Pests have popularity contests too. We recently looked at how many visits our popular Pest Notes publication series received in 2017.

If you aren't familiar, the UC IPM Pest Notes series are science-based publications written and reviewed by experts on specific pest or management topics for California. UC IPM has 169 Pest Notes with some being more popular than others.

Here are the 20 most visited titles in 2017:

1- Carpet Beetles
For the third year in a row, carpet beetles was the most viewed of the UC IPM Pest Notes series on our website! This commonly occurring indoor pest can be accidentally brought into your home on cut flowers or through open doors...

The Urban Entomology Program at the University of California, Riverside and AgriTurf Distributing are joining forces to present The UCR Fumigation School on Wednesday and Thursday, November 15 and 16, 2017. Classes will be held at UCR Extension, 1200 University Ave., Riverside, CA.

The 2-day program will feature presentations on the biology of termites, wood-destroying beetles, and bed bugs, physical properties and mode of action of fumigants, structural inspections, and regulatory issues. In addition to classroom training activities, participants will visit an actual demonstration site to review aspects of the preparation of structures prior to fumigation. The class size will be limited to 50 attendees to enhance interaction...

[From the Summer issue of the UC IPM Retail Nursery & Garden Center News]

Don't let the bed bugs bite? That's easier said than done, it seems. Bed bugs (Figure 1) continue to be important household pests globally, driving a growing sector of the pest control industry. Professionals have access to effective insecticides and specialized techniques, such as heat treatments, to control bed bug infestations. These services, however, can be expensive: a recent survey revealed the average cost of professional insecticide treatments and heat treatments to be $425 and $1,400,...