Pest Management & Plant Health

Introduction: Pollinator insects are essential to produce many economically and nutritionally important crops grown in the western USA. These crops include blueberries, almonds, sunflowers, cucurbits, and many others.

The emerald ash borer (EAB) may be beautiful, but it is the most destructive forest pest ever seen in North America. Hundreds of millions of ash trees across 36 states and 5 Canadian provinces have been killed by this invasive insect.

I was talking with a friend the other day about weed control. He had bought a jug of herbicide concentrate and planned to apply it to his weeds undiluted.

#GivingDay is here! Thursday May 16 at noon through Friday, May 17 until 11:59 a.m., 2024 is UC ANR #GivingDay. If you've done any of the following, please consider making a donation to our program.

Although training is required to become a University of California Master Gardener, the benefits of gardening can be experienced by anyone and everyone.

There are many types of good bugs commonly found in the garden or landscape. In integrated pest management (IPM) we refer to good bugs as natural enemies or beneficial organisms. Natural enemies can include insects, but also mites, pathogens, and vertebrates like birds and lizards.

In the human world, we recognize Mother's Day as a special day to celebrate all mothers. It's a day that Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Va., established on May 10, 1909 with a worship service at St. Andrew's Methodist Church, Grafton. Lady beetles, aka ladybugs, are mothers, too.

Being bothered by mosquitoes and troubled about the risk of diseases? Mosquitoes are not just annoying. They can be deadly.

The University of California Statewide IPM Program (UC IPM) has an exciting, newly updated resource to help you better understand pesticide active ingredients and the risks different active ingredients pose to people and the environment.

Need some summer plans? Join UC IPM at 12:00pm on the third Thursday of every month to learn about pest identification, prevention, and management around the home, garden, and landscape! These free IPM webinars are open to the general public so please share with others who may be interested.