- Author: Chris M. Webb
Coyotes are native to western North America. They are extremely adaptable animals and can live in almost any habitat. Except for Hawaii, coyotes live in all of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
They can live successfully alone or in packs. Territories can be greater than 15 square miles where food is scarce to as small as one quarter of a square mile in the suburbs where food is plentiful. Some of the highest population densities on record occur in suburban Southern California.
To learn more about coyotes and how to minimize the likelihood of contact with them, please see UC ANR’s Integrated Pest Management’s Coyote publication.
This publication includes:
- Identification and biology
- Identifying coyote damage
- Predator damage management, past and present
In addition UC ANR has a CoyoteBytes website. The site is designed to “provide information to homeowners, land managers, agency personnel and others to help solve coyote-human conflicts, particularly in urban and suburban areas.” This site is rich in photographs and resources for further information.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Aphids are a common problem in home gardens and landscapes. Aphid populations can increase quickly. During periods of warm weather one aphid can produce up to 80 offspring in a week. At the end of the following week those 80 can produce up to 6,400 more.
UC ANR has an aphids pest notes, which can be viewed and downloaded for free. This publication has information to help you to reduce problems that aphids may bring. It includes the following:
- Identification
- Life cycle
- Damage
- Management
Pest notes on different topics and much more can be found on the UC Integrated Pest Management (IPM) website.
Rose aphids
Curled, distorted leaves caused by aphid damage.
The lady beetle is a natural enemy of aphids.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
The mission of Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) is “to advance – to the whole of American agriculture – innovations that improve profitability, stewardship and quality of life by investing in groundbreaking research and education.”
They have released their 2009/2010 Report from the Field. This resource shares the stories of ranchers and farmers from around the country who are improving their operations by using sustainable practices.
In addition, Report from the Field includes updates on funding allocations and priority activities being pursued by SARE staff.
This informative and practical resource can be downloaded for free.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Today is National Arbor Day. This special day encourages the care and planting of trees. A man by the name of J. Sterling Morton began the effort that led to Arbor Day in the 1850’s. Over the years his work and dedication led to the first national observance of Arbor Day in 1872. It is now celebrated nationally on the last Friday in April.
To learn more about the enthusiasm and community support of Mr. Morton’s ideas click here.
Suggestions on how to celebrate Arbor Day can be found here. It is important to note that state celebrations can differ from the national date. State Arbor Day celebrations are often observed to coincide with appropriate local planting times for trees.
Further information can be found on the Arbor Day Foundation website.
Information on tree selection, care and planting can be found on the UC ANR California Gardening – advice to grow by website.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
We recently received a call from landscape company. They are preparing to move their facility to a new location. They called to find out how to safely move their pesticides and comply with regulations. We thought this would be good information to share.
UC ANR Environmental Health and Safety has a great collection of publications, including Storing, Moving and Disposing of Pesticides on Farms.
In addition to the information in the publication, UC ANR Environmental Health and Safety suggests the following when moving pesticides to a new location:
- keep a copy of labels and/or MSDS on pesticides you are moving
- remember pesticides cannot be in truck cabs with people
- the truck and pesticide storage compartments must remain locked even if you leave your vehicle for a minute or two.