Gardening

Backyard chickens are increasingly being raised as pets, for egg production, and for youth development and science projects. While raising chickens can be an interesting and economically beneficial activity, chickens and other fowl may also have pest problems.

Instructions for making homemade mixtures to control pests are easy to find online and in social media, and it's tempting to make your own home remedy when pests invade.

As the weather warms up, we see more insect activity in gardens and landscapes, and you may also notice more activity of insect pests in your home. Common insect pests found indoors in springtime can include carpet beetles, fleas, fungus gnats, and boxelder bugs.

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.

The annual Picnic Day celebration at UC Davis is going virtual! Most years, the UC IPM urban & community team participates by giving out ladybugs to kids and families at our educational booth to teach people about the good bugs that help control pests in the garden and landscape.

Are bats good for the environment or are they pests? How about both? Almost all of the 25 species of bats in California eat lots of flying insects during their night flights, making them an important part of the ecosystem. But when they roost in buildings such as your home, they can become pests.

Register now for the Urban & Community IPM webinars! All webinar information and registration links are available on our webinar website. Webinars are the third Thursday of every month from 1:00-2:00pm Pacific time. Webinars are free and open to the public but you must register in advance.

While you are outside gardening or inside doing your spring cleaning, you may have recently found small, round, speckled beetles you've never seen before.

Have you registered for UCIPM Urban & Community Program's first open webinar? This Thursday, March 18 from 1:00-2:00pm PDT we will cover What is Integrated Pest Management? Click here to register. This week's webinar is the first of a new monthly webinar series that is free and open to the public.

Figuring out what's wrong with your plant takes a little detective work. Plants can look unhealthy for a number of reasons, including diseases, pest insects, or even environmental conditions like sunburn, too much water, not enough water, wind damage, and other issues.