Ben Meadows Blog

DANGER! Emerald Ash Borer is on the Loose!


Updated Regulations!

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) destruction can be prevented by using our product number 152310, the ACECAP97®.

ACECAP® contains Orthene, a non-restricted use systemic insecticide. That means no record keeping, special equipment or protective clothing is required.

The best time to apply the insecticide is in early Spring, March to early April. This will ensure protection prior to the beginning of the EAB's life cycle and prior to the tree starting its growth cycle.

One treatment will last three months and through the larvae stage of the Emerald Ash Borer.

Note: This product will not work on trees that are already infected with EAB.

Required tools for ACECAP97® implant application:

  • Drill with 3/8" bit
  • Tape measure
  • Hammer
  • 1/4" dowel rod

Instructions for ACECAP97® implant application:

  1. One hole should be drilled about six to eight inches off the ground every four inches around the tree's circumference. The number of implants per tree can be calculated by taking the tree diameter x 3.14 and dividing by four. Trees with a three inch diameter or less will only require one implant.
  2. Each hole should be drilled 1-1/4" deep. This depth will give enough space between the implant and the bark for the tree to heal itself.
  3. Once the hole is drilled, place the implant into the hole.
  4. Tap the implant with the dowel rod until seated.
  5. Measure four inches and repeat the process until you have the required implants seated.

This will sucessfully protect your Ash tree from the threat of the Emerald Ash Borer.

For more information on how you can help prevent the spread of the EAB go to http://www.emeraldashborer.info/.

Notice: Effective April 2, 2007,
the Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
has amended the Emerald Ash Borer Regulations. They have now designated the
states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, in their eitirety, as quarantined
areas. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the
Emerald Ash Borer into non-infested areas of the United States. As a
result of this action, the interstate movement of regulated articles from those
states is restricted.

Munsell Color System

The Munsell color system was devised as a way to describe all of the different shades of color. It assigns a number value to every color imaginable, so it's useful for everything from mixing paints, to interior decorating, to classifying soil and plant colors. The Munsell notation is composed of 3 parts: Hue, Value, and Chroma. You can think of the Hue as the actual color, the Value as how light or dark it is, and Chroma as the vividness of the color.

An example of the notation is 10YR 5/8. For this 'chip', 10YR is the Hue, 5 is the Value and 3 is the Chroma. So it's a Yellow/Red that isn't very light or dark, and is quite vivid.

Take a look at one of our TechInfo documents that describes the Munsell color system in more detail! Click the TechInfo logo below and check it out:

Sieves for Soil Testing

When testing soil, sieves are used to quantify particle size of soil or gravel. A series of sieves are placed on top of one another, with the largest mesh opening at the top and the smallest mesh opening at the bottom. The sieves are then shaken and the amount of material of different size is measured. Check out our Keck Sieve Kit for a good idea of how this looks.

Sieves are generally described by the mesh opening size, which is basically how big the holes are in the 'screen'. Be aware that there are two different ways of describing this size—either in standard metric units or in English units. For Example: Ben Meadows part number 92057 has a mesh opening of 100 millimeters or 4 inches. We list both of these designations along with each sieve. If you want a sieve with a mesh size of 100, please let us know if you mean 100mm or 100 mesh.