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This article is oriented toward people who use pesticides in or around their homes. If you job involves pesticides or may result in pesticide exposure (for example, you harvest crops in a field where pesticides were used), please see the Worker Safety and Training page.
Safely using pesticides depends on using the appropriate pesticide and using it correctly. The label on the pesticide container provides instructions for use of the pesticide. It also includes warnings that are intended ... Read More..
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Many insects are beneficial to the turf manager in that they aid in the decomposition of organic matter, improve soil structure and soil aeration and some are predators of harmful organisms. Nonetheless, many insects present problems for the turf manager. Damage Symptoms of Common Turfgrass Pest Problems and Possible Causes Read More..
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Scientists consider Achatina fulica to be one of the most damaging land snails in the world. It is known to eat at least 500 different types of plants, including peanut, beans, peas, cucumbers, and melons. If fruits and vegetables are not available, the snails will eat a wide variety of ornamental plants, tree bark, and even paint and stucco on houses. Read More..
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The southern mole cricket damages turf and pasture grasses, mainly by tunnelling (because it is largely carnivorous). Dissection of their guts to reveal the contents has shown that southern mole crickets feed largely on a diet of insects and other soil-inhabiting animals, and only to a slight extent on plants. Perhaps plant feeding occurs when animal material is in short supply. Relatively very little damage is caused to plants by southern mole crickets as a consequence of this diet. Southern m... Read More..
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Southern chinch bug activity occurs from March through November in north-central Florida and is year-round in southern Florida. Southern chinch bug populations tend to be clumped, rather than randomly dispersed throughout lawns. Usually more than one chinch bug can be found in the bottom leaf sheath on a plant and among surrounding plants. Infestations may occur in open, sunny areas near sidewalks and driveways, but also in the middle of lawns. Infested plants have slower growth, turn yellow, a... Read More..
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Plant bugs and stink bugs feed on peaches, other stone fruit and a wide array of wild and cultivated plants, including numerous horticultural and agronomic crops. These hemipterous (sucking) bugs are significant pests throughout the United States. Sucking bugs feed by sucking sap from plants. They inject a salivary secretion into the plant when feeding to break down plant tissues. Sucking bugs feed on a great diversity of host plants, moving from one host to the next to feed on the best availa... Read More..
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Are lawn caterpillars doing your mowing for you? Young caterpillars, or larvae, injure turfgrass by chewing notches along the edge of the leaves. This creates a ragged appearance (Figure 1) that may be hard to notice at first. Mature caterpillars eat a lot before they pupate and consume patches of turfgrass down to the crown. Because the turf looks scalped so quickly, people think that the damage occurs “overnight.” Several caterpillar species can be turfgrass pests, including the tropical sod ... Read More..
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Many snails are found in trees, but only a few are exclusively arboreal for most or all of their life cycle. Tree snails are normally found on the ground only during egg-deposition or when dislodged from their perches. They are frequently large, up to 70 mm long but tend to be smaller in colder areas. They are restricted to tropical and semi-tropical regions by their need for high humidity and warm temperatures. Tree snails are included in several families, but the Bulimulidae and the Pupil... Read More..
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With flowers in full bloom during the summertime, honey bees are in full force (as well as their close relative the Africanized honey bee). Outdoor activities during the summer increase the chance of coming in contact with bees and wasps and the possibility of getting stung. It is necessary to be aware and alert at all times of possible nests from these insects. Read More..
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Several races or subspecies of honey bees reside in Africa. One of these, Apis mellifera scutellata , from the central and southern part of the continent, is the predominant parental type introduced into South America. This is the African or Africanized honey bee so often sensationalized in the media. The European honey bee is the race common to North America, and is an amalgam of many European subspecies imported over the past several centuries. To a much smaller extent, subspecies fro... Read More..
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