Rats can contaminate our food, damage structures, and spread diseases. To help residents and urban pest professionals safely and effectively manage rats, UC IPM has updated the Pest Notes: Rats publication. This revised fact sheet is authored by UC Cooperative Extension Human-Wildlife Conflicts advisor Dr. Niamh Quinn, a recognized expert in urban rat management. Updates include additional information on rat damage, specific sanitation tactics for both Norway and roof rats, tips for rodent-proofing your home, and new illustrations to clearly show correct placement of traps. Rules and regulations regarding rodenticide use in California are...
Are grasshoppers taking over your garden? Within the last week, we've received several reports of large populations of these pests covering people's plants, especially in Northern California.
Grasshoppers are a sporadic garden pest. Some years you might only notice and few, and other years their populations can boom. Outbreaks usually occur every 8 to 10 years in California, sometimes lasting 1 to 3 years.
The most destructive and widespread grasshopper species is known as the “devastating grasshopper” or Melanoplus devastator. Adults are light gray to tan with dark stripes on their legs. Nymphs are pale yellow,...
Summer is here and so are the pests! Keep an eye out for the following pests and take these steps to prevent problems in the garden or landscape this June. To see more tips specific to your region, visit the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist on the UC IPM website.
- Check plants for leaf stippling or webbing from spider mites. Irrigate adequately, mist leaf undersides daily, reduce dustiness, or spray horticultural oil to...
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
Pampasgrass (Cortaderia selloana) is a common ornamental landscape plant that readily naturalizes throughout California's coastal areas and some interior regions. Historically, pampasgrass was planted for erosion control, but it has since escaped cultivation and spread along sandy, moist ditch banks throughout coastal regions of southern California. Pampagrass can also grow in the hot, dry climate of inland areas of California.
A similar-looking invasive grass, jubatagrass (Cortaderia jubata), is more widespread, aggressive, and is a major pest in coastal redwood forest areas. Jubatagrass thrives in cool, foggy environments and does not tolerate temperature extremes or...
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a large leafhopper that can transmit several important, often fatal, plant diseases in California. This includes Pierce's disease of grape, alfalfa dwarf, almond leaf scorch, and mulberry leaf scorch. Pierce's disease is of most concern in California since the state accounts for about 94% of U.S. grape production.
Pierce's disease of grape has been reported in many counties throughout California. View a map of the current distribution of the pathogen. Glassy-winged sharpshooter adults...