[From the UC IPM blog Pests in the Urban Landscape]
1. Aphids
These insects may be small, but they can quickly build up large populations. With many different species in California that feed on vegetables, flowers, fruit trees, and woody ornamentals, aphids are a common sight in landscapes and gardens. Year after year, aphids continue to hold the top spot. Learn more about aphids and their management in Pest Notes: Aphids.
2. Fungus Gnats
3. Thrips
Another tiny insect sometimes found on houseplants, thrips are slender insects about the size and shape of a dash printed in a newspaper. They suck out the cell contents, leaving a discolored speckling on leaves or stunting plant growth. For more about thrips monitoring and management, visit our Pest Notes: Thrips.
4. Mealybugs
If you've found soft, oval insects that are white in color with wax filaments on your indoor or outdoor plants, it is likely you have mealybugs. These wingless insects are often found in clustered colonies. In yards and gardens, handpicking, pruning, or high-pressure water sprays can reduce populations. For small infestations indoors, spot treatments may help reduce populations. For houseplants with severe infestations, consider disposing of the plant. Find additional information in Pest Notes: Mealybugs.
5. Carpet Beetles
6. Peach Leaf Curl
Peach leaf curl can affect the blossoms, fruit, leaves, and shoots of peach and nectarine trees. The symptoms of the disease first appear in spring, when distorted red foliage emerges. However, focus management for nonresistant varieties in the late fall and early winter, after leaves drop. Read more about this disease in our Pest Notes: Peach Leaf Curl.
7. Clothes Moths
New to the top ten list this year were clothes moths. These pests tend to hide when disturbed, so you may not realize you have an infestation until after the moths have already damaged fabric, fur, or feathered items. Some clothes moths make webs while others are casemaking moths. Regularly monitoring and cleaning clothing and storage areas can help prevent or reduce infestations. Find more identification and management information from Pest Notes: Clothes Moths.
8. Springtails
9. Whiteflies
Whiteflies are not actual flies but are tiny insects that are often found on the underside of leaves, feeding on the phloem of many different plants. Certain species can cause significant loss in vegetable gardens; other species found in fruit trees are less damaging. Both adult and immature whiteflies also attack houseplants. Management information can be found in Pest Notes: Whiteflies.
10. Scales
Scales are small, legless insects that look like tiny scabs on the stems, leaves, or fruit of plants. While some scale species can weaken a plant when abundant, other species do not appear to damage plants at all. Think you have a problem with these insects? Visit our Pest Notes: Scales for identification and management options.
/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>/h3>We all encounter pests in our homes, gardens, and landscapes, but which ones are most popular in California? While we can't say for certain, website traffic to UC IPM's Pest Notes gives us a glimpse of popular pests. Here are the top ten most frequently viewed publications in 2021.
1. Aphids
These insects may be small, but they can quickly build up large populations. With many different species in California that feed on vegetables, flowers, fruit trees, and woody ornamentals, aphids are a common sight in landscapes and gardens. Year after year, aphids continue to hold the top spot. Learn more about aphids and their management in Pest Notes: Aphids.
2. Fungus Gnats
This pest has become more popular in recent years, perhaps a result from growing numbers of houseplant enthusiasts. Fungus gnats are small flies that often infest soil and potting mix. They can be a common houseplant problem with larvae, or immatures, damaging roots and stunting plant growth when present in large numbers. More information on these frustrating flies can be found in our Pest Notes: Fungus Gnats.
3. Thrips
Another tiny insect sometimes found on houseplants, thrips are slender insects about the size and shape of a dash printed in a newspaper. They suck out the cell contents, leaving a discolored speckling on leaves or stunting plant growth. For more about thrips monitoring and management, visit our Pest Notes: Thrips.
4. Mealybugs
If you've found soft, oval insects that are white in color with wax filaments on your indoor or outdoor plants, it is likely you have mealybugs. These wingless insects are often found in clustered colonies. In yards and gardens, handpicking, pruning, or high-pressure water sprays can reduce populations. For small infestations indoors, spot treatments may help reduce populations. For houseplants with severe infestations, consider disposing of the plant. Find additional information in Pest Notes: Mealybugs.
5. Carpet Beetles
Immature carpet beetles feed on natural fibers such as wool, silk, or furs. The adults may be brought into the home on cut flowers or when they fly in through open doors, windows, or holes in screens. Regular cleaning of rugs, upholstered furniture and can prevent infestations or reduce damage. Check out the Pest Notes: Carpet Beetles for more information.
