Follow these general tips for the month of February to prevent pest in the garden and landscape. To view more tips specific to your region, visit the Seasonal Landscape IPM Checkliston the UC IPM website.

• Protect sensitive plants from freezing and frost damage.
• Check grapes for pests like powdery mildew, Eutypa dieback, Phomopsis cane and leaf spot, and others.
• Paint or varnish and seal wood to deter carpenter bees. If intolerable, treat tunnels during early spring.
• Prevent mosquitoes by eliminating standing water in gutters, drain pipes, flowerpots, etc. Place Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis in birdbaths and ponds to selectively kill mosquito larvae.
• Apply a preventive spray for peach leaf curl once or more during late fall through bud break in spring if leaf curl has been a problem on nectarine or peach.
• Prune evergreen, summer-flowering shrubs.
• Manage weeds using nonchemical methods such as cultivation, handweeding, or mowing. Control young weeds as soon as they pop up.
• Whitewash tree trunks to deter borers and prevent sunburn. Apply to young trees or older bark on susceptible trees newly exposed to sunlight.
• Apply organic mulches where thin or soil is bare under trees and shrubs to prevent weeds and regulate soil moisture and temperature. Keep mulch back from trunks and at a depth of 2 to 4 inches, depending on the mulch type.  

 Don't see your county on the checklist or want to provide feedback? Let us know!