It may look like an ethereal puffball, really rather pretty, but don’t be fooled. Dandelions are tough weeds! Also known as lion’s tooth, blowball, and monk’s head, it can be a problem in gardens, lawns, pastures, and tree and vine crops. Introduced from Europe where it has been used as an herb and medicinal plant […]
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If you notice a quarter of a tomato plant missing overnight, but you can’t figure out what’s causing it, look closer! A master of disguise, the tomato hornworm may be the culprit! These are enormous caterpillars – up to four inches long! Their striping pattern makes them hard to spot despite their size. One tell-tale
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You’re likely familiar with the smallest of all birds – the hummingbird. Found only in the Americas, these tiny aerial acrobats are important pollinators AND insect eaters, doing their part as flying pest controllers! They can use our help by providing them with the basics – shelter, water, and food. September 3, 2022 is National
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Flies that find their way into the kitchen, or buzz around the barbeque are common this time of year. These irritating pest flies include the house fly, face fly, stable fly, and blow flies. They breed in animal and food wastes and decaying organic material, where they can pick up bacteria and viruses that may
Could be voles. Also known as field or meadow mice, voles are small rodents that resemble hamsters. With a compact, heavy body, short legs, a short-furred tail, they can measure 5 to 8 inches long, including the tail. These rodents are plant eaters, with an appetite for a lot of different plants – from artichokes,
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Along with the warm, sunny days of summer comes a scourge of pests – spider mites. These little arachnids, related to spiders, look like tiny moving dots. The eight-legged, oval shaped adults live in colonies, primarily on the under-surfaces of leaves and a single colony may contain hundreds of individuals. They overwinter as mated females
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With the bounty of flowers blooming this time of year, you’re likely to spot one of the most helpful little critters in the garden, though you may not recognize it as such. What appears to be a small bee hovering like a tiny helicopter over a blossom but looks and may even sound like a
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Did you know you can unwittingly expose pollinators to harmful pesticides? Some plant growers still use strong insecticides when growing their garden plants. Neonicotinoids, commonly referred to as “neonics,” are very toxic to pollinators, beneficial insects, and aquatic invertebrates, and are the most widely used class of insecticides in the world. The active ingredients in
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Ever stick your nose to inhale the perfume of a rose, and see teeny-tiny bugs jump? Likely you’ve just met some flea beetles. Named for their well-developed hind legs, they jump like fleas when disturbed. While these insects can be a nuisance to roses, they don’t do any real damage. They’re more commonly found on
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If you’ve grown tomatoes for a few years, chances are you use plants known to be free of and resistant to two common deadly fungal diseases, fusarium and verticillium wilt. But did you know that the blackened branch on a prized Japanese maple, towering ash, or verdant pepper tree may be the result of infection
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