A recent study* found that seeing or hearing birds can improve your mood and mental wellbeing for up to eight hours! Instead of heading out to bird watch, why not attract them to your own backyard or apartment patio?
This presentation was put together by Denise Godbout-Avant, one of our UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners. She did a lot of research to learn about local birds in Stanislaus County. You will be amazed when you see the colorful birds that live and migrate through our area!
Learn more at The Backyard is for the Birds classes at a local Stanislaus County Library near you during October of 2023. You don't need to sign up to attend the classes.
Visit our Calendar at https://ucanr.edu/sites/stancountymg/Calendar/ for dates, times, and locations.
*Time Magazine. Birdwatching Has Big Mental Health Benefits. https://time.com/6231886/birdwatching-mental-health/
Did you know? Fruit trees can be kept under 6' tall so you can easily access the fruit. Surprisingly, although the trees are small, you will still get plenty of fruit!
UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardeners hope to see you at a local Stanislaus County library branch to learn more.
- Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. – Salida Library
- Monday, December 12, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. - Ceres Library
- Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. - Patterson Library
- Wednesday, December 28, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. - Turlock Library
Backyard Orchard:Growing deciduous fruit trees is not for the faint-hearted. Trees such as apples, apricots, plums, pears, peaches, cherries, are not all pruned or managed the same way. Winter is the best time to plant a fruit tree, as you can purchase them as “bare root” fruit trees at a lower cost. You will learn how to correctly plant a bare root fruit tree, and how to prune it in the future to keep it small. This class does not include citrus, a separate class taught next spring.
Due to holidays conflicting with class dates, this class won't be offered at Riverbank, Oakdale, and Modesto Library locations.
Contact your local library branch to find out more. Missed a class you wanted to take? Watch it on our YouTube Channel! http://ucanr.edu/youtube/ucmgstanislaus
*Unfortunately, deciduous fruit trees that lose their leaves like apple, plum, pear, apricot, and cherry, have root systems that grow too large for containers. Luckily, you can plant many citrus tree varieties in containers.
- Author: Amy Murillo
- Posted by: Elaine Lander
Backyard chickens are increasingly being raised as pets, for egg production, and for youth development and science projects. While raising chickens can be an interesting and economically beneficial activity, chickens and other fowl may also have pest problems. Chickens are natural hosts to a variety of arthropod pests (called ectoparasites), including mites, lice, and fleas which feed on chickens and use chicken coops as habitats. These pests may cause discomfort to birds and decrease their egg production. This article aims to help people who keep chickens understand and learn treatment options for the common ectoparasites that can affect their animals.
Lice
Mites
There are two main species of mite found in backyard chicken flocks: the northern fowl mite (NFM; Ornithonyssus sylviarum) and poultry red mite (PRM; Dermanyssus gallinae). Both mite species feed on blood. NFM live on chickens in the fluffy feathers of the vent region (Figure 2a). PRM live off the animal in cracks and crevices near the birds, such as on perches (Figure 2b), in nestboxes, or in coops. Mites can bite people but cannot survive or reproduce on human blood and will not infest human bodies. Learn more about biting mites in homes and other structures here.
Scaly leg mites (Knemidocoptes mutans) may also affect chickens. These mites are microscopic and identification must be confirmed by an expert. However, the signs of a scaly leg mite infestation are obvious and include scabby or crusty legs or feet (Figure 3). Scaly leg mites spread by direct contact between animals, so quarantining infested birds can limit infestations within a flock.
Fleas
Management
Lice, mites, and fleas also parasitize wild birds and rodents and could be introduced to flocks by wild animals or even by contaminated equipment or people. To reduce pests in backyard flocks, focus on good biosecurity, which includes all practices that help to prevent or reduce disease in your flock. New chickens should be quarantined for at least two weeks to avoid introducing parasites (or other diseases) to the flock, washing hands and boots should occur before visiting the flock, and chickens should be separated from other animals. Birds should also be examined for signs of pests regularly to catch infestations early, which are easier to deal with than a large outbreak.
