Controlling weeds can be challenging to landscape professionals or home gardeners since landscapes often include a mix of turfgrass, annual plants, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and trees.

The newly revised publication Pest Notes: Weed Management in Landscapes by Area IPM Advisor Cheryl Wilen, presents an integrated approach to weed management to help ensure weed control efforts are effective, environmentally-sound and economical. This science-based publication includes information on methods such as pre-planting considerations, the importance of weed identification, nonchemical practices such as using mulches and barriers, weed management...

Are you seeing cars, sidewalks, driveways, or other plants covered in sticky stuff, especially those under trees? This sticky substance, called honeydew, is produced by certain insects that excrete it when they feed on plants. Plant leaves look shiny and honeydew may be so thick that it drips off the leaves onto the ground or other plants underneath. And in some cases, a black, powdery fungus called sooty mold grows on it, causing the plant's leaves to look dirty.

We've written about quite a few of the insects that produce honeydew in our blog, so here is a list of the possible culprits that may be causing the mess this time of year:

Aphids

The hackberry woolly aphid is a major pest on

When you hear the term “pesticide,” what comes to mind? Do you understand what pesticides are and, more importantly, how to use them correctly?

A pesticide is any material (natural or synthetic) used to control, prevent, kill, suppress, or repel pests. “Pesticide” is a broad term that includes insecticides, herbicides (weed or plant killers), algaecides (algae and moss), fungicides (plant diseases), rodenticides, miticides (mite control), and molluscicides (snails and slugs). Even antimicrobial products (such as bleach and sanitary wipes) that kill bacteria on surfaces and chlorine added to pools are pesticides. If a product has a U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency (EPA) Registration Number on...

This article was written for the UC IPM Retail Nursery and Garden Center News, a publication directed at retail nursery store employees. With the recent confirmed human West Nile virus deaths in California, it's important to understand how mosquitoes reproduce and what you can do to prevent them around your home or other areas.  

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You've likely heard about ways to get rid of mosquito breeding sites around your home and landscape, as well as how to protect yourself from being bitten. But what should you do if you own or work at a...