6. Peach Leaf Curl
Peach leaf curl can affect the blossoms, fruit, leaves, and shoots of peach and nectarine trees. The symptoms of the disease first appear in spring, when distorted red foliage emerges. However, focus management for nonresistant varieties in the late fall and early winter, after leaves drop. Read more about this disease in our Pest Notes: Peach Leaf Curl.
7. Clothes Moths
New to the top ten list this year were clothes moths. These pests tend to hide when disturbed, so you may not realize you have an infestation until after the moths have already damaged fabric, fur, or feathered items. Some clothes moths make webs while others are casemaking moths. Regularly monitoring and cleaning clothing and storage areas can help prevent or reduce infestations. Find more identification and management information from Pest Notes: Clothes Moths.
8. Springtails
Springtails made an unexpected appearance on this year's top ten list. These are small, jumping insects that can be found near kitchen sicks and bathtubs as well as in the soil of indoor houseplants. They often appear in the spring and early summer but can be found year-round in moist environments. They get their name because they jump when disturbed. Learn more about this pest in Pest Notes: Springtails.
9. Whiteflies
Whiteflies are not actual flies but are tiny insects that are often found on the underside of leaves, feeding on the phloem of many different plants. Certain species can cause significant loss in vegetable gardens; other species found in fruit trees are less damaging. Both adult and immature whiteflies also attack houseplants. Management information can be found in Pest Notes: Whiteflies.
10. Scales
Scales are small, legless insects that look like tiny scabs on the stems, leaves, or fruit of plants. While some scale species can weaken a plant when abundant, other species do not appear to damage plants at all. Think you have a problem with these insects? Visit our Pest Notes: Scales for identification and management options.
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- Author: Elaine Lander
Spring has arrived and with many Californians at home due to local coronavirus directives, now could be an opportune time for some spring cleaning. This annual ritual also has the benefit of preventing and reducing indoor pests.
Cleaning and decluttering removes access to food, water, and shelter for pests such as ants, cockroaches, pantry pests, mice, and spiders. Here are a few tips to help you prevent pests and reduce potential pest infestations.
Kitchens and Pantries
- Wipe down countertops, clean off pantry shelves, and keep dry goods in tightly sealed containers to prevent pantry pests, cockroaches, and ants.
- Clean up spilled food or dirty dishes to remove potential food sources.
- Mop and vacuum floors to remove food and debris.
- Use sticky traps or pheromone traps to monitor and detect cockroaches and pantry pests.
Living Spaces and Closets
- Vacuum floors, especially along baseboards, and beneath furniture to reduce or prevent infestations of clothes moths, fleas, carpet beetles, and other pests.
- Launder bedding, blankets, cushion covers and other washable articles to kill clothes moths and carpet beetles. Clean fabrics are also less attractive to pests.
- Reduce clutter to remove hiding places and make pest infestations easier to spot.
Storage Areas Indoors and Out
- Store pet food in closed airtight containers, rinse empty beverage containers, and secure lids on garbage containers to reduce ants, rats, and opossums.
- Seal cracks and openings in foundations and around pipes, wires, and vents to reduce access to garages, basements, or attics by rats, mice, or raccoons.
- Organize belongings in airtight containers such as plastic bins. Store off the floor and away from walls to reduce clutter in storage areas and deny access to pests like carpet beetles, mice, and spiders.
- Use snap traps to control rats and mice indoors.
For more information on indoor and outdoor pests, visit the UC IPM website.
/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>/h2>- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Here are the answers to the traps pictured in yesterday's blog post. How did you do? Let us know in the comments section.
As long as you use integrated pest management when seeking to fend off your pest enemies, you can be assured that Admiral Akbar would be proud.
Answers:
1. Yellow sticky trap, used for monitoring and detecting small winged insects like Asian citrus psyllid and whiteflies.
2. Live catch trap. While this may seem humane to catch and release wildlife in other locations, it is illegal to release most live animals anywhere except on your own property. See the Pest Notes: Skunks and Pest Notes: Raccoons for more information about managing these pests.
3. Pheromone traps can detect clothes moths and Indian meal moths. Make sure you identify which one you have so you buy the right trap with the right pheromone.
4. Conibear trap for catching ground dwelling animals such as ground squirrels, tree squirrels, and rabbits.
5. Monitoring trap for spotted wing Drosophila.
6. Yellowjacket trap
- Author: Anne Schellman
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Pests have popularity contests too. We recently looked at how many visits our popular Pest Notes publication series received in 2017.
If you aren't familiar, the UC IPM Pest Notes series are science-based publications written and reviewed by experts on specific pest or management topics for California. UC IPM has 169 Pest Notes with some being more popular than others.
