
Last Saturday, UC IPM staff greeted a swarm of visitors at their Picnic Day booth. Picnic Day, UC Davis' annual Open House event, invites people to visit the campus and interact with fun and educational exhibits. UC IPM has participated in Picnic Day for more than a decade and this year attracted visitors to their booth with live insects like hissing cockroaches, a termite colony, and crane flies. UC IPM staff answered many questions about pests, pesticides, and cleared up misconceptions about some common insects.
What did we talk with people about?
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice

![Female German cockroach with egg case. [J.K. Clark]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/43940small.jpg)
Most of us have clutter we've hidden away in closets, drawers, garages, or in other storage space. Although you may not have the time or energy to go through these excess “stuff” and cluttered areas, we have an incentive for you: pest reduction and prevention.
Consider the following pests when thinking whether you should reduce clutter and get rid of unneeded items in your house:
Cockroaches may come into contact with human and pet excrement and can transmit bacteria to food. They prefer to hide in warm, moist environments. The German cockroach female is capable of laying over 30,000 eggs per year,...
- Author: Anne Schellman
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas

May 17 is World Packrat Day, a designated date for those who revel in collecting and keeping large amounts of “stuff.” Unfortunately, when your home, garage, or storage areas are full of extra items, it can create clutter and foster an environment that attracts and harbors pests. Below is a short list of some household pests that are also happy to celebrate this day.
Cockroaches prefer warm, moist environments with places to hide. There are several species of cockroaches, so identification is the first step in management. Consult the Pest Note: Cockroaches for help.
Clothes moths may...
- Author: Anne Schellman
![Male and female adult oriental cockroaches [UC IPM]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/32142small.jpg)
This summer, the media frequently reported an increase in the density of pests in the home and landscape. The drought has been cited as the cause of these problems. Pest control companies quoted in articles confirm that the demand for their services is much higher this year than in years past.
Many people are asking, “Why are there so many more pests this year than usual?” According to Dr. Andrew Sutherland, the urban Integrated Pest Management Advisor for the San Francisco Bay Area, we are asking the wrong question. “The overall abundance of pests probably hasn't changed and may even have decreased as compared to wet years. The real questions we should be asking are ‘Why are these pests appearing earlier...