- Author: Cheryl Reynolds
Are you looking for continuing education units (CEUs) to complete your renewal application this year for the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)? The UC Statewide IPM Program has several online courses available that can help you get those last few needed credits.
DPR license and certificate holders with last names beginning with M – Z renew this year. Renewal packets must be submitted to DPR before November 19th to ensure that licenses are renewed by January 1, 2016. After that, applications may take up to 45 calendar days to process.
The online courses available from UC IPM that offer...
It's not uncommon to see opossums running through your backyard or neighborhood. Opossums are small, house cat-sized animals that have coarse, grayish fur, a pointed face and round, hairless ears and a long, hairless tail. Their feet resemble small hands with five widely spread fingers.
Opossums may visit vegetable gardens, compost piles, garbage cans, or food dishes intended for dogs or cats. They also eat fresh meat and carrion and often feed on road kills.
In urban and suburban areas, opossum can become a nuisance as they often get into fights with dogs and cats and can inflict serious injury. Opossums carry several diseases such as tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, trichomoniasis and Chagas disease. They may also have...
UC IPM has a brand new resource called the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist (or SLIC). The checklist is a regional decision-making tool designed to help guide landscape professionals and home gardeners through a yearly list of activities to prevent, monitor, or manage landscape plant pest problems throughout the year.
The Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist can be accessed on UC IPM's Home, garden, turf and landscape pests web page under “More information,” and can also be found under the...
- Author: Anne Schellman
Did you know that this week (November 15-21) is Rodent Awareness Week? The goal of the week is to bring awareness about the risks that rodents can pose to your health and the problems they can cause to your home and garden.
In and around the home, Norway rats, roof rats and house mice can be problematic by consuming and contaminating food intended for you and your pets. These rodents often enter structures in winter and can also carry several diseases and parasites.
In the landscape and garden, tree squirrels, ground squirrels, gophers, moles and voles can be a nuisance and feed on many garden...
Thanksgiving is a time to gather together with family and friends. The occasion is usually centered around a big meal followed by pumpkin pie, and hopefully some time to let each person share a list of what they are most grateful for that year.
Here at UC IPM, we are adding beneficial insects to our “thankful” list! These helpful invertebrates (also called natural enemies) are often overlooked for the contribution they make to gardens and landscapes.
Natural enemies, such as spiders and certain mites and insects, can help reduce the number of pests in your garden. It's possible that part of the reason they are overlooked is because...