Insects and mites are very susceptible to water loss, so using natural materials that cause desiccation can be highly effective for general control. One such compound is diatomaceous earth (DE). Food-grade DE can be mixed with clean play sand in containers to create dustbathing areas for birds. Dustbathing is a natural behavior chickens perform to keep their feathers clean. The addition of DE helps to suppress pest populations.
Insecticides can be an effective tool for pest control. Farm stores often sell sprays or dusts that can be applied directly to birds or to coops for insect control. It is important to always read and follow the label instructions to avoid poisoning birds, people, or other animals. Pests that live in the environment, such as poultry red mites and sticktight fleas, are trickier to control since they may not be visible on chickens.
References:
Murillo AC, Mullens BA. 2016. Diversity and prevalence of ectoparasites on backyard chicken flocks in California. Journal of Medical Entomology. 53: 707-711. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290211878_Diversity_and_Prevalence_of_Ectoparasites_on_Backyard_Chicken_Flocks_in_California
Veterinary Entomology website with pest resources for professionals and the public: https://www.veterinaryentomology.org/poultry
For more backyard poultry resources, check out: https://ucanr.edu/sites/poultry/Resources_335/Production/type/backyard/
[Original article published in the Spring 2021 issue of the Retail Newsletter.]
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- Author: Ben Faber
It's so nice to be able to find a way to rapidly answer homeowner questions. Once one questions has been addressed, invariably another one pops up. There are mysteries to plants and they can go on and on forever. The University of California Cooperative Extension has locally trained volunteers to answer the questions that local homeowners are going to ask about local plant problems. You can find Master Gardener contacts by going to the map to find a local office and the local MG Helpline: http://ceventura.ucanr.edu/Offices/
Recently I got an email from a homeowner that had a burning question about the name of an avocado found in a picture. That one question lead to another and to another and eventually to how to plant a tree in a heavy clay soil. i was going through explanations, and suddenly remembered a website put together by Greg Alder with photo steps going through the whole process: http://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-to-plant-and-stake-an-avocado-tree/
After passing that link on to the homeowner, I havent had any more questions about planting avocados. The site does the trick.
So if you are looking for more answers about avocados, the Annual Meeting of the CA Avocado Society is October 4 - next month. Come on the tour and see how it's done:https://californiaavocadosociety.org/annual-meeting.html
Filling a planting hole to see if water drains well enough before planting an avocado. A great photo from the blog.
- Author: Anne E Schellman
Last week, someone called our helpline about a strange phenomenon happening on her backyard plants. She described the symptoms as “big, white, masses of fluffy cotton.” I asked her to email some photos our helpline address (ucmgstanislaus@ucanr.edu).
When I opened her email, I was surprised to see images of what appeared to be giant whiteflies. This pest invaded California in the early 1990's and was until recently only found in Southern California and along the coast. The Stanislaus County Agricultural Commissioner's Office confirmed that giant whiteflies are present in our County.
If you've heard of whiteflies or dealt with them in your landscape, you may wonder how giant whiteflies are different, aside from being larger. Both pests suck plant juices and weaken plants. The main difference is that giant whiteflies tend to feed together in large groups. This large population creates waxy looking deposits that create a “bearded appearance” or what the caller described as “fluffy cotton” on plants. If you look closely at the infestation, you may see the pests living on the undersides of the leaves.
If you find giant whiteflies in your landscape, there are a few things you can do. For small infestations, pull off affected leaves, place them in a sealed bag, and discard them. For larger ones, direct a strong stream of water at the undersides of the leaves to knock giant whiteflies off and kill them.
Visit the UC IPM publication Pest Notes: Giant Whitefly for more information about this pest, or call our helpline at (209) 525-6802 to speak with a UCCE Master Gardener.