 29, 2015 Flooding and fire ants I think saying that weather has been interesting for Central Texas as of late is a bit of an understatement.  We have had so much rain that has led to flooding in multiple areas, causing much loss and devastation. While clean-up efforts are underway for various parts of… Continue Reading

Friday, May 15, 2015 Occasional invaders during heavy rain- millipedes and pillbugs I’m loving the rain we’ve been getting in Central Texas, but it has been leading to some pest problems that people haven’t really had to deal with for awhile.  I thought that I would touch on some of them. The first and foremost… Continue Reading

The City of Cedar Park Police Department has partnered with tip411 to offer tools that allow citizens to anonymously submit crime tips/safety concerns to the Police Department and to sign up to receive alerts sent out by CPPD. Chief of Police Sean Mannix is featured in a 3 1/2 minute video on youtube discussing the… Continue Reading

Friday, May 1, 2015 Four-lined plant bug Have you seen me?  Not me, as in me, Wizzie, but me as in me, this bug.  We have them in the demonstration garden and I’ve been getting reports of them from all over town.  Some people have seen damage, which is often mistaken for fungal damage. I… Continue Reading

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, April 28, 2015 Contact: Fred M. Hall, Williamson County CEA, Ph: 512.943.3300; email: fmhall@ag.tamu.edu Williamson County Master Gardeners May Meeting to Feature Water in Texas 101 with Charlie Flatten Were you aware that only about 10 percent of the water that falls as rain makes it into the rivers that flow… Continue Reading

April 2015 Newsletter Mosquitoes Mosquitoes can be very irritating and disrupt outdoor activities. They also are able to transmit various diseases to humans and animals. Mosquitoes are known to transmit heartworm in dogs and cats, and they can spread encephalitis (including West Nile Virus), Chikungunya, dengue, yellow fever, malaria and filariasis among humans. Most female… Continue Reading