My guest said, “Funny, there are no mosquitos tonight.”

Whether you’re hosting a barbecue or just relaxing on your patio, the summer season has always been the best time to get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors. Needless to say, most of us would much rather enjoy this time with our friends and family and without the threat of mosquitoes. Most people assume that the only remedy to this problem is to apply a heavy dose of smelly bug spray.  I don’t know about you, but I hate going in at night smelling like bug spray. In a perfect world, we would all be able to grill out on our decks or drink a glass of lemonade without the threat of being a mosquito’s very own “all you can eat” buffet. Luckily, I found that this “perfect world” could in fact exist with a product by Nutone called the Haven mosquito repellent system.

The Haven system works and looks just like a series of path lights. With a fixture set in place every 10-12 feet, you can be sure that your backyard will stay mosquito-free for the summer season. I use this system at my own home, and the difference seems like night and day. Before I had it installed along my patio, I would constantly find myself having to go back inside the house to reapply bug spray or simply stay inside. This really limited my use of our patio. Now that I have the Haven system, I never even have to think about mosquitoes, let alone swat one away from my neck. We had 8 people over the other night.  It had just rained and the air was still–typically a perfect recipe for mosquitoes.  After an hour or so of sitting around the fire pit, one guest said to me, “funny there are no mosquitoes tonight.”  I showed everyone the mosquito fixtures and told them how they work.  This also illustrates how the system is odorless and sound free as none of my guests new they were there until I told them. No smell. No annoying zapping noises.

The Haven mosquito repellent system uses an EPA approved chemical called Metofluthrin, which is the same chemical you will find in products from the popular brand OFF!. Furthermore, the chemical only takes about 15 minutes to activate, which means you can be 15 minutes away from enjoying your yard for hours on end at any given time. You will have to refill the chemicals every year, but that is a very small price to pay for the benefits that the system provides. The typical cost of this system ranges from $1,500 to $2,500 for a typical sized patio or deck which is much less than a screen porch.

If you are interested in discussing this further please feel free to contact me.

Autumn Blaze Maples Versus Other Maples

When people are shopping for a shade tree, they almost always ask me what I think of Autumn Blase Maples.  My first thought is always, WOW, another one.....those must have been marketed like crazy at some point!  Truth be told, it would be one of the last trees I would plant in my yard.  

First, a little science and a little history.  Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) and red maple (Acer rubrum) flower at the same time and can cross pollinate.  The resulting tree is a naturally occurring hybrid referred to as freeman maple (Acer x freemanii).  Before I get into the specifics of the Autumn Blaze Freeman Maple, it will help to understands it's heritage.

First the Silver Maple

• Fast growing.  

• They are often referred to as a soft maple because they damage easily in wind storms.

• Yellow fall color.  

• Easily grown in urban soils. 

  • Tolerant of higher alkaline levels.

  • Toleralnt of lower oxygen levels.

• Native to Wisconsin.

Red Maples

• Red maples are slower growing.  

• Troubles with low oxygen levels and higher PH of urban soils.  Soil PH above 6.5 will cause the leaves to become lighter in color.

• Less damage in wind storms.

• Red fall color.

• Native to Wisconsin.

Autumn Blaze Freeman Maple was the first freeman maple marketed which is one reason I believe it is so well known.

• It was believed to have the fast growing attributes of the silver maple but the stronger wood of the red maple.

• Will tolerate urban soils.

  • Tolerates the alkaline soils of urban areas and of Southern Wisconsin.

  • Tolerates low oxygen levels of urban soils and soils from recent construction.

• Red Fall Color

The problem is Autumn Blaze Maples do suffer from storm damage easily.  With the silver maple and the autumn blaze maple, this is not necessarily from weak wood but from acute branching angles that cause bark inclusion.  When bark becomes included, there is less wood in the connection between the branch and main stem causing a weakness (See the image below).  The branch on the left is closer to 90 degrees and is strong.  The branch angle on the right is narrow (acute), resulting in the bark becoming included resulting in a weak branch.  Proper pruning when the trees are young can limit this problem, but it will not eliminate it.

There are very good freeman maple alternatives.  The varieties Autumn Fantasy and Sienna Glenn  have the same fast growing attributes of the silver maple, but better branching habits and the fall color of the red maple.  They are both tolerant of urban soils.

Ultimately, autumn blaze maple is popular and well known.  Many of my customers inquire about them.  It does grow fast and has a nice, red fall coloring, but the narrow (acute) branching habit makes the variety prone to storm damage.  Varieties such as autumn fantasy or sienna glen have the same desirable attributes, but have better form and therefore incur less storm damage.