Control

Warmer weather brings more pest problems. Horn flies and face flies are key pests of cattle in Kentucky. Both species breed in fresh pasture manure piles but present very different threats and management problems. Fortunately, there are a variety of fly control options. Horn flies are blood feeders. They remain on animals most of the time, taking 20 to 30 small blood meals per day. More than 100 flies along the sides and backs of each animal every day during the fly season can mean 12 to 15 pounds lower weaning weights for spring calves and poor gains for older animals.

Jessamine County Animal Care and Control is investigating possible animal cruelty case after a Chihuahua mix was found in a dumpster at the Helmsdale Apartment complex located at 316 Witchita Drive. According to animal care and control director Mike Cassity, the dog was discovered by a resident around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. “He said he was taking the trash out, and it didn't bark or anything, he just happened to look down in the dumpster and saw it,” Cassity said. “It had punctures on the side of it. We took it to a vet, and they treated it, and they think it was an attack from another animal, like bites or something.

I am here today perusing the web and see that only a week after the horrible scene in Connecticut, Americans are being alarmingly predictable.  Some are in favor of more gun control and the NRA wants to put an armed guard, a police officer maybe, in every school. This is being met with trepidation from parents and educators. I am not anti-gun. I haven't hunted for some time, but realize the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife allows animals to be hunted, and yes, killed, with guns (high powered guns)

Winter probably doesn't seem the right time to eliminate pests that will infest your landscape plants next spring. But we need to remember that many problem pests will spend the winter on or near plants they'll munch on this coming spring and summer.  One way to get an early handle on problem pests is to use horticultural, formally called dormant, oils that are specially formulated for pest control. Horticultural oils suffocate overwintering pests like scale, aphids and certain mites.

Although there is snow on the ground, it is not too early to be planning insect control for 2008. Lee Townsend, extension entomologist, has offered some suggestions for controlling flies on beef cattle. Insecticide-impregnated ear tags are a popular means of pasture fly control - especially for horn flies. Tags are inserted in late spring or early summer, and the fly control program travels with the animal. However, using tags containing the same class of active ingredient for several consecutive seasons can create populations of the horn fly that are resistant to a whole class of related insecticides.

Horn flies and face flies are key pests of cattle in Kentucky. Both species breed in fresh pasture manure piles but present very different threats and management problems. Fortunately, there are a variety of fly control options. Horn flies are blood feeders. They remain on animals most of the time, taking 20 to 30 small blood meals per day. More than 100 flies along the sides and backs of each animal every day during the fly season can mean 12 to 15 pounds lower weaning weights for spring calves and poor gains for older animals.

Control. It's a great feeling when I think I am in control of a situation. Unfortunately I tend to lull myself into a false sense of security when I attempt, in my flesh, to be in control. I have also discovered that men, in general, have a more difficult time relinquishing control to God. This is not necessarily because men are more disobedient than women but because of the way they are created. Men are designed to provide, protect and fix stuff. My husband is most definitely a "fixer of stuff" and I don't just mean repairing a vehicle or correcting a dripping faucet.

Until a few years ago, I was a Southern Baptist and proud of the missionary intent to serve those in need. This body was then, and remains, the second largest religious doctrinal group in America. Some 30 years ago, a very small but determined group decided that those Baptists who did not embrace their more narrowly defined interpretations of Scripture needed to be replaced. How that was to be accomplished, with well-known people in places of leadership, was a thorny problem.

Horn flies and face flies are key pests of cattle in Kentucky. Both species breed in fresh pasture manure piles but present very different threats and management problems. Fortunately, there are a variety of fly control options. Horn flies are blood feeders. They remain on animals most of the time, taking 20 to 30 small blood meals per day. More than 100 flies along the sides and backs of each animal every day during the fly season can mean 12 to 15 pounds lower weaning weights for spring calves and poor gains for older animals.

