Pesticide Management

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A person looking at a bottle of 20% acetic acid vinegar weed killer with a signal word DANGER.
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Can I Use Vinegar to Control Weeds?

July 18th, 2024
Acetic acid, also known as vinegar, is used in products for weed control. Many people choose it because it is natural. However, acetic acid can damage skin and eyes, especially at concentrations commonly found in weed killers.
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A canal of water next to a fenced area with residential homes and trees.
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Urban Pesticides, Fertilizers, and Water Quality

July 14th, 2024
By Belinda Messenger-Sikes
Pesticides and fertilizers applied around homes, residential or commercial landscapes, school sites, and other areas can enter our creeks, rivers, and oceans, degrading water quality.
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The OMRI seal may appear on pesticides determined as organically acceptable by the Organic Materials Review Institute.
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Organic, Natural, and Less Toxic: What’s the Difference?

July 11th, 2024
By Lauren Fordyce, Belinda Messenger-Sikes, Karey Windbiel
You've heard of terms such as green, organic, natural, ecofriendly, and less toxic to describe pest control products and services. But what do these terms really mean? To different people, they can mean different things, creating obvious confusion.
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Information on the pesticide active ingredient neem oil. From the UC IPM Pesticide Active Ingredient Database.
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Updated Pesticide Active Ingredient Database from UC IPM

May 9th, 2024
By Lauren Fordyce
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.
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Figure 4. Examples of lawn-concrete interface in residential settings. The picture on the left shows one of the lawn-concrete sites tested in the experiment. Photos by Dong-Hwan Choe.
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Strategic Placement of Ant Baits

March 26th, 2024
By Dong Hwan Choe
Ants are one of the major seasonal pests around structures in California's urban environments. Pest management companies throughout the state report that ants are responsible for a significant proportion of their pest control services.
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A close up of two green pesticide bottles.
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Protect Yourself from Pesticides

February 20th, 2024
By Lauren Fordyce
If you've used disinfecting wipes to clean surfaces in your home, an herbicide to control weeds in your garden, or insect repellents while on a hike, then you have used a pesticide.
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Figure 4. Time required for western subterranean termites to begin consuming baits installed during four different seasons in California’s San Francisco Bay Area. Red points on termite heads represent the average time-to-attack (number of days between installation and first observation of bait consumption). Red bars extending above and below each point represent standard error of the mean. Photo by Casey Hubble, UCCE.
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Termite Bait Study

November 28th, 2023
By Andrew M Sutherland
Subterranean termites (Family Rhinotermitidae) are considered the most serious wood-destroying pests in the world, causing an estimated $32 billion in global economic impact each year. California is home to both native and introduced subterranean termite species (Figure 1).
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A close up of narrow, long green leaves of a peach tree. Some leaves have curled and are red and distored from peach leaf curl.
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Peach leaf curl spray timing

November 14th, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
Peach leaf curl is a fungal disease that only affects peach and nectarine trees. The fungus causes distorted, reddened leaves to appear on the tree in the spring.
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Several plastic bottles of cleaning solutions and a blue microfiber towel.
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Disinfectants and Sterilizers: The Lesser-known Pesticides

September 18th, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
Did you know that disinfectants and sterilizers are pesticides? Any substance that claims to kill, destroy, prevent, or repel a pest, including germs, is considered a pesticide. So cleaning products that claim to sterilize or kill germs on surfaces or be effective against bacteria like E.
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A man wearing a mask, gloves, long sleeve shirt, and pants applying a pesticide dust into a crack on an exterior wall.
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Hiring a pest control company?

August 22nd, 2023
By Lauren Fordyce
Some pest problems can be easily handled at home yourself. But if your pest issue is a bit more serious, or you don't have the time or tools to address it yourself, hiring a pest control company might be your best option.
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