Pests in the Urban Landscape

Most people are practicing social distancing due to the current pandemic, so contracting head lice might not be a top concern right now. However, many families with young children have at least one encounter with head lice at some time or another.

Your customers want their lawns to be beautiful and functional (Figure 1) but dead patches or other problems sometimes occur. Figuring out the cause of turfgrass damage can be a challenge since many plant pathogens affect grasses as well as numerous abiotic (non-living) disorders.

In order to stay healthy and keep our spaces clean during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are using disinfectants and sanitizers more than they may have before.

These days, most people are wearing masks when out in public for personal protection for themselves or others. In nature, there are a few pests that have their own type of face coverings, markings, or that other types of protective covers or behavior.

While many of you are preparing for the 4th of July holiday, we at UC IPM are also thinking about stars and stripes but in a slightly different way: yellow starthistle and striped skunks.