- (Focus Area) Yard & Garden
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Soil solarization is a method home gardeners and farmers can use to manage soilborne pests such as weeds, disease pathogens, nematodes and insects. Solarization can reduce help reduce pesticides used to control these pests.
Soil solarization is simple: prepare the site, water it a bit, then cover the soil with clear plastic for an extended period of time to allow the sun to heat the soil to temperatures lethal to a wide range of pests.
Learn more about this process in our recently updated Pest Notes: Soil Solarization for Gardens & Landscapes, by authors Jim Stapleton, Cheryl Wilen, and Richard Molinar of the University of California Cooperative...
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Subject: End of the Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine – Sacramento and Yolo...
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
As written in my blog post from 2 days ago, I found carpenter ants in my house recently and decided to call a pest control company to help manage them.
Yesterday, the field representative from the pest control company (both of whom will remain unnamed) showed up as scheduled, the day after I submitted a service request. Prompt service, which I appreciated! I had collected some of the perpetrators for him, and had both dead and live specimens on hand for his expert ID and advice.
The job of the licensed structural field rep is to identify the pest. I already knew what I had, having some prior knowledge of ants and having used the UC IPM
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Controlling weeds can be challenging, but UC IPM provides many resources to help home gardeners and landscape professionals.
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 recommendations in different types of...
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
New Release from CDFA:
SACRAMENTO, August 30, 2018 – A portion of Sacramento and Yolo Counties have been placed under quarantine for the Oriental fruit fly following the detection of 15 flies in and around the southern part of the City of Sacramento near the Lemon Hill community. The quarantine zone measures 123 square miles, generally bordered on the north by El Camino Avenue; on the south by Laguna Boulevard; on the west by the Sacramento River; and on the east by Bradshaw Road. A link to the quarantine map may be found here: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/off/regulation.html.
To prevent the spread of Oriental fruit flies through...