- Author: Chris M. Webb
Codling moths can cause significant damage to apples, pears and English walnuts and may be very difficult to manage. As with other insects, management is easier when populations are low.
To find out more about codling moths and how to manage them in the home garden, please see UC IPM’s free Codling Moth pest notes publication.
To manage in commercial agriculture, please see UC IPM’s free pest management guidelines.
Black head stage of codling moth egg
and a newly hatched codling moth larva.
Two adult codling moths resting on
surface of Bartlett pear
Codling moth larvae bore into the center of fruit
they are cream colored with a brown head.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Earwigs can be beneficial in the garden as they have been shown to be important predators of aphids. However, they may also eat vegetable or flower seedlings and can also damage maturing soft fruit and corn silks.
To learn more about these potentially damaging insects, including ways to successfully manage them in the home garden, please see UC IPM’s free Earwigs pest notes.
To control them in commercial agricultural settings, please see UC IPM’s pest management guidelines.
Feeding damage caused by earwigs
Homemade earwig trap. Pesticide free and very effective.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Whiteflies are tiny, sap-sucking insects that damage leaves of many plants. Their populations develop rapidly in warm weather and populations can build quickly when natural enemies are not present.
Whiteflies cause damage by sucking plant juices from leaves and excreting excess liquid as honeydew. The leaves of an affected plant can cause leaves to turn yellow, appear dry, or fall off the plant. The honeydew attracts ants that interfere with the activity of natural enemies.
To find out more about whiteflies in your home garden, including ways to manage them, please see our UC IPM Whiteflies pest note.
To manage them in the field, please see UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines.
- Author: Chris M. Webb
While only a small portion of our human population is allergic or hypersensitive to bee or wasp stings (approximately one to two people out of 1,000), many people are afraid of being stung. Learning more about the behavior of these insects, how to minimize the likelihood of being stung, and what to do you if you are stung can help reduce the fear associated with these insects.
All this and more can be found in UC’s free Integrated Pest Management Around the Home Bee and Wasp Stings publication.
Much more about bees, including beautiful photographs, can be found on UC ANR’s Bug Squad blog -- happenings in the insect world and UC Davis Department of Entomology
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Coyotes are native to western North America. They are extremely adaptable animals and can live in almost any habitat. Except for Hawaii, coyotes live in all of the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
They can live successfully alone or in packs. Territories can be greater than 15 square miles where food is scarce to as small as one quarter of a square mile in the suburbs where food is plentiful. Some of the highest population densities on record occur in suburban Southern California.
To learn more about coyotes and how to minimize the likelihood of contact with them, please see UC ANR’s Integrated Pest Management’s Coyote publication.
This publication includes:
- Identification and biology
- Identifying coyote damage
- Predator damage management, past and present
In addition UC ANR has a CoyoteBytes website. The site is designed to “provide information to homeowners, land managers, agency personnel and others to help solve coyote-human conflicts, particularly in urban and suburban areas.” This site is rich in photographs and resources for further information.
