EBCI Center | N.C. Cooperative Extension

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Get the Picture... With the Plant Toolbox

The Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox is your go-to source for curated images of plants and gardens. The images on …

WNC Orchard Insect Pest Populations - April 22, 2024

Petal Fall Sprays and Upcoming Insect Pests: The cool weather this week has slowed development and activity of key pests …

— 1 day ago, Southern Appalachian Apples

Coming Regulatory Changes in Drone Pesticide Application

Interest in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones as they are more commonly known, for pesticide …

— 2 days ago, Pesticide Safety

Farm to Fork Picnic 2024 graphic showing bread and people's hands

Farm to Fork Picnic - June 2nd at Fearrington Village

Farm to Fork Picnic The Farm to Fork Picnic, hosted by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), returns to …

— 3 days ago, Horticulture

Buttonbush, Carolina narrow-leaf phlox, wild indigo, eastern bluestar, and evening primrose.

Register Now for a Spring Tour of the Pollinator Paradise Garden!

Spring tours of North Carolina Cooperative Extension’s Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden in Pittsboro start on May 11! The garden features over 225 …

— 4 days ago, Growing Small Farms

Avery & Mitchell Counties Forestry Field Tour

Mountain forest management in North Carolina is much like the landscape of the Appalachian Mountains. It’s never quite what …

— 3 weeks ago, Avery County Center

Rowan County Forestry Field Day

Owning your forest is fun. Managing your forest is a blast. Knowing how to accomplish that goal can be …

— 2 months ago, Wilkes County Center

Silvopature Webinar Series Begins Jan. 30

Raising livestock in pastures is a common farming practice. The forestland that surrounds those pastures is regularly left unused, …

— 4 months ago, Wilkes County Center

Winter Drawdown as a Management Tool for Ponds

As summer turns to fall, now is a good time for pond managers to consider things that can improve …

— 7 months ago, Haywood County Center

Robotics Camp Happening on July 15!

*****Thanks to generous support, this event will now be FREE!***** Email salldixo@ebci-nsn.gov to register! Learn how to program Lego EV3 robots …

— 3 years ago

Moles and Voles, Oh My! — Written By Rob Hawk and updated by Melissa Vaughn and Chumper Walker Woodland or Pine Vole rodent Voles eat roots from garden vegetables, bulbs, and bark. You most likely deal with pine and meadow voles. Meadow voles spend most of their time above ground while pine/woodland voles are more burrow dwelling and usually have an extensive subsurface trail system that is excavated about 1 to 2 inches deep. These burrows open to the surface and often connect to above-ground runways. These burrows are small since voles are the size of plump mice. They can be a serious outdoor pest, damaging the root system on many landscape and garden plants or even girdling trees when feeding on their bark. The best way to control a vole epidemic is to set large spring loaded mice traps baited with apple slices or peanut butter near the tunnels. You can also discourage voles from invading your yard by keeping the grass mowed short and reducing the amount of thatch in the lawn. There are also poisons that can be used to kill voles but one must consider potential risks with pets, children, or non-target animals. Read the label in its entirety before using any vole poison products to avoid illegal usage and/or unintended harms. Mole Moles have large paddle-like forefeet used for digging. Image by Michael David Hill, Wikimedia Moles eat insects, worms, and other invertebrates living in your soil. Moles are not considered rodents. The tell-tale sign of moles is the visible ridges that are seen as a result of tunneling in the lawn. There is a tendency to try to control moles by applying grub killer to your lawn. Sometimes this isn’t a recommended approach since moles eat more than just grubs. The star-nosed mole, found mostly in the mountains and coastal plains, is listed as a NC Special Concern Specie and is protected by law. Reference NC law 15A NCAC 10B .0106 WILDLIFE TAKEN FOR DEPREDATIONS, found on the NCDA website for more info. The eastern mole and the hairy-tailed mole are under consideration for designation as pests. Currently, the use of poison is not labeled for moles in North Carolina. A easy control method is to simply put on your heavy boots and stomp on the ridge tunnels to flatten them. In the meantime, trapping is the recommended avenue for mole control. Article submitted by Chumper Walker, EBCI NC Cooperative Extension Director Original Article by Rob Hawk, Swain and Jackson County NCCE Director

June 2021 EBCI Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Newsletter

Here is the June edition of our Agriculture and Natural Resources newsletter! See the images …

— 3 years ago

May 2021 EBCI Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Newsletter

Here is the May edition of our Agriculture and Natural Resources newsletter! See the images below or click the …

— 3 years ago