Category: Pests & Disease

Garden Tool Care: Take Care of Your Tools and They’ll Take Care of You

by Susan Haddock
December 2, 2025

Having the right garden tool is important but keeping them in good condition is just as important. Garden tools often get used hard and put away dirty or wet, which causes rust and damage. With a little maintenance, your tools can work well ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Cleaning Tools, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Garden Tool Care, Gardening, Gardening Tools, Landscape, Landscape Tools, ProHort, Sharpening Tools, SW ProHort, Tool Care
A closeup of an iguana in South Florida

’Tis the season for courting iguanas: Ask IFAS unwraps bilingual guide with timely tips

by Lourdes Mederos
December 2, 2025

Just in time for the holiday season — and the start of the iguana mating period — the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has unwrapped a bilingual resource for living with one of Florida’s most ... READ MORE

Category: , Home Landscapes, Home Management, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Ask IFAS, Ask IFAS En Español, Bilingual, Damage, Florida Law, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Green Iguanas, Herbivores, Homeowners, Iguana, Invasive, Legal Considerations, Mating Period, News, Non Native, Personal Property, Plants, Resources, South Florida Landscape, Species, Spiny-tailed Iguanas, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, Unprotected

2025 Master Gardener Volunteer Year in Review for Clay County

by Wayne Hobbs
November 26, 2025

The Master Gardener Volunteer year in Clay County runs from November to November and what an amazing year it has been. Throughout 2025, our 71 volunteers donated over 5000 hours back to community! This comes in a variety of ways including: ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Florida Friendly, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Garden, Gardening, Horticulture, Landscape, Landscaping, Master Gardener, Master Gardener Volunteer
Watch the Birds w Column Food Feeders and Peanut Feeders

Backyard Bird Attractors: Feeders and Seed

by Maria Quirico
November 25, 2025

When you establish a Wildlife-Friendly Landscape with Florida Native Plants, you will provide a natural food source for your birds, nesting opportunities, and a habitat that requires little maintenance. However, homeowners love to supplement ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Agriculture, Camp, Clubs & Volunteers, Conservation, Curriculum, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching,
House rooftops and palm trees in Florida illuminated by soft light.

Innovadora herramienta ayuda a propietarios y cultivadores a proteger las emblemáticas palmeras frente a la pudrición del tronco

by Luz Bahder
November 13, 2025

Creado por Lourdes Mederos, gerente de relaciones públicas en español para el Departamento de Comunicaciones de UF/IFAS. ¿Alguna vez se ha preguntado por qué algunas variedades de palmeras prosperan, mientras que otras pierden de pronto ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Home Management, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Bananos, Braham Dhillon, Caña De Azúcar, Centro De Investigacion Y Educacion De UF/IFAS En Fort Lauderdale, Cocotero, Cocoteros, Conservacion, Cultivos, Davie, Enfermedad, Enfermedades, Español, Especies De Palmera, Estudio, Evaluar La Resistencia, Experimentos, Florida, Folíolos, Fungi, Germoplasma De Palmera, Hongo, Investigacion, Jardines, Mejoramiento Genetico, Paisajes, Palma, Palmas Reales, Palmera, Palmera Bucanera, Palmera Datilera Común, Palmera Datilera De Las Islas Canarias, Palmera Real, Palmera Real De Puerto Rico, Palmera Washingtonia, Palmeras Nativas, Patios, Patogenos, Pina, Resilencia, Resistentes, Servicio De Investigación Agrícola Del Departamento De Agricultura De Los Estados Unidos, Spanish, Sukhwinder Singh, Thielaviopsis, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, USDA-ARS, Variabilidad En Resistencia, Variedades Resistentes
Dead palm tree in an open field.

Innovative tool offers palm owners, growers new line of defense against trunk rot, protecting iconic trees

by Lourdes Mederos
November 13, 2025

Ever wonder why some palm varieties flourish while others suddenly bend at the trunk or topple over completely? From the iconic coconut palm to towering royal palms, these signature features of Florida’s landscapes are facing a silent ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Conservation, Crops, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Advancement, Biological Controls, Braham Dhillon, Canary Island Date Palms, Coconut Palm, Conservation, Date Palms, Disease, Disease Resistance, Entomology And Nematology, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Fronds, Fungicides, Germplasm Collection, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasive, Leaflets, Lethal Fungus, Monica Elliott, News, Palm, Palm Landscape, Pathogens, Plant Pathology, Plant Pathology Department, Research, Resilient, Royal Palms, Thielaviopsis Trunk Rot, Trunk Rot, U.S. Department Of Agriculture Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research And Education (USDA-SSARE), UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, USDA, USDA-ARS, Wahingtonia Palms
A field of cogongrass - ubiquitous in a field.

Can invasive plants increase tick exposure risk? Scientists reveal a surprising link to human health

by Lourdes Mederos
November 12, 2025

An invasive grass found on almost every continent and considered a pest in 73 countries isn’t just weeding out native plants, it is creating a haven for disease-carrying ticks and raising public health risk concerns. A new University of ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Conservation, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Agronomy Department, Ask IFAS, Cogongrass, Conservation Efforts, Disease, Drew Hiatt, Entomology And Nematology, Forest, Health, Human, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasion Science, Invasion Science Institute, Invasive Species, Lakeland, Lime Disease, Luke Flory, Mosquito, News, Rick, Southeast United States, Tick-borne, U.S> Forestry Service, UF, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida

Porterweed Rust

by Caitlin Sollazzo
November 12, 2025

Sometimes nature can be quite beautiful. This is rust (Puccinia urbaniana) infecting native porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis). If you look closely, you can even see tiny fly larvae feeding on the spores of the rust fungus.Rust is a type ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Florida Friendly Landscape, Horticulture, Manatee County, Manatee County Extension

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