Gardening

Controlling weeds can be challenging to landscape professionals or home gardeners since landscapes often include a mix of turfgrass, annual plants, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and trees.

Are you seeing cars, sidewalks, driveways, or other plants covered in sticky stuff, especially those under trees? This sticky substance, called honeydew, is produced by certain insects that excrete it when they feed on plants.

When you hear the term pesticide, what comes to mind? Do you understand what pesticides are and, more importantly, how to use them correctly? A pesticide is any material (natural or synthetic) used to control, prevent, kill, suppress, or repel pests.

This article was written for the UC IPM Retail Nursery and Garden Center News, a publication directed at retail nursery store employees.

Praying mantids are well-known predators we often see lurking around gardens, landscapes, and sometimes near porch lights, waiting for a tasty meal to arrive. Praying mantid adults are 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) long and are usually yellowish, green, or brown.

You may see leafhoppers in your garden or landscape this time of year as they hop about feeding on a variety of plants. You can distinguish these small, wedge-shaped insects from other pests by their tendency to quickly jump or crawl rapidly sideways when disturbed.

[Modified from the original article in the Summer 2018 issue of the Retail Nursery and Garden Center IPM News] We all have our favorite products, whether it's laundry detergent, shampoo, or a pesticide you know works against the pests in your home or garden.

Yellowjackets have a well-deserved reputation for being aggressive since they often sting when defending their nests or when they encounter people while out scavenging for food. This time of year, yellowjacket colony populations are increasing, and people may encounter them more frequently.

[From the Summer issue of the UC IPM Retail Nursery & Garden Center News] When you use firewood in the great outdoors, be aware that moving firewood can transport tree-killing insects and diseases.

This summer, you may have noticed what looks like a large dandelion plant covered in blisters growing in your lawn or landscape. It's known as bristly oxtongue, and if you examine or touch it you'll see and feel why.