- Author: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
- Posted by: Lauren Fordyce
While venomous spiders like black widows are well-known, there are many harmless spiders that live in and around our homes and outdoor areas. Spiders are beneficial because they prey on insects and other pests. Most spiders are not likely to bite you and are not dangerous.
Types of Spiders
Spider families vary by body shape, web type, hunting or other behavior, and the arrangement and size of their eyes. There is a wide range of spiders you might encounter in your home or landscape in California.
One of the most recognizable is the cellar spider. Cellar spiders have long, skinny legs and hang upside down in dark corners, often...
- Author: Elaine Lander
As the weather warms up, we see more insect activity in gardens and landscapes, and you may also notice more activity of insect pests in your home. Common insect pests found indoors in springtime can include carpet beetles, fleas, fungus gnats, and boxelder bugs.
In our recent post on carpet beetles, we shared that the adults of these beetles prefer to be outdoors but the immature larvae can feed on fabric, carpet, or other natural materials in your home. See our Pest Notes: Carpet Beetles for more management information.
Cat fleas are the most...
- 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,...
- 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: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
- Author: Lisa A Blecker
- Posted by: Elaine Lander
Insecticide foggers, also known as total release foggers or “bug bombs” (Figure 1), are popular products widely available in many retail nurseries and garden centers as well as drug stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores. These easy-to-use products may seem to provide an easy way to kill a lot of bugs fast and may be viewed as more convenient and cheaper than hiring a pest management professional. But do they work?
Are Foggers Effective?
Foggers can be used effectively to kill pests that are flying around or resting on surfaces, like flies, but there are better long-term and more effective...
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