Pest Management & Plant Health

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.

I've been hearing people say the aphids are really bad this year. While we can't confirm whether that is true, I know my roses are covered! There are many ways aphids can be controlled in the garden and landscape.

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.

I was out last night above the river to take some pictures, and I noticed that as the sun went behind the mountains I was joined by some unwelcome visitors: mosquitoes. I suspect they were males as I didn't end up with any bites, and they were mostly hovering above me.