Pests & Diseases

Short mushrooms growing at the edge of a lawn along mowing strip. Caps of mushrooms are whitish to light brown and appear cracked. Caps are flat with edges rolled down slightly.

Rains Bring Lawn Mushrooms

January 9, 2026
By Belinda Messenger-Sikes
Winter rains and damp conditions in many parts of California may have brought a surprise visitor to your lawn: mushrooms! A few mushrooms sprouting in your lawn can be a good sign: it means there's plenty of organic matter in the soil. But if patches of mushrooms are sprinkled across your lawn, something…
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Colony of bright yellow, pear-shaped aphids with black legs, antennae, and cornicles (tail pipes) on their abdomens surrounded by exoskeletons on a green leaf.

Top Ten Pests of 2025

January 8, 2026
By Yulie Velez, Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Forget Spotify Wrapped – can you guess which pests received the most hits on UC IPM’s Pests Notes page this year? Here are the top ten pests that made your year: (1) Carpet Beetles  For several years, carpet beetles have been in the top 5 on our playlist. Immature carpet beetles feed on…
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A close-up of shiny gold and green holiday ornaments and multicolored lights hanging on a fir tree with bushy, dark-green leaves (needles).

Happy Holidays from UC IPM

December 22, 2025
By Lindsey Hack
From the UC IPM Urban and Community team, we’d like to wish you a happy holiday season! As we reflect on this past year, we’d like to express our gratitude to all of you for joining us to learn about pest management around the home and garden.  This year, we’ve connected with you in various ways:…
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An orange flower grows in a greenhouse
Green Blog: Article

California nursery industry grapples with plastics, water, nutrients

October 8, 2025
By Caroline D Champlin
Nursery owners and landscapers are anticipating a slew of new environmental regulations to impact business as usual. Scientists from University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources brought these hot topics, and many others, to business owners’ attention at the 2025 California Nursery Conference…
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Llevan a cabo conferencia para viveristas de California.
Blog Verde: Article

Investigadores de UC ANR apoyan a los viveros de California

September 12, 2025
By Diana Cervantes
Santa Paula, CA. – Un tapete de plástico especial, combinado con el uso de desinfectantes, puede ser la primera defensa contra enfermedades en viveros, donde las plantas jóvenes son muy frágiles. Con una medida tan sencilla, se podrían evitar pérdidas millonarias de plantas y dinero. El sector de los…
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A light brown rodent with black and white stripes around it's eyes and a bushy tail sitting on a tree stump.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

CA Resident Tests Positive for Plague

September 2, 2025
By Lindsey Hack
A South Lake Tahoe resident has recently tested positive for plague, likely transmitted by the bite of an infected flea. While human cases of plague are rare, they can be serious. Before this most recent case, the last reported case was also in El Dorado County in 2020. Plague is caused by bacteria,…
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