- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Are you concerned about pesticides in our waterways? Join us on August 18, 2022 at noon for UC IPM's free monthly webinar to learn how to keep surface water clean by reducing pesticide use and runoff. The webinar will be presented by Karey Windbiel-Rojas, Area Urban IPM Advisor and Associate Director for Urban & Community IPM with the UC Statewide IPM Program. Register today to serve your spot!
Hate spiders? Love them? On September 15, 2022 we'll feature a webinar on Arachnophobia! Dr. Lynn Kimsey, Director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis, will discuss various common myths and misconceptions about spiders. You don't want to miss this one! Register at https://ucanr.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CXwGEwWvRAOWw8FUjBOcvg .
As always, both webinars will be recorded and posted on the UC IPM YouTube channel within 3 weeks of the live webinar. No continuing education units (CEUs) will be offered for those with California DPR licenses. UC Master Gardeners and others can request CEU approval from their local program coordinators.
Hope to see you there!
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Looking for ways to manage weeds in your lawn or landscape? Join us on July 21, 2022 at noon for UC IPM's free monthly webinar to learn about how to control weeds using mostly nonchemical methods. We will discuss why weed identification is important, ways to prevent weed growth, and combining various methods for managing weed problems.
The webinar will be presented by Karey Windbiel-Rojas, Area Urban IPM Advisor and Associate Director for Urban & Community IPM with the UC Statewide IPM Program. Register today to serve your spot!
As always, the webinar will be recorded and posted on the UC IPM YouTube channel within 3 weeks of the live webinar. No continuing education units (CEUs) will be offered for those with California DPR licenses. UC Master Gardeners and others can request CEU approval from their local program coordinators.
Hope to see you there!
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
They are Jerusalem crickets, also sometimes called sand cricket, niña de la tierra (child of the earth), potato bug, and stone cricket.
Jerusalem crickets are relatives of crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids. These large insects can be up to two inches long and have heads that somewhat resemble a human head. Their head and body are amber colored, with dark stripes on the abdomen, long antennae, and no wings. Their thick legs are designed for burrowing in the ground.
Jerusalem crickets generally feed on other insects and sometimes on tubers (like potatoes). They have powerful jaws and can bite humans, but they are not poisonous. The bite can be painful, so be careful when handling.
If you find one in your garden, don't worry; Jerusalem crickets do not usually build up in high numbers and cause little if any damage to plants. Learn more at http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/VEGES/PESTS/jeruscricket.html
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Natural enemies (predators, parasites, and pathogens) reduce pest populations and help prevent damage to plants. Pollinators such as domesticated honey bees, wild bees, and other pollinating insects, are essential in the production of many of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts we grow in California, both in our backyards and in commercial agriculture.
To maintain healthy populations of natural enemies and pollinators, use integrated pest management (IPM). As part of an IPM program, follow these guidelines:
Identify the pest
- It is important to first identify your pest and learn which nonchemical methods may work to exclude, repel, or reduce the pest. The UC IPM web site contains a great deal of information for home, garden, landscape, and turf pests.
Use pesticides sparingly and spot-treat
- Before applying any pesticide, read and follow all the product label directions.
- Target the application to the specific area where the pest is a problem to reduce the harm to natural enemies and pollinators.
Choose selective and nonpersistent pesticides
- If a pesticide is needed, consult the UC IPM website to determine which pesticides will specifically control that pest.
- Avoid broad-spectrum, persistent insecticides. Carbamates, organophosphates, and pyrethroids kill many different invertebrates and leave residues that kill pollinators, parasites, and predators that migrate in after the application.
- Neonicotinoids and other systemic insecticides translocate (move) within plants and can poison bees and natural enemies that feed on nectar, pollen, and liquids that plants ooze. Use sparingly or only when necessary.
- Be aware that broad-spectrum (nonselective) herbicides and herbicides applied for broadleaf weeds, reduce the abundance of floral plants that attract and feed pollinators and natural enemies.
See the UC IPM web site for more information about pesticides, controlling pests, and protecting pollinators and other organisms.
- Author: Steven Swain
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
[From the July 2015 issue of the UC IPM Retail Nursery and Garden Center IPM News]
What are Pantry Pests?
Beetles and moths are the two most common groups of pantry pest insects encountered in California. The most common pantry moth is the Indian meal moth. Adults are small (about 1/3 inch), with characteristically broad-banded
Several species of beetles feed on stored food products, including the warehouse beetle, sawtoothed grain beetle (Figure 2), and the drugstore beetle, just to name a few.
While adult pantry beetles and moths are easy to tell apart, it is often the larvae that are found in the grain or flour; and these can be challenging to distinguish. Beetle larvae (Figure 3) are either grublike and legless or have three distinct pairs of legs, all located near the head. Moth larvae (Figure 4)
Damage
Pantry pests consume food but also can contaminate food with their bodies and by-products. Indian meal moth larvae produce frass (excrement) and webbing, and some beetle larvae produce secretions that give food a disagreeable odor and taste, or microbes that can produce carcinogenic compounds. Warehouse beetles have setae (hairs) that can irritate the mouth, throat, and stomach of people who eat infested products.
The keys to controlling these pests in the home are prevention and sanitation. Some important considerations include:
- Inspect newly-purchased grain products (including bird seed and dried pet food), nuts, dried fruits, potato chips, spices, and other foods of plant origin for signs of infestation.
- Seal any infested products in a plastic bag and dispose of them in an outside trash receptacle.
- Transfer pest-free products to hard-walled containers (glass, metal, hard plastic) that can be tightly sealed. Plastic bags aren't adequate, as they develop tiny holes over time and because they can't always be reliably sealed.
- Vacuum up any spilled products within food storage areas, including any crumbs or debris in shelving cracks and crevices or beneath shelf paper. Follow this up with a good wipe-down with soapy water.
Some pantry pests can survive on other items in the house; if the infestation persists despite cleaning up the kitchen areas, consider inspecting the rest of the house. Art made of grain, nuts, or seeds; woolen articles; stored furs; animal skins; rodent droppings; and even uncontained aspirin or other pharmaceuticals can be used as a food source by some pests. Others can survive on dead insects, so wall voids and attic spaces may have to be checked as well.
Use traps to monitor
Many home improvement stores and retail garden centers sell pheromone traps which can be used to monitor for pantry pests and to help in managing pest outbreaks. Using traps alone, however, will not successfully control pantry pests if the measures above have not been taken to clean up and prevent pest invasion and reintroduction. Also, pheromone traps are pest-specific, so identify pests first, read labels carefully, and be certain you are steering customers to the right trap. Place the traps within or near the previously-infested area and to check them weekly. Most traps remain effective for about three months. Newly trapped insects are a sign that stored foods may be infested and should be inspected or that hidden pupating larvae from a previous infestation have emerged as adults.
Find information on identifying, preventing, and managing pantry pests on the UC IPM website at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7452.html.
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