Gardening

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Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Easter Egg Hunt

March 26, 2018
By Anne E Schellman
Easter often brings to mind colorful eggs hiding in the landscape for children to find. At UC IPM, we thought you'd want to know about eggs already hiding in your yard: insect and spider eggs! Many insects and spiders have strangely shaped and colorful eggs that you may have never noticed.
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Fig 1. Limb dieback and sparse canopy of overwatered olive trees around which turf was planted. Unirrigated trees in the background are healthy. (Photo: L. R. Costello)
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Landscape Tree Damage: It's Not Always a Pest Issue

March 14, 2018
By Janet S Hartin
[From the Spring issue of the UC IPM Retail Nursery & Garden Center News] Most disorders impacting landscape trees result from abiotic (non-living) disorders rather than attacks from biotic (living) pests like plant pathogens, insects, and vertebrates.
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California burclover, an annual clover. (Photo: Jack Kelly Clark)
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Clovers: A Sign of Good Luck?

March 13, 2018
By Anne E Schellman
In mid-March, many people use clover-themed decorations in preparation for St. Patrick's Day. Many gardens and landscaped areas are decorated with clovers too, especially with recent rains and mild temperatures in much of California.
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A retail shelf showing various pesticide containers. (Photo: Cheryl A. Reynolds)
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Amazon Fined for Selling Illegal Pesticides

March 8, 2018
By Anne E Schellman
Online marketplace Amazon.com was recently fined $1.2 million by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for selling and distributing pesticides not registered for sale in the U.S. The EPA discovered nearly 4,000 violations dating back to 2013.
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Fig 1. The margin of a mole mound tends to be circular. (Credit: Larry A. Strand)
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

What Made That Mound - a Gopher or a Mole?

March 5, 2018
By Anne E Schellman
Finding freshly dug mounds of soil in the garden, lawn, or landscape might be a sign of gophers or moles. Their mounds look similar and are frequently confused for each other. Figure 1 shows a mole mound, which usually is volano-shaped with a circular margin.
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Larva and adult furniture carpet beetles. [Credit: D-H Choe]
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Top 20 Pest Notes of 2017

February 27, 2018
By Karey Windbiel-Rojas, Anne E Schellman
Pests have popularity contests too. We recently looked at how many visits our popular Pest Notes publication series received in 2017.
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Webbing clothes moth. (Photo credit: Clemson University, USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood. org)
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Controlling Clothes Moths

February 20, 2018
By Anne E Schellman
Spotting a small moth fluttering around your closet then discovering damaged fabric or other items can be shocking. Upon further inspection, you may even see the silken webs spun by the larvae, or the droppings they leave behind.
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Adult western conenose bug, Triatoma protracta. (Credit: Justin Schmidt)
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Kissing bugs are not your valentine

February 12, 2018
By Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Conenose or kissing bugs' (Triatoma spp.) are in the Reduviidae family, a group of insects known for a sturdy body and large proboscis. Most reduviids are beneficial as insect predators, and include various species of assassin bugs.
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Poison oak stalks after leaf loss. (Credit: Anne McTavish)
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Poison Oak: Not Just a Summer Problem

February 7, 2018
By Anne E Schellman
Campers and hikers are often warned to avoid poison oak in summer by looking out for green plants with glossy leaflets of three. However, as weather cools, the appearance of the plant changes, making it more difficult to identify.
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Adult ground squirrel. (Credit: Jack Kelly Clark)
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Ground Squirrel Trouble

January 29, 2018
By Anne E Schellman
California ground squirrels are common throughout much of California and may be found living near homes, structures, gardens, and landscapes where they can be a real nuisance.
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