- Author: Elaine Lander
February is a month where we celebrate and acknowledge many things: Black History Month, Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, President's Day, and others. But did you know February is also National Pesticide Safety Education Month? While pesticide safety is important year round, we at UC IPM are taking time to reinforce this topic to help those who use pesticides stay safe.
Pesticides used in gardens, landscapes, and around the home include store bought products, aerosol bug sprays, weed killers (herbicides), concentrated or ready-to-use products, and even home-made mixtures used for killing pests.
Basic Pesticide Safety
/h2>- Author: Elaine Lander
With the recent time change along with a change in temperatures, landscaping practices for pests need some adjusting too. We're sharing a few recommended tasks to help prevent insect pests, diseases, and environmental disorders in landscapes. Looking for additional tips? You can subscribe to our Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist for monthly landscaping reminders delivered straight to your email inbox.
Frost Protection
Cold injury can occur when temperatures decline rapidly after warm weather, killing bark, buds, flowers and...
/h2>- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
October is a perfect time to talk about spiders! People decorate for Halloween with scary images of spiders and webs. Many people fear spiders but what you may not know is that they are helpful in our homes and landscapes.
Spiders you might find wandering in your home or hanging out in your garden are beneficial predators, eating pest insects like flies, mosquitoes, and numerous other undesirable bugs in and around landscapes.
Whether you are curious as to what kind of spider you found or you are looking for ways to get rid of them, UC IPM has the information you need in the newly revised free publication, Pest Notes: Spiders. Author...
- Author: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
- Author: Elaine Lander
Sooty mold is a black fungal growth that looks like a layer of soot covering the leaves of a plant or a sidewalk. The aptly named disease is common in gardens and landscapes, appearing wherever a large infestation of plant-sucking insects are found. Sooty mold grows on honeydew, a sticky substance excreted by plant-sucking insects.
While sooty mold doesn't actually damage plants or other surfaces, a thick growth of the fungus can block light to plant leaves, reducing photosynthesis. This can lead to stunted growth and premature leaf drop.
The key to reducing sooty mold is management of honeydew-producing insects,...