Category: Pests & Disease

New Air Potato Beetle Species Release

by Tonya Ashworth
November 11, 2025

They are small but mighty. A new species of air potato beetle is being reared and released in Florida to wage war against the invasive air potato vine. First, a little background on the enemy. The air potato vine was introduced in Florida ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Air Potato Beetle, Air Potato Vine, Invasive Plant, Invasive Species

Mosquitos- What Works and What Doesn’t

by Duval MGV
July 17, 2023

Are mosquitoes running you off your porch in the evenings? If so, you are not alone. My social media feed is full of people asking for advice on how to get rid of these pests, especially now that four cases of malaria have been locally acquired ... READ MORE

Category: Pests & Disease
Tags: Bacillis Thuringiensis Israelensis, Bti, Citronella, Deet, Mosquitoe Repelling Plants, Mosquitoes, Picaridin, Skin So Soft

What’s Bugging My Plants [Diagnosis & Resources to Help]

by Duval MGV
June 7, 2023

Plants should be looking good in full growth. If our yard has a well-balanced ecosystem, pests and diseases are usually minor. Birds need caterpillars to feed their young. Bees and butterflies are busy gathering nectar and pollen while ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Tags: Beneficial Insects, Bugs On Plants, Discolored Leaves, Pests And Diseases, Plant Problem Diagnosis

The Label is the Law

by Larry Figart
December 8, 2022

Early in my career as a forester I advised a homeowner to use a certain pesticide to treat an insect problem he was having. He called me back a week later to tell me that after he followed my advice, his plant was killed. How could that ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Turf
Tags: Label, Pesticide

The plight of flowering dogwood in northeast Florida

by Larry Figart
December 8, 2022

Historically, nothing said spring had arrived any better than a flowering dogwood tree. It remains a favored tree in southern landscapes. Sometimes you may see an occasional dogwood in bloom in the local pine forests. However, it is very ... READ MORE

Category: , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease
Tags: Dogwood, Flowering Trees, Native, Trees

New year’s resolutions for the landscape in 2023

by Larry Figart
December 7, 2022

As we prepare our yards for a fresh start in 2023, perhaps one of our New Year’s resolutions can be to be to make some changes in how we maintain our landscape. By doing so perhaps we can save some money and have a healthier landscape ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease
Tags: Fertilizer, Florida Friendly, Landscape, Lawns, Planting, Tree Planting, Turf, Water Conservation, Weeds

Snakes in Florida

by Duval MGV
July 12, 2022

The heat is on and the cold-blooded reptiles we love to hate are on the move through our landscapes. Scorned throughout history, snakes in Florida are most active through the warm seasons and are present throughout the state. The reason ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Tags: Snakes, Snakes In Florida, Why Do We Have Snakes In Jacksonville

More Darn Pests – 5 rules of Integrated Pest Management

by Duval MGV
July 7, 2022

Dealing with Insect Pests in the Landscape Summer is here, and we see a massive uptick in the numbers of insects on our landscape and garden plants. Fortunately, we have a framework of management strategies to help us deal with them in ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Tags: 5 Rules, Action Threshold, Integrated Pest Management, More Darn Pests

Whitefly, and Other June Pests in Jacksonville Gardens

by Duval MGV
June 20, 2022

As we round into June, the pest season heats up. Insects, being cold blooded, respond to the warming temperatures by growing rapidly through their life cycles. Whiteflies are a good example of this. These small pests take about 24 days ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Pests & Disease
Tags: Jacksonville Gardens, June Pests, Natural Predator For Whitefly, Whitefly

Get help with your landscape problems..Virtually

by Larry Figart
April 13, 2020

With everything that has been going on, one benefit seems to have been more people getting outside and into their lawn and gardens. It can seem like an uphill battle at times. Particularly if this is your first time, or if you start to see some ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf
Tags: Duval, Landscape, Troubleshoot

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