A sense of humor is often necessary when it comes to dealing with landscape pests in summer. Cicadas are coming. They may already be here. You have, no doubt, heard plenty about them. I will concentrate, therefore, on the important and more destructive pests.

The onset of summer temperatures signals the arrival of a few landscape pests worthy of our attention. Bagworms will soon be here and will start to feast on your favorite arborvitae and Leyland cypresses (for a little variety). These "bag ladies" of summer are nothing more than reproducing carpetbaggers that love to eat plants and wear what they eat. They eat any and all plants, but if they were choosy (and they aren't) evergreens would be at the top of their menu. Look for these to hatch when our native Catalpas are in full bloom.

Like kids with an appetite for sweets, bagworms do a lot of damage when they are young and difficult for us to see. If you have trees or shrubs with a history of bagworms, take a look at them now and look for very small pieces of the tree moving around on the plant. Remove them by hand if you can reach them if there are not too many. A larger infestation will require a more aggressive approach, but do it before the middle of July. An arborist can identify and set up treatment at the right time so that a safe material can be applied. Once July rolls around, only a broad-spectrum chemical can kill them.

They're back. Just when you thought everything was under control, your worst enemy comes alive on YOUR plants – Japanese beetles. This imported pest not only chows down on your grass (as it has been doing the past few months already), but also prefers such culinary delights as the following menu suggests:

Starters
River Birch and Linden leaves (to whet their appetites)

Rose petal salad (dressing not needed)

Main Course
Elm under glass

Dessert
Crape Myrtlettes and Cherries Jubilee (not flambéed, of course)

Feasting on grass roots in the spring and the rest of your garden in summer, the Japanese beetle's abrupt arrival is signaled by the bloom of the Yucca filamentosa, more commonly know as Adam's Needle.

How do you control them? Bear in mind a few morsels for thought:

1. Do not hang beetle traps, but tell your neighbors it is okay to do so.

2. Hand pick and squash any beetles that you should see. (It is okay to wear gloves for this process!)

3. Even weekly sprays will only give partial control. There is a soil systemic treatment arborists often recommend for trees that will give adequate control. This must be applied several weeks before the beetles emerge.

4. Turf management that includes infrequent watering in summer. If you allow your grass to remain lush and green during the beetle egg laying period in summer, more of their eggs will be allowed to hatch. If turf dries out between waterings, more of the eggs will perish.

5. Turf management that includes raising the lawn mower height. Raise the lawn mower height to 2 inches or greater. This may mean that you must mow more frequently, but Japanese beetles are reluctant to lay eggs in high turf.

6. Grub control (if necessary) is best applied in mid to late summer to the turf. There are many products labeled for Japanese beetle and other grub control.

7. A special note on roses: a soil systemic will keep the beetles from eating the leaves, but they may still attack the flowers. I like to give up one flush of roses to the beetles, then cut them back later in summer for one last bloom before fall.

Realize that burnout in the garden is common this time of year. Early prevention is the best medicine for what ails your trees and shrubs. Talk to your local cooperative extension office or a certified arborist who can set up a management programs for the bug wars in your area. As for cicadas…tolerate them or enjoy them as a curiosity for the short time they are here, because once they leave again, they won't return for 17 more! Can you imagine a world without trees? Neither can I…