- Author: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
Are bats good for the environment or are they pests? How about both? Almost all of the 25 species of bats in California eat lots of flying insects during their night flights, making them an important part of the ecosystem. But when they roost in buildings such as your home, they can become pests.
Bats roosting in outbuildings away from dwellings aren't much of a problem. Some people even place bat houses on their property to attract bats for assistance with pest control. But a colony of bats in your attic is cause for concern. Bats can spread human diseases like rabies and their droppings (called guano) can make a smelly mess.
If bats are a problem in your home, UC...
Register now for the Urban & Community IPM webinars! All webinar information and registration links are available on our webinar website. Webinars are the third Thursday of every month from 1:00-2:00pm Pacific time. Webinars are free and open to the public but you must register in advance.
Upcoming webinars:
- April 15: Learn about the resources on the UC IPM website. Click here to register.
- May 20: Learn about household pests. Click here to...
- Author: Elaine Lander
While you are outside gardening or inside doing your spring cleaning, you may have recently found small, round, speckled beetles you've never seen before. We've had several questions this past week about insects crawling around windowsills, found on screens, or noticed on outdoor plants, or fuzzy, oblong insects on carpets or rugs. What are they? While there are many insects starting to emerge from their winter rest, if you are finding small beetles like these, they could be carpet beetles!
Carpet beetles are pests of homes, warehouses, and museums. In California, there are 3 species that damage fabrics, carpets, and stored foods including the varied carpet beetle,...
Have you registered for UCIPM Urban & Community Program's first open webinar? This Thursday, March 18 from 1:00-2:00pm PDT we will cover What is Integrated Pest Management?
This week's webinar is the first of a new monthly webinar series that is free and open to the public. All webinars will be held on the third Thursday of the month beginning at 1:00pm PDT and run for one hour.
See the webinar website for more information and...
- Author: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
Figuring out what's wrong with your plant takes a little detective work. Plants can look unhealthy for a number of reasons, including diseases, pest insects, or even environmental conditions like sunburn, too much water, not enough water, wind damage, and other issues. Start by examining the plant closely for anything out of place. Knowing what the plant should look like will help you determine if there's a problem. Because some pests attack only specific plants, identifying the type of plant, including the variety or cultivar, narrows down disease possibilities.
Diseases caused by a plant pathogen, like a fungus, will look and act differently than something caused by...