UC IPM's new Pest Alert helps you identify Bagrada bug, an invasive stink bug spreading through western Arizona and southern California causing severe crop, nursery, and landscape losses. In agriculture, Bagrada bug is a pest of cole crops and other mustard family plants. In home gardens it feeds on these same vegetables and on ornamental plants such as sweet alyssum and candytuft.

Bagrada bugs use their needlelike mouthparts to pierce and feed on plants and their seeds. Damage includes leaf spotting, wilting, stunting, multiple branches or crowns, and death of the whole plant.

The Pest Alert was produced by UCCE advisors Eric Natwick and Surendra Dara, John Palumbo from the University of Arizona, and the UC IPM team.

Preliminary agricultural management information is also available.  

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Eye gnats are small nuisance flies that are attracted to people's eyes, noses and mouths or sweating skin and open sores. They breed in moist soil that is high in decaying organic matter, often in agricultural operations.  When breeding sites are near urban or recreational areas, eye gnats can become a major problem. Most problems with eye gnats in California have been in southern California, especially in San Diego County and the southern desert areas.   A new Pest Note: Eye Gnats, written by James Bethke, Bryan Vander May and Loretta Bates of UCCE San Diego, provides information on identification, biology and management of these annoying pests around homes.

Find the Pest Note: Eye Gnats at

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74164.html.

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Do you have snails and slugs chewing up your favorite garden plants?  Are spiders hanging out in and around your home?  How can you get rid of those pesky webs?

The UC Statewide IPM program has just released six short videos to help you find answers to these questions.  Find the videos on the UC IPM YouTube channel or linked from the specific Pest Notes publications on Snails and Slugs or Spiders.

Snails and slugs chew holes in leaves and fruit of many different types of plants, but they aren't always present when the damage is discovered.  Caterpillars, earwigs, grasshoppers, weevils, and others cause similar damage.  How can you identify the culprit?  The short video clip “Did a snail eat my plant?” shows damage caused by various pests and can help you identify snail or slug damage by looking for their characteristic slime trails and excrement.

Brown garden snail (above) and a snail trap (below)

If you do have snails and slugs in the garden and want to control them without using pesticides, learn how to combine trapping with other nonchemical methods for best results in the clip “Trapping snails and slugs.”  If you decide to use a pesticide, check out the video on ”How to apply snail and slug bait.”  You'll learn what types of baits are best, which ones to avoid, and how and when to apply them for best results.

Although many people fear them, most spiders you encounter during the day are harmless and can be beneficial in your garden and landscape by eating pest insects..  You can see different kinds of spiders in the short clip “Common garden spiders.” However beneficial they may be, you might not want them inside your home.  Even though the easiest method of getting rid of a spider is to kill it, why not trap it and let it loose outdoors to eat those garden pests?  “How to catch a spider” shows several ways to easily trap a spider and let it go, including two types of nifty spider catchers that catch spiders in hard-to-reach places.  Now what about those sticky webs?  “How to clean up spider webs” shows practical methods for removing webs from around your home such as vacuuming, sealing holes in cracks or screens, hosing them off, or using a Webster tool.  These methods can also help to keep spiders out of your home. 

Adult western spotted orbweaver

For more information on snails, slugs, spiders, and other home and garden pests, visit the UC IPM web site.

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Bougainvillea mealybug, Phenacoccus peruvianus was recently found in Los Angeles County.  Dr. Gevork Arakelian, Senior Biologist, Los Angeles County Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures prepared this report.

Adult females and nymphs of bougainvillea mealybug (Photo by Gevork Arakelian)

Distribution: Native to South America (Argentina, Peru).Introduced into Great Britain and Mediterranean coast of Europe. In the U.S.: infested plants were found in the nursery trade in southern California (under eradication).

Hosts and damage: Polyphagous. Recorded on Alternanthera sp., Araujia sericifera, Aucuba japonica, Baccharis sp., Bougainvillea, Buddleja sp., Cestrum sp., Chili peppers, Dicliptera suberecta, Dodonea viscosa, Eupatorium sp., Guava, Myoporum laetum, Solanum vespertilio, Solenostemon blumei, Tobacco, Tomato,and others.  

Field Identification: Adult females (about 3 mm) are elongate oval, grayish-white and lack marginal wax filaments. They produce relatively long, white waxy ovisacs on the leaves and stems of their host plants.

Mealybug infestation onchili peppers (above) and guava (below).  Photos byGevorkArakelian

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