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PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Noxious bugs and plant and tree diseases have arrived early in Utah County this year, the Extension Service said.
"We're seeing a lot of things that we don't normally see for a long time," said Julia Tuck of the Utah County office of the Utah State University Extension Service.
The early arrival may be due to there not having been enough hard frosts over the winter and spring to kill the hibernating bugs, she said. A wet spring has also helped some insect populations boom earlier than normal.
Billbugs, which eat the roots of lawn grass, have been around for a month, Tuck said. "We don't usually get that this time of year."
Peach twig borers, which burrow into the tips of peach tree branches and eat their way down the branch, have begun to wilt peach leaves, she said.
"They are awfully early," she said.
Wasps and hornets don't usually show up in force until July, but "we are having lots of people call with problems with wasps and hornets," she said. "And we're seeing a lot of paper wasps. We're getting them all over."
Thrips and aphids have shown up in gardens early, too, she said.
Fire blight, from bacteria that cause the tips of apple and pear tree branches to wilt, giving them a shepherd's crook shape, also has arrived early, she said.
"It can kill the tree," she said. Infected branches should be cut off at least a foot below the problem area, and the pruning shears should be cleaned with rubbing alcohol between each cut.
Mealybugs also are early and can damage trees if their numbers grow large enough.
Coddling moths, which fill apples with caterpillars that often are mistaken for worms, also have arrived, she said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
