- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
There have been 17 Asian citrus psyllid finds in various parts of Tulare County recently, bringing the county-wide total to 384. The finds were mostly in residential areas in the county, but several were from groves and a juice plant. The Tulare County grower liaisons are working with grove owners to address the finds in and near commercial groves.
The Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program asks homeowners and growers to remain diligent and monitor their trees regularly for this devastating pest.
Please review the University of California recommendations for how to effectively respond if a psyllid were to be found in your backyard tree.
Read more...
- Author: Mary Louise Flint
One of the best ways to reduce pest problems in and around buildings is to construct or retrofit structures that keep pests out in the first place. This concept has been a pillar of integrated pest management for many years. Pest-resistant buildings reduce not only pest problems but also the need for pesticide applications. Unfortunately, architects and builders had few guidelines about how to design and construct such structures.
To address this issue, the San Francisco Department of the Environment and the International Code Council developed an online publication, Pest Prevention by Design, which provides the first comprehensive resource on pest-preventive building design tactics.
Specific guidelines are...
- Author: Elizabeth E Grafton-Cardwell
- Author: Matthew Daugherty
- Author: Cheryl A. Wilen
[From the March 2016 issue of UC IPM's Retail Nursery & Garden Center IPM News]
Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) continues to spread and to be an ever-present concern in California. Because of this, we have updated information from the April 2015 issue of UC IPM's Retail IPM newsletter to share with your customers.
Until 2013, ACP was mostly found in Southern California, but has since been found in multiple locations in the Central Valley and has been detected as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area. The psyllid is well-established in coastal and inland Southern California and it is slowly establishing itself in...
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
- Contributor: Andrew Mason Sutherland
You may be seeing long-legged, flying insects in your house lately, bouncing around the walls, ceilings, and corners. Many people call these “mosquito hawks” or “mosquito eaters,” but unfortunately, they are not predators of mosquitoes.
These flying insects are actually adult crane flies and although annoying to find in the home, they are basically harmless and won't help with any mosquito problems.
Many reports claim these adult European crane flies (Tipula paludosa) bite or sting, but this is false. Most adult crane flies, which superficially resemble large mosquitoes with very long legs, eat very little, if at all. Adult crane flies live for only a few weeks, and when they find their...
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Since this week is California Mosquito Control Awareness Week, we thought we'd run a recent mosquito-related post again. [See the full post here.]
How is Zika Transmitted? The Zika virus is primarily transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes egypti mosquito, a species also known to carry yellow fever. The Zika virus is thought to also be transmitted via blood transfusion and sexual contact, and in rare cases from mother to child. Researchers are currently investigating the link between the Zika virus and birth defects including microcephaly.
How to Protect Yourself. To protect yourself...