- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Long's research on crops, pollination and pest control guided farming practices in Yolo, Solano and Sacramento counties
Rachael Freeman Long grew up in Berkeley but was fascinated by farming. The UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor has spent the past 37 years doing research on crop production, pollination and pest control and collaborating with farmers.
Long worked with UCCE in Sonoma and San Joaquin counties as well as at UC Berkeley, before settling in Yolo County as a farm advisor in 1992. She has focused on field crops including alfalfa hay and other forages, dry beans, and hybrid seed crops such as sunflowers, melons and onions.
She...
/h4>- Author: Denise Godbout-Avant
Throughout history bats have been objects of fear, hostility, and myths, largely due to their nocturnal, mysterious behavior. Horror movies and media exaggerations has led people to believe they are dangerous disease-ridden blood suckers. The truth is very different.
Fascinating Bat Bits
Bats are the only true flying mammal, making up a quarter of the world's mammals. There are 1,100 species of bats, with forty species in the USA. California has twenty-five species, most of which are insectivores.
Bats are one of only three mammals that generally sleep upside down, with sloths and manatees being the other two.
Bats can live between five and thirty years, depending on the species. Most female bats...
/h3>By Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
In the first old house my husband and I lived in in downtown Napa, we had the second floor and access to the attic. When we moved in, we had no idea there were bats in the attic. My first encounter was when I went to mop the floor and there was a funny looking “mouse” in the bucket.
I had just seen a Dracula movie and you can guess what I was thinking. After six years of living with bats and having no insects biting us, we had adjusted well to our fellow tenants. The only downside was cleaning up their guano.
When I visited Morocco a few years ago and camped in the desert, bats started flying around our tent during dinner....
- Author: Belinda J. Messenger-Sikes
Are bats good for the environment or are they pests? How about both? Almost all of the 25 species of bats in California eat lots of flying insects during their night flights, making them an important part of the ecosystem. But when they roost in buildings such as your home, they can become pests.
Bats roosting in outbuildings away from dwellings aren't much of a problem. Some people even place bat houses on their property to attract bats for assistance with pest control. But a colony of bats in your attic is cause for concern. Bats can spread human diseases like rabies and their droppings (called guano) can make a smelly mess.
If bats are a problem in your home, UC...
- Author: Heidi Aufdermaur
Beyond the Honey Bee
About 75% of all flowering plants rely on animal pollinators. Most pollinators (about 200,000 species) are beneficial insects such as honey bees, native bees, butterflies, moths, flies and beetles. As the saying goes, if you build it, they will come. So what are some ways in which gardens can be made more attractive for the pollinators of all kinds?
First, know the pollinators. Everyone knows the European honey bee, which was imported 400 years ago and brought to California around 1850. But did you know there are over 4,000 species of native bees in the United States, of which 1600 are found in California?
Approximately 70% of native bees are solitary ground nesters, while 30%...