Soil Temperature and Insects

[Robert Rohloff]

Currently the 10 cm or 4 inch soil temps in Tulsa are around the mid 30 degree range. With the outlook to stay below freezing and going down to 0 degrees, does anyone know what the soil temp/depth needs to be for a good kill of insects?

If we are going to be cold at least allow a few million insects expire.

 

[Karla Dorman]

Oh, we so need a good bug killin' winter down here in Texas ... at least, this winter, the temperatures have been staying colder, longer. Maybe less of a problem this spring and summer. I hope.

 

[MatthewCarman]

It gets this cold if not colder almost every year in Iowa it seems and come late Summer when I look outside I see thousands of insects flying around. The only insects I can see this cold weather having a large effect on are the ones that stay farther south to escape the cold and they have survived cold blasts before so I think they will survive this one. Insects are like Animals and Humans. They are determined to survive. I do think after a bad winter there is less Mosquito's but I could be wrong.

 

[Larry J. Kosch]

Less Chinch Bugs in Nebraska

I know from my limited farming background that when we have a mild winter, we usually have a heavy chinch bug infestation in the following spring/summer. If it is mild enough to have little/no snow cover on wheat fields, the chinch bugs can take cover and hibernate in the loose soil.

Come spring time, the chinch bugs feed on the green wheat shoots and multipy like crazy. When the wheat fields dry out prior to harvest, the chinch bug population migrates to any adjoining corn/milo fields. I have seen milo fields that looks promising when the green shoots comes up. Only to have the edges of the fields looks like bites taken out of cookies when the chinch bugs move in.

With the current snow cover and "damn it's cold" temps (Lincoln NE had -21 01-04-10) , we can be assured that the wheat fields will do better this year. That is if we don't get hail/heavy rain and winds in May/June!!

 

[Joel Wright]

I think snow cover can impact those soil temps too. Deep snow cover can really insulate the soil below. Around here it seems we have a much harder time with pipes freezing during very cold air and relatively bare ground compared to very cold air over deep snow cover.