Just a few more weeks of summer remain! As the weather begins to shift, you may need to adjust your landscaping practices to prevent and monitor for fall pests. The UC IPM Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist is a monthly guide to help you avoid common pests of landscape plants.
Here are some general tips for the month of September to prevent pests and their damage in the garden and landscape. Visit the checklist online to see more pest management to-dos for your region.
- Monitor citrus plants for signs of pests such as Asian citrus psyllid or leafminers.
- Adjust irrigation to account for any change in weather and increased rainfall.
- Inspect apple, citrus and especially Prunus species (e.g., stone fruit) for bacterial blast, blight, and canker. Remove entire affected branches in the summer, making cuts several inches away in healthy wood.
- Check for aphids. Most established plants can tolerate aphid feeding. On small plants, knock aphids off with a strong stream of water or apply insecticidal oils and soaps to manage.
- Check for signs of powdery mildew on apple, crape myrtle, grape, rose, and stone fruits.
- Manage ants around landscapes and building foundations using insecticide baits and trunk barriers.
- Look for leaffooted bugs feeding on fruit and nuts such as almonds, pistachios, and pomegranates.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
Summer is in full swing and while it's been quite hot in many parts of California, it's been very cool in others. That's why UC IPM's Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist is a useful tool to help you figure out what to do in your region each month!
Here are some general tips for the month of August to prevent pests and their damage in the garden and landscape. Visit the tool to see more pest management to-dos in your region.
- Manage ants around landscapes and building foundations using insecticide baits and trunk barriers.
- Prune off galled branches caused by olive knot and oleander gall, or knot.
- Monitor for grape diseases such as powdery mildew, Eutypa dieback, Phomopsis cane and leaf spot, and others. Prune, remove, or treat as appropriate.
- Clean up fallen fruit or nuts to avoid attracting or harboring pests.
- Keep an eye out for stone fruit pests such as aphids, borers, brown rot, caterpillars, powdery mildew, and scale insects.
- Maintain a fire safe landscape by creating “defensible space.” Thin out thick vegetation and eliminate fuel ladders that allow fire to climb up trees or structures. Remove dry, resinous or dead plants and flammable debris. Cut branches back 15 to 20 feet from buildings. Use non-combustible surfaces for walkways, patios and driveways.
- Bag apple and pear fruit to prevent codling moth damage. Remove infested or dropped fruit promptly.
- Look for leaffooted bugs feeding on fruit and nuts such as almonds, pistachios, and pomegranates.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
Follow these tips for the month of July to prevent pests in the garden and landscape. To see more tips specific to your region, visit the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist on the UC IPM website.
- Clean up fallen fruit or nuts to avoid attracting or harboring pests.
- Deter borers by deep watering trees that are adapted to summer rainfall. Avoid pruning or creating open wounds that can also attract borers.
- Cover fruit trees with netting to exclude birds and other vertebrate pests.
- Prevent Eutypa dieback. Prune apricots and cherries only during July and August in inland areas and during August near the coast.
- Look for leaffooted bugs feeding on fruit and nuts such as almonds, pistachios, and pomegranates.
- Maintain a fire safe landscape by creating “defensible space.” Thin out thick vegetation and eliminate fuel ladders that allow fire to climb up trees or structures. Remove dry, resinous or dead plants and flammable debris. Cut branches back 15 to 20 feet from buildings. Use non-combustible surfaces for walkways, patios and driveways.
- Bag apple and pear fruit to prevent codling moth damage. Remove infested or dropped fruit promptly.
- Monitor for redhumped caterpillars. Look for skeletonized leaves or individual caterpillars feeding on sweet gum, plum, walnut, redbud, and other deciduous trees and shrubs.
- Inspect apple, citrus and especially stone fruit for bacterial blast, blight, and canker. Remove entire affected branches in the summer, making cuts several inches away in healthy wood.
- Watch for yellowjackets and other wasps. Keep garbage cans sealed and eliminate food or drinks left outside. Use lure or water traps to control yellowjacket populations.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
Summer is here and so are the pests! Keep an eye out for the following pests and take these steps to prevent problems in the garden or landscape this June. To see more tips specific to your region, visit the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist on the UC IPM website.
- Check plants for leaf stippling or webbing from spider mites. Irrigate adequately, mist leaf undersides daily, reduce dustiness, or spray horticultural oil to manage them.
- Maintain a fire safe landscape by creating “defensible space”. Thin out thick vegetation and eliminate fuel ladders that allow fire to climb up trees or structures. Remove dry, resinous or dead plants and flammable debris. Cut branches back 15 to 20 feet from buildings. Use non-combustible surfaces for walkways, patios and driveways.
- Inspect plants for aphids and their natural enemies. Protect young plants with covers; most established plants can tolerate aphid feeding.
- Monitor for redhumped caterpillars. Look for skeletonized leaves or individual caterpillars feeding on sweet gum, plum, walnut, redbud, and other deciduous trees and shrubs.
- Check for fire blight on pome plants such as apple, crabapple, pear, and pyracantha. Signs include oozing and dead limbs. Make proper pruning cuts in the summer or winter when the bacteria is no longer spreading through the tree.
- Look for leaffooted bugs feeding on fruit and nuts such as almonds, pistachios, and pomegranates.
- Inspect apple, citrus and especially stone fruit for bacterial blast, blight, and canker. Remove entire affected branches in the summer, making cuts several inches away in healthy wood.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
May is here and with all the fluctuations in our weather lately, there is a lot going on in the landscape! Follow these general tips for the month of May to prevent pests. To see more tips specific to your region, visit the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist on the UC IPM website.
- Look for the invasive Asian citrus psyllid on new citrus growth. If not known to occur in your area, report findings to your local county agricultural commissioner.
- Prune winter-flowering shrubs like camellia before next year's flower buds form.
- Check plants for leaf stippling or webbing from spider mites. Irrigate adequately, mist leaf undersides daily, reduce dustiness, or spray horticultural oil to manage them.
- Monitor for grape diseases like powdery mildew, Eutypa dieback, Phomopsis cane and leaf spot, and others. Prune, remove, or treat as appropriate.
- Cover fruit trees with netting to exclude birds and other vertebrate pests.
- Watch for yellowjackets and other wasps building nests in undesirable locations. Knock down newly started nests and use lure or water traps to control populations.
- Fertilize caneberries, citrus, deciduous fruit trees, palms, and heavily-flowering shrubs with a slow-release product if not done in March or April.
- Monitor stone fruit trees for pests such as aphids, borers, brown rot, caterpillars, powdery mildew, and scale insects.
- Manage ants. Plants infested with honeydew producing insects like aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs may attract ants who take that honeydew back to the nest to feed the colony. Manage ants around landscape and building foundations using insecticide baits and trunk barriers.
Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!
