Pests in the Urban Landscape

Indoor food waste bins (also known as kitchen bins or compost bins) have become a popular addition to Californian homes. They are a great way to collect food scraps and divert food waste from landfills, but they can sometimes attract pest insects like maggots, ants, and fruit flies.

The emerald ash borer (EAB) may be beautiful, but it is the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America. Hundreds of millions of ash trees across 36 states and 5 Canadian provinces have been killed by this invasive insect.

There are many types of good bugs commonly found in the garden or landscape. In integrated pest management (IPM) we refer to good bugs as natural enemies or beneficial organisms. Natural enemies can include insects, but also mites, pathogens, and vertebrates like birds and lizards.

The University of California Statewide IPM Program (UC IPM) has an exciting, newly updated resource to help you better understand pesticide active ingredients and the risks different active ingredients pose to people and the environment.

Need some summer plans? Join UC IPM at 12:00pm on the third Thursday of every month to learn about pest identification, prevention, and management around the home, garden, and landscape! These free IPM webinars are open to the general public so please share with others who may be interested.