Here are the 20 most visited titles in 2017:
1- Carpet Beetles
2- Peach Leaf Curl
Backyard peach and nectarine trees often suffer from peach leaf curl, a common fungal disease in California. The disease causes curling and deformation of peach and nectarine leaves and if left uncontrolled for multiple years, the tree may eventually die. Read more about it in the Pest Notes: Peach Leaf Curl.
3- Aphids
Warm weather means populations of aphids continue to live and breed, and you may be seeing these insects on your roses and other plants already this season. Learn about their fascinating life cycle and best management tactics at Pest Notes: Aphids.
4- Clothes Moths
The larvae of this moth attacks wool clothing, carpets, rugs, upholstered furniture, furs, and much more. If you think you might have this pest, consult the Pest Notes: Clothes Moths for help.
5- Scales
Many people overlook scales on their plants because they don't look like normal insects. Scales have strawlike mouthparts and suck juices from plants, sometimes leading to damage. Learn about the many different types of scales, host plants, and how to manage them at Pest Notes: Scales.
6- Thrips
7- Spider Mites
Spider mites thrive during dry, dusty conditions and usually escape detection until large populations build up and create copious webbing that covers plants. Luckily, there are natural enemies of spider mites that help keep their populations in check, including the western predatory mite. Learn management techniques at Pest Notes: Spider Mites.
8- Whiteflies
Whiteflies are small, flying insects that can attack a number of garden and landscape plants. They usually occur in groups on the undersides of plant leaves and excrete a sticky honeydew that may be covered with sooty mold. Find out more about this garden pest at Pest Notes: Whiteflies.
9- Fire Blight
In spring, some fruit tree shoots may appear burnt, a symptom of fire blight. This disease causes flowers, shoots, and young fruit to shrivel and turn black. Some trees are more susceptible to fire blight. Read about this disease in the Pest Notes: Fire Blight.
10- Fungus gnats
11- Leaffooted Bug
Leaffooted bugs are not new to California, but recently some areas have seen an increase in their presence and feeding damage. Learn more about this odd-looking bug and what it eats in Pest Notes: Leaffooted Bug.
12- Rats
Rats in your home and garden are destructive and can transmit disease. If you suspect the presence of rats, you'll first need to determine which of the two species (Norway rat or the roof rat) you have in order to effectively manage them. Find out by reading Pest Notes: Rats.
13- Ground Squirrel
14- Widow Spiders
Many people are afraid of black widow spiders and any spider that resembles them. Some spiders that look like black widows are actually harmless or less venomous relatives. Learn how to differentiate between them by reading the Pest Notes: Widow Spiders and Their Relatives.
15- Bed Bugs
Reports of bed bugs have been on the rise for the past few years. They are blood-sucking creatures that inspire revulsion in most people. If you travel, you'll want to know what bed bugs look like and how to avoid bringing them home with you. Read the Pest Notes: Bed Bugs and watch the related videos on this topic.
16- Bark Beetles
Bark beetles are small, about the size of a grain of rice, but in large numbers their larvae can do significant damage when they mine galleries just beneath the outer bark of trees. To learn more about bark beetles and their impact, visit the Pest Notes: Bark Beetles.
17- Pocket Gophers
You spot fresh mounds of soil in your garden or landscape. Could it be gophers? These small mammals can cause a lot of damage in a very short time when they feed on numerous plants, or when they gnaw on plastic water lines and sprinkler systems. Find out how to tell if it's a gopher mound and learn management tactics by reading the Pest Notes: Pocket Gophers.
18- Soil Solarization
Gardeners looking for a nonchemical way to control pathogens, nematodes, and weed seeds and seedlings may want to try soil solarization. This method is best done during the hot summer months. Learn how to use this technique by consulting the Pest Notes: Soil Solarization for Gardens & Landscapes.
19- Honey Bee Swarms
At times, large populations of between 5,000 to 20,000 honey bees can be found swarming around an urban area or a hive after taking up residence in your house. A swarm can be frightening but with correct management, it can be taken care of safely with the hive being saved. Learn how to get proper help by reading the Pest Notes: Removing Honey Bee Swarms and Established Hives.
20- Lyme Disease
Lyme disease can be transmitted to humans and pets from the bite of an infected western blacklegged tick. It can cause flulike symptoms that left untreated, may progress to arthritic, neurologic, or cardiac problems. Learn more about Lyme disease and how to safely remove a tick, and where to take a tick sample by reading the Pest Notes: Lyme Disease in California.