Seeing leaves on your fruit trees rolled up like a sandwich wrap? Could be leafrollers, a family of insects that attack the leaves of fruit trees like apples, pears, and peaches. They also target some ornamental trees like ash, poplar, and oak. Leafroller larvae feed on tender, new leaves, giving them a ragged appearance; they …
It may seem early in the season for mosquitos, but one of the wettest years in history has left standing water across the area, creating perfect conditions for these pesky insects to develop. Stagnant water creates havens for disease-spreading mosquitoes, and mosquito experts are concerned this could be a long and intense mosquito season. These …
Are your roses sporting new leaves that glisten in the sunlight and are slightly sticky to the touch? See a trail of ants crawling up the trunk of your plum tree? How about powdery black stuff on your camellia bush or the garden furniture next to it? All are indicators that sucking insects may have …
Seeing mounds of soil, or open holes in your grass or flowerbeds? Could be a gopher or a mole. Both of these critters create tunnels and are active underground, improving the soil by aerating it and mixing nutrients. But they are otherwise very different. Gophers are rodents that eat only plants, favoring bulbs and roots, …
There is a new worm in town – the invasive jumping worm. Also known as Alabama jumpers, Jersey wrigglers, wood eel, crazy worms, snake worms, Asian jumping worm, and crazy snake worms, they have been found in Napa and Sonoma Counties (not yet in Marin). They are smooth, glossy gray or brown and 1.5 to …
We’ve had a lot more flooding this winter than most, and it can impact the natural nesting areas of rodents, forcing them to seek higher ground including inside your home (particularly into “high ground” such as attics). Storm debris, cut tree trunks and limbs, and materials may become lodged in drainage ditches or along streams …
With the abundant rain this winter, your house may have areas with wet and decaying wood that can become an ideal nesting site for carpenter ants. Even small amounts of damage from flying debris or trees that strike the siding, roof shingles, rain gutters or electrical meter bases can allow moisture to collect in wood, …
Integrated pest management, or IPM, is a process you can use to solve pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment. The definition of IPM is: IPM is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests or their damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification …
If you spot a small animal that looks like a mouse scurrying across the yard, it could be a vole, also known as a meadow mouse. But how can you be sure if it a mouse or a vole? Both of these rodents are five to eight inches long and have gray or brown fur. …
The mere sound of their name produces the ewwww factor – cockroaches! These insects thrive in both indoor and outdoor environments where there is food, water, and shelter. During the day, roaches hide in dark, moist areas like cracks, water meter boxes, sewers, and crawl spaces. They come out at night to feed. Good sanitation …
