Earwigs won’t kill mature plants, but they’ll destroy seedlings and damage soft fruit and berries. (Photo courtesy UC Integrated Pest Management) One insect apparently liked our roller-coaster spring: Earwigs. “We’ve gotten a lot of...
These are leaf-footed bug nymphs. The ones I found and quickly dispatched this morning looked exactly like this. They are smaller than you might expect. Gardeners, the invasion is upon us. It’s time to...
Female, left, and male bagrada bugs. The pests have been taking hold in California since 2008. (Photos courtesy UC IPM) What’s eating your cabbage and broccoli seedlings? According to several Sacramento accounts, it may...
These aphids are starting to do their damage to a developing rose bud. The warm weather has brought them out. (Photo: Kathy Morrison) How can there be so many aphids so soon? Where did...
Distorted and blistered leaves are signs of peach leaf curl. Now is the time to spray peach and nectarine trees to control it. (Photo courtesy UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management) It may be Thanksgiving, but it’s time to talk peaches....
Spider mites love hot, dry conditions. Ash and fallen leaves cling to spider mite webs covering a camellia. (Photos: Debbie Arrington) Some of the biggest and smallest pests to attack our gardens are enjoying...
The sharp-edged leaves in the center of the photo belong to fast-growing nutsedge plants near a sprinkler head. (Photo: Debbie Arrington) What’s the worst weed in Sacramento? It depends on who you ask and...
This is a screen shot of the first page of the new e-newsletter from UC IPM. No gardener enjoys battling pests in spring. But there’s a way to at least limit the damage: Do...
This Sungold plant is history. (Photo courtesy DRWWilson) Call it Sungold sudden death syndrome. Several gardeners in the greater Sacramento area reported the loss of their super-sweet yellow cherry tomato plants in July –...
Keeping deer out of gardens is a battle for foothill gardeners as well as those who live near the rivers or in semi-rural area. (Photo by W. Paul Gorenzel, courtesy UCIPM) What will deer...