Pests and Power

Two bits of info - a plague update and a different kind of Happy Meal.

I got a bit of advice in the form of a news release from Texas AgriLife Extension about those grasshoppers that have me hopping mad. Our bit of rainy weather put them into hiding, but the 100-degree temperatures arae back and so is the plague, so I was happy to see the release until about the third paragraph.

"'Can homeowners get rid of grasshoppers? During outbreak years like this one is shaping up to be in some parts of the state, I'd have to say no,' said Mark Muegge, AgriLife Extension entomologist at Fort Stockton."

"They are some of the most difficult insect pests to control in the urban landscape," he added.

Thanks for that. But there are some resources to pass on if you are tired of feeding your innocent plants to these things.

Extension recommends integrated pest management through removing any weedy borders where they lay eggs, using several different insecticides, and choosing plants that are less tasty. (Now you tell us.)

My goal is to save what I've got because replanting the beds doesn't excite me.

Here's a link to the details.

And now about the McCharger. The Charlotte News & Observer reported a couple of weeks ago about a curbside service at a Cary, N.C., McDonald's.

Just think, you're running a little low on energy, so you whip in for a fast-food favorite. Then you remember you forgot to plug in your Prius last night. Pick the right parking place and you can feed your car thanks to McDonald's two charging stations.

The Cary McDonald's is also under review to be LEED-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. That would make it the third LEED McLocation after Savannah, Ga., and Chicago.