Pest Management & Plant Health

Yellow Starthistle is a plant of Old-World origin that arrived in California in the mid 1800's. It is believed that it made its way to California in contaminated alfalfa seed from Europe.

From Farm Progress (https://www.farmprogress.com/weeds/international-effort-combat-crop-threatening-weeds) ************** Anne Manning | Apr 22, 2021 Every multi-acre farmer and backyard gardener knows weeds are a constant, formidable foe of successful plant production.

The Red Coats are coming. The Red Coats are coming. No, not an army of soldiers. Soldier beetles. These insects (family Cantharida) resemble the uniforms of the British soldiers of the American Revolution, which is apparently how their name originated.

From Western FarmPress Written by Todd Fitchette | Apr 20, 2021 California rice growers with troublesome patches of weedy rice, or red rice, may want to take advantage of the drought and low water allocations to fallow those fields with known populations of the plant.

Roses and many other flowers are blooming in gardens right now and several callers have asked for help with pest identification. We are happy to look at photos or samples, but home gardeners can usually easily identify this insect once they see a photo.

[From Pests in the Urban Landscape blog] Insecticide foggers, also known as total release foggers or bug bombs (Figure 1), are popular products widely available in many retail nurseries and garden centers as well as drug stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.

Ah, Saturday, April 17. It's the 107th Annual UC Davis Picnic Day! What's a picnic without bugs? This year's event, all virtual, is themed "Discovering Silver Linings," and you can do just that by watching the pre-recorded videos and by participating in the Zoom sessions.

What's a picnic without bugs? Entomological offerings will be showcased at the 107th annual UC Davis Picnic Day, themed "Discovering Silver Linings," to take place virtually on Saturday, April 17.

The roaches are ready to roll! And so is the virtual UC Davis Picnic Day.

Aphids are really bad this year! This is what we've been hearing on social media and from many home gardeners. Aphids can curl leaves, stunt plant growth, and make a mess by the sticky honeydew they exude. Some aphid species create galls which can also damage plants.