Another school year is drawing to a close. If you have young children, you might be planning their summer activities.

But you might want to look even farther into the future — to the day when your kids say goodbye to local schools and hello to college dormitories.

When that day arrives, will you be financially prepared?

For the 2013–2014 academic year, the average cost — tuition, fees, room and board — was $18,391 for an in-state student at a four-year public college or university, and $40,917 for a private school, according to the College Board.

These costs may be considerably higher when your children enter college.

Of course, these are just the “sticker” prices; some families pay less, thanks to grants and tax benefits, such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit.

College is still a good investment in your child’s future. Over an adult’s working life, an individual with a bachelor’s degree can expect to earn, on average, nearly $1 million more than someone with just a high school diploma, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Unfortunately, you may not be saving enough — or you might not be making the most of your savings.

More parents use a general savings account than any other method, according to Sallie Mae’s "How America Saves for College" 2014 study. However, these types of accounts typically earn tiny returns with no tax advantages.

On the other hand, attractive college-funding vehicles include a 529 plan; earnings accumulate tax free, provided they are used for qualified higher education expenses. (529 plan distributions not used for qualified expenses may be subject to federal and state income tax and a 10 percent IRS penalty.) Furthermore, your 529 plan contributions may be deductible from your state taxes. But 529 plans vary, so check with your tax advisor regarding deductibility.

A 529 plan offers other benefits. For one thing, lifetime contribution limits for 529 plans are generous; they vary by state, but some plans allow contributions exceeding $200,000. And a 529 plan is flexible: If your child decides against college or vocational school, you can transfer unused funds to another family member, tax and penalty free.

While a 529 plan is a popular choice for college savings, it is not the only option. You also might want to consider a Coverdell Education Savings Account, which, like a 529 plan, can generate tax-free earnings if the money is used for higher education expenses.

Typically, you can put in a maximum of $2,000 per year to a Coverdell account, but it offers more flexibility in investment choices than a 529 plan.

Your children may be young, but before you know it, they’ll be packing their bags for college. So, no matter which college savings vehicles you choose, put them to work soon.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: FINANCIAL FOCUS: Start saving today for tomorrow’s college bills

Florida is extending a warm welcome to a new pest!

Kudzu bugs — 3.5 to 6 millimeters long, rounded oblong and olive-green — lay egg masses in two rows of 13 to 137 eggs per row.

Their first generation seems to prefer feeding on kudzu, but subsequent generations will feed on and lay eggs on other legumes.

When fall comes, adults over-winter where they can find shelter. They crawl under tree bark and into houses' cracks.

Origin

The kudzu bug — first documented in the U.S. in 2009 in Northeast Georgia — has quickly spread throughout the Southeast.

Last year, the kudzu bug made its first appearance in Okaloosa County.

This year, its settling.

At first, a pest that attacks kudzu sounds pretty good, but this bug also attacks wisteria, figs and other legumes like beans and peas. It also is a serious pest to soybeans grown in our area.

They are similar to stink bugs and discharge an odor when disturbed. Skin and eye irritation can occur from this odor emission.

Getting rid of the bugs

If kudzu bugs enter your home, you can vacuum and dispose of them.

If they are in your garden, you can set a trap using a bucket of soapy water and a piece of white poster board. Just cut the poster board in half; cut a line up the middle of the two pieces and insert them into each other; and place the plus sign-shaped board over the bucket. As the insects hit the board, they will fall into the bucket and drown.

You can use insecticides, but timing and placement are important. Right now, kudzu bugs are just becoming active, making now a good time to spray kudzu host plants with an insecticide. Insecticides with active ingredients ending in “-thrin”, such as pyrethrin and cyfluthrin, are effective against them. Just read instructions and follow precautions. 

Controlling kudzu near your house will help decrease the number of bugs, but they are strong flyers and can migrate through neighborhoods that aren’t near kudzu.

Natural enemies

Kudzu bugs have natural enemies: generalist predators like green lacewings, lady beetles, damsel bugs and big eye bugs.

Two parasitoids attack them: a tiny wasp that develops in the kudzu bug eggs and a fly that lays eggs in the adult kudzu bug.

The kudzu bug, like other exotic invasive insects, is opportunistic; we have yet to see how many different plants species may serve as a host for this pest.

Jennifer Bearden is an agent at the University of Florida's Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: Kudzu bugs attack kudzu — and plenty of Florida plants

Last summer’s heavy rain and stress from January’s icy weather have contributed to widespread take-all root rot.

The culprit? A soil-inhabiting fungus — Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis — that causes leaf color loss and yellow grass patches ranging from a few inches to more than 15 feet in diameter.

Symptoms appear in the spring, but the disease can persist all summer and survive winter. Over time, the entire area dies as the root system rots away.

Taking action

When disease occurs, raise the cutting height. Scalping grass damages the growing point; raising cutting height increases the green plant tissue available for photosynthesis, resulting in more energy for turfgrass growth and subsequent disease recovery.

If an area of the lawn has an active fungus, washing or blowing off the mower after use will reduce the disease's spread to unaffected areas.

The amount of water and timing of its application can prevent or contribute to disease development. Most fungal pathogens that cause leaf diseases require free water — rainfall, irrigation, dew — on the leaf to initiate the infection process.

Still, irrigating daily for a few minutes is not beneficial for turfgrass — it does not provide enough water to the root zone — but it does benefit turfgrass pathogens. So you should irrigate when dew is present, usually between 2 and 8 a.m., and only apply enough water to saturate the turfgrass' root zone.

Beneficial nutrients

Excessively high nitrogen fertility contributes to turfgrass diseases, so you should apply the minimum amount required for the grass species.

Potassium (K), key in disease prevention, prevents plant stress. Applying equal amounts of nitrogen and potassium is recommended for turfgrass health.

When disease damages turfgrass roots, it is beneficial to apply nutrients in a liquid solution. However, nitrate-nitrogen increases diseases' severity, so avoid its use when possible. Ammonium-containing fertilizers are preferred nitrogen sources.

Heavy liming has also been linked to take-all root rot increase. Since most turfgrasses can tolerate a range of pH, maintaining soil at 5.5 to 6.0 can suppress the pathogen's development. When the disease is active, frequent foliar applications of small amounts of nutrients is necessary to keep the turfgrass from declining.

Additional maintenance practices are thatch removal and reduction of soil compaction.

Fertilizing habits

Applying azoxystrobin, fenarimol, myclobutanil, propiconazole, pyraclostrobin, thiophate methyl and triadimefon and excessively irrigating newly laid sod can help prevent disease development.

Ideally, the turf area should be mowed and irrigated prior to fungicide application. Unless the product needs to be watered in, do not irrigate for at least 24 hours after a chemical treatment.

Do not mow at least 24 hours to avoid removal of the product attached to leaf blades.

Since recovery of take-all damaged turfgrass is often poor, complete renovation of the lawn may be necessary. Removal of all diseased tissue is advised. As a native, soil-inhabiting pathogen, take-all root-rot cannot be eliminated. But suppression of the organism through physical removal, followed by proper cultivation of the new sod, is critical to establishing a new lawn.

Turfgrass management practices, not chemicals, offer the best control of the disease.

Sheila Dunning is an agent at the University of Florida's Extension office in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EXTENSION CONNECTION: High rainfall, ice storm bring take-all root rot