Following good pasture management practices is one of the best ways to eliminate weeds and unwanted plants in grass pastures and hayfields. Weedy type plants reduce quality, and sometimes quantity, of desirable forages available to livestock. Some plants are even potentially poisonous to grazing animals. To reap the most forage quantity and quality from pastures, use management practices to encourage growth of a vigorous, dense stand of desirable forage grasses, yet limit germination and growth of unwanted plants.

Warmer weather brings more pest problems. Horn flies and face flies are key pests of cattle in Kentucky. Both species breed in fresh pasture manure piles but present very different threats and management problems. Fortunately, there are a variety of fly control options. Horn flies are blood feeders. They remain on animals most of the time, taking 20 to 30 small blood meals per day. More than 100 flies along the sides and backs of each animal every day during the fly season can mean 12 to 15 pounds lower weaning weights for spring calves and poor gains for older animals.

Jessamine County Animal Control officers confiscated two horses from property near Wilmore Thursday night. According to animal control director Mike Cassidy, the two horses were in dire need of care. “A neighbor called us, and one of our officers responded out and he saw that the horses were in bad condition,” Cassidy said. “They made contact with the owner, and it was a bad situation all the way around.” Animal control did not release the owners' names, “because they cooperated,” Cassidy said.

Did you know that the week of April 8 through April 14 is designated as National Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week? The event is designed to recognize the hard work performed by animal control agencies throughout the country and helps improve the image of these hard-working employees who provide quality services, education training and support. The week is set aside to recognize the men and women of animal control who risk their lives and spend huge amounts of personnel resources, including time away from family and friends, while serving the public.

PERRYVILLE - In another step forward, Vicki Goode, director of the Main Street Perryville program, announced Thursday to City Council that historical easements that have been undergoing review with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the Kentucky Heritage Council have finally been granted. Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association is attempting to disband and will hand over the deeds of four of the properties to the city when that occurs. However, until those deeds are accepted by the city, the PBPA cannot disband.  The city had been waiting to accept the deeds until title searches were completed and the council had been given the easements.

April is a great month for Danville residents to start doing yard work so their grass and weeds are within legal limits, according to the city's code enforcement officer. May 1 to Nov. 1 is the “grass and weeds enforcement season,” said Danville Code Enforcement Officer Tom Broach during a telephone interview Tuesday. Excessive weeds are not permissible and grass cannot exceed a height of 12 inches. Last year, Broach received 191 complaints regarding grass and weeds. Once Broach ensures the complaint is valid, he sends the resident a violation notice.

LANCASTER - After rescuing more than a dozen horses from a farm in Garrard County, the president of Buckland Equine Rescue plans to file a criminal complaint against the director of Garrard County Animal Control. Chris Takacs claims Earlene Harris used her authority to sell four of the horses rescued from a farm on Jack Turner Way on Feb. 27. Takacs met Tuesday with a victim's advocate at the Garrard County Attorney's Office to fill out an affidavit, a sworn statement explaining his recollection of events.

Coyotes could be legally shot on sight anytime of the day or night under House Bill 60, which is anticipated to pass through the Senate as soon as today. Currently, hunters can shoot coyotes during daylight hours. In response to growing concerns about the threat the animals pose to dogs, rabbits and young children, state Rep. Fitz Steele, D-Hazard, sponsored the bill, which passed easily through the House as well as the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy. Coyotes are a serious threat, said Rep. Jonathan Shell, R-Lancaster.

While many people are scurrying around to buy guns in fear they'll be banned soon, officials around Boyle County say there isn't any reason to be paranoid about guns right now, but rather focused on safety. Last week, police departments all over, including the Boyle County Sheriff's Department, received an update of President Obama's 23 actions by executive order. While reviewing the document in his office Thursday, Sheriff Marty Elliott said he agreed with the president's decisions and that nothing is mentioned in the document about restricting any assault weapons or high capacity magazines.

Winter probably doesn't seem the right time to eliminate pests that will infest your landscape plants next spring. But we need to remember that many problem pests will spend the winter on or near plants they'll munch on this coming spring and summer.  One way to get an early handle on problem pests is to use horticultural, formally called dormant, oils that are specially formulated for pest control. Horticultural oils suffocate overwintering pests like scale, aphids and certain mites.