Bellbrook Chicken Club

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

🟢 Have you noticed those little green tags and cardboard “insect traps” hanging on trees around downtown Bellbrook? They are part of a statewide monitoring program run by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the USDA.

These traps help detect invasive insects that can damage our trees, parks, and even local crops. Bellbrook gets monitored more heavily because we have a dense tree canopy, and we sit right next to Sugarcreek — all high‑risk areas for certain pests.

A few of the insects they monitor for include the spotted lanternfly, emerald ash borer, gypsy/spongy moth, and Asian longhorned beetle.
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09/03/2026

WHIO TV says the "feels like" temp will be 101 today. That September fall temperature gently cooling in doesn't seem to be working this year. Enjoy the heat wave; keep the pool open.

09/03/2026

Saw a damaged Tree of Heaven this week near the Bellbrook Sugarcreek Park District building on Washington MIll Road near Stewart St. A long gash down the trunk exposed what’s going on under the bark that attracts the Spotted Lanternflies.
The inner wood was dark, wet, and full of sap.

To the spotted lanternflies, that inner sap is like a kid in a candy store. It’s everything they want in one place. It is doing us a favor by giving us a look under the hood so we can see what they see.

For them, it’s like dinner time at the old Country Buffet.

The gash was mechanically created when a county road crew was clearing brush from the right of way. This large tree was surrounded by smaller trees and sprouts that likely grew in response to the damage.

09/02/2026

The city of Fairfax Virginia has put this out for its homeowners dealing with the un heavenly Tree of Heaven.
It’s worth taking a look at:
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Do you have a tree-of-heaven on your property? There's still time to treat it with herbicide before the growing season ends!

Tree-of-heaven is a highly invasive tree that can take over your property and is the preferred host of the spotted lanternfly.

From July to mid-October, the most effective treatment to kill tree-of-heaven is to use a foliar spray, basal bark spray, or hack-and-squirt application to the bark. We recommend hiring a commercial pesticide applicator to treat your tree, then waiting for the tree to die before having it removed.

❌ Never cut down a mature tree-of-heaven without applying herbicide first — a cut or injured tree-of-heaven may send up dozens of stump and root sprouts, multiplying the problem.

For detailed information on treatment options, please see first comment for link to visit:

https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven?

09/02/2026

Tree-of-heaven is a rapidly growing, tree up to 80 ft. in height and 6 ft. in diameter.
Source / Purdue University

09/02/2026

✔️Tree of heaven comes in different sizes and your approach will be different based on saplings, small and large

Here are some resources and how to resources. We understand park districts in Bellbrook, Sugarcreek and Centerville/ Washington Twp and beyond are removing them and the state of Ohio has been giving out grant money to community groups to encourage them to help get rid of them too from public places.

🟢Here is more information about how to get rid of them where you live, your property.

✔️Tree of Heaven – resources for dealing with the small ones

If you’re seeing the little Tree of Heaven plants popping up, here are a few trusted online resources that explain what to do:

• OSU Extension: https://bygl.osu.edu/node/2111
• Penn State Extension Video: https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven-identification-and-control (extension.psu.edu in Bing)
• Ohioline Fact Sheet (OSU): https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/f-65
• Penn State Ailanthus QuickSheet: https://extension.psu.edu/ailanthus-tree-of-heaven (extension.psu.edu in Bing)

Penn State Extension delivers science-based information about Agronomy, Animal Systems, Food Safety, Home Gardening, Energy, and more. Browse our online courses. Get answers from Tilva, Penn State Extension's AI assistant.

09/02/2026

The Bellbrook good life

09/02/2026

The heavy and powerful rains. The weird summer and now a September heat wave that feels like the dog days of August. Plus this tree and invasive insect thing we are yapping about. Say what you want but don’t tell me it’s not connected. It’s connected. I know it’s connected. Just because it sounds like a conspiracy theory doesn’t make it wrong.