Pesticide Management

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A wire cage trap next to a hole in in the ground.
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Managing California Ground Squirrels in Urban Environments

November 20, 2024
By Niamh M Quinn, Roger A Baldwin, Carolyn Whitesell
With the passing of law AB 1322 in 2023 and the recent passing of AB 2552 in September 2024, the options for managing California ground squirrels using lethal methods in urban areas will be more limited.
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Person wearing tall black rubber boots and jeans pouring a clear liquid from a white bucket onto the soil around a bush with pink flowers.
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Neonicotinoid Pesticides Off the Shelf in January 2025

November 5, 2024
By Lauren Fordyce
The common insecticide imidacloprid, and the related active ingredients acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, and thiamethoxam, belong to the pesticide group neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids have been linked to the decline in honey bee and other pollinator populations.
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A white bucket of clear liquid being poured into a smaller container.
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Mixed up too much of a pesticide? Now what?

September 24, 2024
By Lauren Fordyce
You bought a pesticide product that needs to be mixed with water before applying. Did you accidentally mix up too much and now have leftover pesticide? What should you do with it? Before mixing or applying a pesticide, always read the pesticide label to see where the product can be used (i.e.
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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 18, 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 14, 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 11, 2024
By Lauren Fordyce, Belinda Messenger-Sikes, Karey Windbiel-Rojas
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 9, 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 26, 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 20, 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 28, 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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