With Halloween again upon us, what better time to unearth a few true horror stories of reported pesticide accidents from DPR and county agricultural commissioners' records?
These recent tales illustrate the perils of misusing or carelessly handling pesticides. Sadly, they were all avoidable.
The point of sharing them is not to embarrass anyone, but, rather, to educate people. As such, DPR is withholding names and some other details that could identify the people involved.
Hopefully, sharing these true horror stories can prevent future injuries or even deaths.
DON'T STORE PESTICIDES NEAR KIDS!
Every year, county agricultural commissioners, who handle enforcement of state...
Halloween is a time when many people enjoy having creatures come to their homes in search of treats. But what about unwanted indoor visitors with six or more legs? Here are three types of creatures that might bring a chill to your spine if you find them in your house.
Spiders
Many people in the world fear spiders. Sure, they might be creepy, but in general, spiders are beneficial because they feed on pest insects both inside and outside the home. One spider that is cause for concern in California is the black widow. Wait, what? Not the brown...
Summer may be over, but continued warm weather means that mosquitoes are still active. So far this year, 361 cases of the mosquito-borne illness West Nile Virus (WNV) have been reported* in 23 California counties from Imperial to Shasta. Sadly, 18 of these cases resulted in death. The disease is most serious in children, people with weakened immune systems, and the elderly.
Mosquitoes that can transmit WNV breed in aquatic environments like ponds or other sources of stagnant water such as roof gutters, bird baths, and swimming pools.
You can minimize mosquito habitat in your landscape by:
- Cleaning rain gutters and downspouts to remove debris.
- Sealing rain barrels. Keep all filters and prefilters...
Brown Rot
Monitor for this disease by checking for damaged fruit on your tree, as well as fruit in storage. Sometimes affected fruit develops a pungent odor and can ruin fruit held in storage. See the UC IPM web page on Brown Rot to learn more.
Citrus Leafminer
If you see what look like small “tunnels” on your citrus...
The UC Statewide IPM Program is hiring an Pesticide Safety Educator to coordinate with UC ANR advisors and specialists, government agencies, professional organizations, and others to plan, develop and deliver local pesticide safety educational programs for fieldworkers, pesticide handlers, pesticide applicators, and other trainers of these clientele. The deadline to apply is October 22, so get your application in soon!
---
Community Education Specialist II or III (Pesticide Safety Educator)
Location: UC ANR- Davis (Yolo County)
This position supports development and delivery of programs that provide objective information about...