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How to outsmart rodents (the IPM way)

Sign up for free online workshop on rodent management

Grey ground squirrel
The California ground squirrel ( Otospermophilus beecheyi )
can be a real nuisance for the home gardener.
(Photo by Monica Dimson, UCCE Orange County,
courtesy UC IPM)

They’re clever, determined and usually hungry. That makes controlling rodents in our homes and gardens particularly difficult.

In a free online workshop, learn how to outsmart Norway rats, roof rats, mice, rabbits, voles and other common rodents – maybe even squirrels! Experts in integrated pest management will show you how.

Set for 1 p.m. Thursday, June 17, “IPM for Rodents” starts with identification and how to tell which critter is actually affecting your space. Then the workshop tackles how to dissuade rodents from eating your garden and invading your home.

The workshop is free, but advance registration is required at: https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucipm-community-webinars/.

Dr. Niamh Quinn, Human-Wildlife Interactions Advisor for Orange, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties, will present this workshop, designed for both urban and suburban dwellers.

Designed to be as wildlife friendly as possible, IPM methods control pests with mostly natural methods and strategies. This one-hour workshop is part of a new public series presented by the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Urban & Community Program.

Each month, IPM and other experts will share helpful pest management information for California residents, say the organizers. Since the workshops are online, they’re available throughout the state.

Topics also will include landscape pest management, household pests, understanding pesticides, management for weeds and invasive pests. Each webinar will be held at 1 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month.

Upcoming workshops: “Plant Diseases” (July 15), “Weed Identification” (Aug. 19) and “Identifying Insect Pests in the Home and Garden” (Sept. 16).

For more details and to register: https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucipm-community-webinars/ .

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 25: Crape myrtles, Sacramento's unofficial tree of summer

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

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Taste Summer! E-cookbook

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Find our summer recipes here!

Garden checklist for week of Aug. 30

Enjoy this mild late-summer weather – and get to work!

* September starts another season in the vegetable garden. Now is the time to plant for fall. The warm soil will get these veggies off to a fast start.

* Keep harvesting tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and eggplant.

* Compost annuals and vegetable crops that have finished producing.

* Cultivate and add compost to the soil to replenish its nutrients for fall and winter vegetables and flowers.

* Fertilize deciduous fruit trees.

* Plant onions, lettuce, peas, radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, bok choy, spinach and potatoes directly into the vegetable beds.

* Transplant cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower as well as lettuce seedlings.

* Sow seeds of California poppies, clarkia and African daisies. Transplant cool-weather annuals such as pansies, violas, fairy primroses, calendulas, stocks and snapdragons.

* Divide and replant bulbs, rhizomes and perennials.

* Dig up and divide daylilies as they complete their bloom cycle.

* Divide and transplant peonies that have become overcrowded. Replant with “eyes” about an inch below the soil surface.

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Taste Spring! E-cookbook

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Taste Winter! E-cookbook

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Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Add asparagus to your edible garden

Soggy soil and what to do about it

Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

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Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

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To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

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Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

Does this plant need water?

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How to grow summer salad greens

 Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

Help pollinators help your garden

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Make your own compost

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How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

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What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

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Don't be fooled by these garden myths

Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth