- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Halloween is the perfect time to talk about some of the creepy, crawlies that scare people the most: Spiders.
Many people think that all spiders are dangerous, scary, and aggressive. Most spiders are harmless and serve a beneficial role by catching and killing pest insects.
There are many different types of spiders inhabiting homes and gardens. In California, the main spider capable of causing serious injury is the black widow, which generally remains outdoors and out of sight. Spiders seen out in the open during the day are unlikely to bite people.
The UC Statewide IPM Program has lots of information to help you identify
Contrary to popular belief, insects are not a common cause of residential lawn damage in California, Lack of proper cultural care and use of inappropriate grass species in a particular location are much more likely to cause unhealthy or dying lawns than insects.
However, certain insects may occasionally damage or kill turfgrass. Insect feeding can cause grass to turn yellow or brown or die, especially if the grass is already stressed. Damage usually begins in small, scattered patches, which may merge into large dead areas. Insects that may cause damage in California lawns include various root-, crown-, and leaf-feeding caterpillars; grubs, which include the larvae of scarab beetles such as the black turfgrass ataenius and...
- Author: Surendra Dara
- Editor: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
The Bagrada bug (Bagrada hilaris) is an invasive stink bug insect that was first reported in 2008 in Los Angeles County, California. It has now spread to several counties in California and is moving northward in the state. Bagrada bug is also spreading eastwards from California and is currently reported in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas.
Distribution: Citizen scientists have been instrumental in reporting the occurrence of Bagrada in various counties and are helping map its current distribution. As of September 2014, Bagrada bug is known to be present in Imperial, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Kern, Kings, Inyo, Fresno, Merced,...
[From the December 2012 issue of the UC IPM Retail Nursery & Garden Center News]
After decades of relative obscurity, bed bugs (Figure 1) are exhibiting a global resurgence. In the United States, the Northeast and Midwest regions have been considered bed bug hot spots, with the highest reported incidence, but California has recently experienced a multitude of bed bug reports, with Sacramento experiencing the largest increase in requests for bed bug management services in the country in 2013. Causes for this resurgence may include increased global traffic and commerce, insecticide...
/span>After the subterranean termite, the western drywood termite, Incisitermes minor, is California's second most important termite pest.
Drywood termites are difficult to detect. They live deep inside wood and except during periods when they swarm or when repair work is being done on infested homes, they are seldom seen. The most common sighting of drywood termites is when flying adults (or “swarmers”) are seen during daytime hours in summer and fall. Dampwood termites also can swarm during summer and fall, but they can be differentiated from the western drywood termite based on their larger size and attraction to lights at dark.
Because of the difficulty in detecting drywood termites and determining the...