Re: [ENTS] Re: Weather

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:13:44 -0800 

Will:
Unfortunately, no. I think temperatures in the -15 to -20 range are necessary to kill the adelgid. It gets that cold every 2 or 3 winters in the area where Bob Leverett lives, and that is right at the edge of the zone where there is major adelgid damage. 


Asheville, NC does have a record low of -17 F recorded during 1985, so 
it is possible for temperatures to get that cold in the Smokies, but 
this cold spell is not that cold. A number of daily temperature records 
are being set in the south, but not records for the entire winter that 
would be necessary to kill the adelgid.


Lee

Will Fell wrote:

Lee

Do you think the cold in the southern Apps will slow the spread of the
adelgid? I just checked the temps for Blairsville GA up in Union
County where the HWA is just spreading into and it is currently 18
degrees and they have had lows in the lower teens down to 10 a couple
days ago. If so I will bundle up and welcome the cold. At least it has
been sunny the past week, unlike December.

On Jan 8, 9:56 am, Lee Frelich <[email protected]> wrote:

  

Bob:

Cold weather does kill hemlock woolly adelgid. So, I take it that you
have decided its OK for the remaining old-growth hemlock to die so you
don't have to experience a few cold days.

Regarding ticks--you should see the new data we have from northern MN,
where we left several Hobos in the soil all winter. They measured
temperature every hour for the entire year. In the summer and fall, soil
temperature at a depth of 2 inches went up and down with air temperature
(although the response lagged air temperature by a day and was
damped--i.e. the rises and falls were of smaller magnitude than air
temperature.  As soon as the snow arrived, soil temperature went flat at
about 30 degrees F. Air temperature during winter fluctuated from -45 to
+45, and the soil temperature stayed absolutely constant. Soil
temperatures reached their minimums in late fall and early spring when
there was no snow, but there were a few days of colder than average air
temperatures.

So, thats why ticks survive in the boreal forests of northern MN. To
kill ticks, an arctic cold spell without any snow on the ground is
needed, so that soil temperatures get very cold. Of course that would
kill the trees too, because roots are not adapted to survive the range
of temperatures as the tops of trees.

Lee



[email protected] wrote:

    

Will,

      
Do you mind if ENTS moves in with you. I'm sick of winter already. It

is snowing lightly outside now and the maximum temperature here at the
house will likely not rise to over 25 today. Saturday night the
temperature here at the house will likely be around 0.

      
One advantage to cold weather I always thought was thinning out the

populations of pests like ticks. But, if they're able to live through
extremely low temperatures, what the heck good is really cold weather?

      
Bob
      
----- Original Message -----

From: "Will Fell" <[email protected]>
To: "ENTSTrees" <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 8, 2010 8:57:46 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [ENTS] Re: Weather

      
Yes it is all relative. It was 70 degrees here New Years eve and fell

like a rock Jan 1. Jan 12nd was the first below freezing morning this
winter and all week we woke up to temps in the 20's and highs only
about 50. This morning is the first day since Jan 1st we haven't
awoken to temps below 32. It was only 35 this morning, but the "warm
spell" won't last as it is to head to the low 20's tonight. Normally
we will get a day or two of cold weather then it will blow out to sea.
The cold has been the lead story in all the papers the past few days
and everyone is fussing about it. I imagine folks in New England would
be running around in shorts in this weather, but it has us in the deep
south shivering.

      
But I really wonder about the ticks. Here in South GA ticks are not a

problem like up north. You will get an occaisional tick, but not like
some places further north where you can't go in the woods without
spraying down. And we do not have lyme disease dispite having a heavy
deer population. So I really wonder if ticks and Lyme disease are
responsive to cold weather.

      
WF
      
On Jan 8, 7:34 am, Beth <[email protected]> wrote:
      

Ents,
Wednesday night/Thursday day we here in St. Louis got between 3-6
inches of snow. While this is not much the problem was the cold front
that came with it. High temps for yesterday were in the teens and
today and tomorrow the highs are to be in the single temps.  Of course
the wind chills have been -10 and below.  This is heading towards the
Northeast today.  I hope that everyone there dresses warmly and in
layers if they have to get outside.

        
I hope that this bitter cold (yes I know Lee, this isn't cold for you)

kills off some of the ticks around here. I am tired of pulling them
off of me along with getting Lyme.

        
Beth- Hide quoted text -
        

- Show quoted text -

    






















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