Urban Integrated Pest Management

At UC IPM we recognize pesticide safety education every month, but February in particular is National Pesticide Safety Education Month! Below are some simple tips for using pesticides safely to protect yourself, others, wildlife, and the environment.

From February 24 - 28, 2025, help increase public awareness of invasive species and join the fight against invasive species by participating in National Invasive Species Action Week (NISAW).

Recent rainfall throughout much of California has created puddles and stagnant water. With the temperature warming up in many parts of the state, this combination can create the perfect situation for mosquitoes to breed. We encourage you to drain after the rain to reduce mosquito-breeding sites.

As of January 1, 2025, popular lawn and garden pesticides belonging to the neonicotinoid class, can no longer be used by home gardeners on outdoor fruit trees, lawns, or ornamental plants in California.

A well-watered plant that suddenly wilts or unexpectedly drops its leaves could be infected with the soil pathogen Phytophthora. The disease it causes, Phytophthora root and crown rot, can affect many plants, including ornamental trees and shrubs, fruit trees, and vegetables.

UC IPM recently hosted a webinar on rat management presented by Dr. Niamh Quinn. During this webinar attendees were able to ask the expert their burning questions about rats and their management. Below are responses to common questions from the webinar.

As the end of 2024 approaches, I'd like to reflect on the UC IPM Urban and Community program's accomplishments and share what's to come from us in 2025.

In a recent TikTok video, a woman's holiday baking spree came to a halt when she discovered bugs in her flour. While initially alarmed, the woman was also intrigued.

The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an invasive insect pest first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, with confirmed sightings and/or infestations of SLF now reported in 20 eastern states.

Take the following steps to keep your plants healthy and pest-free this winter. Refer to the UC IPM Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist for more monthly pest management to-dos for your region so you can prevent pests and their damage in the garden and landscape.

Want to learn something new on your lunch break? Join the Urban and Community IPM Webinar Series hosted by UC IPM every third Thursday of the month from 12:00 to 1:00pm. Webinars cover pest identification, prevention, and management around the home, garden, and landscape.

With Thanksgiving approaching, turkeys are on many of our minds. But for those that live in a neighborhood with frequent turkey visitors, you might think of them more often. Like most creatures, turkeys are not always considered a pest, and some people may even enjoy seeing them.

While you may not notice symptoms of peach leaf curl until the spring, you should manage it in the fall and winter. Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease that primarily affects peach and nectarine trees.

A line of pushed up grass. A volcano sized mound. Yep, it's probably a mole! While you may never actually see the mole itself, the signs of their presence are pretty clear. Moles are small burrowing mammals (not rodents) that live almost entirely underground in extensive tunnel networks.

With the passing of law AB 1322 in 2023 and the recent passing of AB 2552 in September 2024, the options for managing California ground squirrels using lethal methods in urban areas will be more limited.

On March 27th, 2024, a flatbed truck carrying a metal art structure originating in New York and headed to Petaluma, California was stopped at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Agricultural Inspection Station in Truckee, California due to live spotted lanternfly (SLF) egg masse...

Change is in the air. Weather, daylight savings, politics, holiday decorations, and yes, websites. You may have noticed the UC Statewide IPM Program's website is undergoing some style changes.

The invasive pest spotlight focuses on emerging or potential invasive pests in California. In this issue we are covering the Mediterranean fruit fly. Mediterranean Fruit Fly Facts The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, commonly called Medfly, attacks more than 260 different plant species.

The common insecticide imidacloprid, and the related active ingredients acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, and thiamethoxam, belong to the pesticide group neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids have been linked to the decline in honey bee and other pollinator populations.