Are the leaves on your plant stippled or silvered and covered with small black dots of excrement? This damage could be caused by thrips, which are tiny, slender insects with fringed wings. Thrips may also pucker or gall leaves and scar flowers or fruit. There are many species of thrips. Some feed on a broad range of plant species, others specialize on a few plants, and still other species feed on insects or mites and are beneficial in landscapes and gardens. Managing thrips is challenging and requires an IPM program that relies on multiple strategies. Learn more about thrips and their management in a newly revised publication Pest Notes: Thrips authored by Jim...
- Author: Robert M. Timm
![Figure 1. Mule deer [Photo by W. P. Gorenzel, UC]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/22207small.jpg)
[From the October 2013 issue of the UC IPM Retail Nursery & Garden Center News]
Is there such a thing as a deer-proof plant? Perhaps…but there are a variety of reasons deer may choose to ignore or consume specific plant species at a particular time and place.
Certain plants native to California (and elsewhere) have evolved natural defenses against being eaten by browsing mammals; some are toxic, some are distasteful, and some have thorns. However, in recent decades, we've modified California's suburban and semi-rural environments in ways that have provided deer with lots of...
- Author: Joseph DiTomaso
[From the August 2013 issue of the UC IPM Green Bulletin newsletter]
Removal of poison-oak requires special care. Most people are allergic to it, exhibiting skin rashes when they come in contact with it. Good control may require a combination of techniques and repeat herbicide applications in subsequent years.
Poison-oak can be removed through mechanical methods, but most managers...
The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), a new invasive pest that originated in Asia, is moving into California gardens and landscapes. This stink bug has devastated fruit and vegetable crops in the eastern U.S. and is beginning to establish itself on the West Coast. BMSB built up significant overwintering populations in landscapes in the City of Sacramento last fall and has been found sporadically in many other areas of the state from San Diego northward. It could become a pest in gardens in some parts of the state as soon as this year. A new UC IPM Pest Note: Brown Marmorated Stink Bug written by Chuck Ingels, UCCE Sacramento, and Lucia Varela, UC Statewide IPM...
Psyllids are small insects that suck plant juices. Few of the over 140 native species of psyllids in California ever cause significant damage to plants. However, about 18 exotic species accidentally introduced from other countries can be pests on ornamentals or fruit trees. Some are often controlled by natural enemies; others occasionally require suppression with pesticides. Learn about biology, identification and management of psyllids in a revised UC IPM Pest Note: Psyllids authored by John Kabashima, UCCE Orange County; Tim Paine, UC Riverside; Kent Daane, UC Berkeley; and Steve Dreistadt, UC IPM Program. This publication features color photographs of all the...
