California ground squirrels are common throughout much of California and may be found living near homes, structures, gardens, and landscapes where they can be a real nuisance. Ground squirrels' damaging habits can include:
- Eating vegetable seedlings and green grasses
- Damaging young shrubs, vines, and trees by gnawing on and girdling trunks
- Eating twigs and leaves
- Burrowing in lawns and landscapes and around tree roots
- Gnawing on plastic sprinkler heads and irrigation lines
Effective ground squirrel management methods vary during the year. In winter, manage populations before breeding seasons begins. Visit the UC IPM publication
Dandelions are broadleaf plants easily recognizable by their bright yellow flower and puffball of white tufted seeds heads. While this plant is appreciated as a food or herb by many, for equal numbers of others it is regarded as a weed when found growing in lawns, ornamental plantings, and athletic fields throughout the year.
For helpful nonchemical and chemical management solutions to help you control this weed, read the newly revised Pest Notes: Dandelion by UC Cooperative Extension Advisor John Roncoroni.
Unlike mosquitoes, spiders do not seek people in order to bite them. Generally, a spider doesn't try to bite a person unless it has been squeezed, lain on, or similarly provoked to defend itself. Moreover, the jaws of most spiders are so small that the fangs cannot penetrate the skin of an adult person. Sometimes when a spider is disturbed in its web, it may bite instinctively because it mistakenly senses that an insect has been caught.
The severity of a spider bite depends on factors such as the kind of spider, the amount of venom injected, and the age and health of the person bitten. A spider bite might cause no reaction at all, or it might result in varying amounts of itching, redness, stiffness, swelling, and...
Are you surprised to see aphids on some of your plants this time of year? With the current mild temperatures in California, aphids may continue living and reproducing in some locations this winter, with female adults giving birth to live young every day.
Low to moderate numbers of aphids aren't usually damaging, but allowing them to continue reproducing on your plants may mean more aphids this spring. Once aphid populations explode in spring, their feeding can turn leaves yellow and stunt shoots on certain plants. Aphids can also produce a great deal of honeydew, a sticky byproduct of their feeding.
For information on how to manage aphids in many situations, consult the
Register for the U.S. EPA Webinar: It Takes an Integrated Pest Management Village - IPM for a Healthier Home and Community
Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT), Followed by a live Q&A session
This webinar will prepare you to—
- Identify various types of pests in your home environment and determine the best control tactics.
- Understand the importance of utilizing integrated pest management practices indoors and...
