Mike Surbrugg: Battle with chiggers still under way

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September 19, 2008

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Fri Sep 19, 2008, 02:40 PM CDT

Don’t put away the spray you use to keep away chiggers!

A friend recently walked around a yard and went to see a tree in a pasture without first spraying. He apparently stepped on a chigger nest (yes, they have nests) and the following day counted more than 100 bites on his body.

He treated them by scratching, applying rubbing alcohol and taking three hot showers with baking soda on a wash cloth.

Questions answered at county extension centers:

Q: What are red wattle hogs?

A: It is a breed of hogs that have wattle skin tags hanging from each jaw.

Q: Are the many mushrooms in my lawn safe to eat?

A: No, unless an expert says otherwise. It is better to buy them at the store.

Q: Should I spray earworms in my soybean fields?

A: Spray if you have a lot of them. Plants are still growing and the worms are all that stands between you and a good crop.

Q: Should I spray a fungicide on wheat I saved to plant this year?

A: Yes.

Q: Why do my calves and yearling cattle have polio?

A: It could be caused by high sulfur in the feed such as that found in ethanol byproducts or corn gluten feed and a mineral supplement with a lot of sulfur.

Q: Should I make a steer out of a calf that does not have the hair color I desire?

A: Pay more attention to the calf’s genetics than to hair color.

Q: Is the shrub oleander poisonous?

A: Yes. It is attractive but is poisonous to humans.

Q: Why are there some yellow leaves on the top of soybean plants?

A: It is cercosper, a blight that is a fungus. Symptoms look like potassium deficiency. It is too late to react this year. Rotate crops to prevent the fungus.

Q: Will mineral supplements help cattle recover from fescue stress problems?

A: No, unless you have poor fescue.

Q: Will cattle grazing lush pastures this fall need a high magnesium mineral to protect them from grass tetany?

A: No.

Telephone numbers of area county extension centers:

• Barton (417) 682-3579

• Cherokee (620) 429-3849

• Crawford (620) 724-8233

• Jasper (417) 358-2158

• Lawrence (417) 466-3102

• McDonald (417) 223-4775

• Newton (417) 455-9500

• Ottawa (918) 542-1688

• Vernon (417) 448-2560

Address correspondence to Mike Surbrugg, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802 or e-mail msurbrugg@joplinglobe.com.

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Mike Surbrugg: Battle with chiggers still under way

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