World Migratory Bird Day (May 10) is a yearly event to help promote awareness about migratory birds and their habitats. The campaign celebrates the migration of birds across countries and continents and focuses on their conservation.
However, during their migration, these birds may cause problems for occupants in urban areas. The birds may nest in colonies on buildings and other structures and their activities can be a nuisance.
Laws that Protect Birds
If migratory bird activities are causing issues in your building, make sure you know the law before you take any action. Certain birds that nest on dwellings may be protected under the
/h2>- Author: Anne Schellman
- Author: Karey Windbiel Rojas
Gardeners and other consumers frequently look to retail nursery and garden center employees to answer questions about pests and pesticides. To help retailers stay abreast of current pest topics facing California, UC IPM held a workshop for retail employees on January 28, 2016 in Ontario, CA focusing on integrated pest management (IPM) concepts and current issues. Partnering with local UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Advisors and Specialists, the day was filled with information participants could bring back to customers to address their pest and plant problems.
Topics addressed in these workshops include:
- Invasive Pests
- Asian citrus psyllid and...
Weeds can be found in just about every lawn. Weeds are not only unattractive to some people, but they compete with turfgrass for water and nutrients. But did you know that weeds are seldom a problem in well-managed, vigorously growing lawns?
Why Does Your Lawn Have Weeds?
Most lawns fall prey to weeds due to poor maintenance practices that weaken it. The three main factors likely to weaken lawns are improper irrigation, fertilization, or mowing.
In order to know how to manage weeds correctly, you'll need to identify the weeds and understand their life cycle. Certain weeds are associated with conditions such as compacted soil, overwatering, and poor drainage.
Weed Management
The newly updated...
/h2>/h2>Spring is a good time to begin monitoring for any lawn insect pests. Pest examples include various root, crown and leaf-feeding caterpillars, grubs like masked chafers, billbugs and chinch bugs.
Although insects can be serious pests of lawns, lawn damage is more frequently due to lack of proper cultural care and/or improper grass species selection for your area. An unhealthy lawn is more easily attacked by insects, weeds and diseases.
Insects are sometimes are blamed for lawn damage when the culprit may actually be disease-causing pathogens, dog urine, or abiotic causes such as leaving an item on the lawn for some time and inappropriate use of garden chemicals such as fertilizers and herbicides.
It's important to...
March 20-26 is National Poison Prevention Week. Every third week in March, the Poison Prevention Week Council holds this event to highlight the dangers of poisonings and how to prevent them and ensure the safety of children and adults.
Pesticides are a common types of poison that are found in many people's homes. Poisoning can happen when pesticides are not stored correctly and/or disposed of properly. Here are a few tips for keeping people and pets safe:
- Products should be kept tightly capped in a locked cabinet, out of the reach of children and pets.
- Always keep pesticides in their original container.
- Never dispose of...