Tag: Integrated Pest Management

Lance Osborne using an eye loupe to examine a flower in a Mid-Florida Research and Education center greenhouse.

Expert entomologist inducted into Integrated Pest Management Hall of Fame

by Stella Canfield
July 13, 2026

Lance Osborne at the UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center has been inducted into the 2026 Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Hall of Fame by the Southern IPM Center. As one of three selected for the honor, the award recognizes Osborne’s ... READ MORE

Category: Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Award, Biological Control, Integrated Pest Management, IPM, IPM Hall Of Fame, Lance Osborne, Southern IPM Center
Three magnified images of a gallinipper mosquito (Psorophora ciliata), a large floodwater mosquito common in Florida after heavy rains. The insect has a dark body, long legs with pale bands, and clear wings

When the Rain Brings the Giants

by margaretstewart
June 24, 2026

After the heavy rain in Northwest Florida, many people have noticed large mosquitoes called gallinippers. Psorophora ciliata often seems to appear all at once after storms or flooding. These mosquitoes are a normal part of Florida’s environment. ... READ MORE

Category: Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, , Water
Tags: Flooding, Floodwater Mosquitoes, Florida Panhandle, Gallinippers, Havy Rainfall, Insect Pest, Integrated Pest Management, IPM, Larvicides, Mosquito Control, Mosquito Prevention, Mosquitoes, Northwest Florida, Psorophora Ciliata, Public Health Pests, Standing Water, Summer Pests, UF/IFAS Extension
sweet potato blooms

Heat-Tolerant Edibles: Sweet Potato

by Julia Sirchia
June 11, 2026

Did you know you can grow sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) in your summer garden? Sweet potatoes originated from South America and are accustomed to the hot and humid conditions of Florida's summer season.  Sweet potato is a root vegetable, ... READ MORE

Category: Horticulture
Tags: Garden, Gardening, Gardens, Heat-Tolerant Edibles, Heat-Tolerant Edibles For The Summer Home Garden, Home Garden, Home Grown Produce, IPM, Summer Gardens, Sweet Potato, Vegetable, Vegetable Garden, Vegetables
A bright orange milkweed assassin bug with long black legs rests on a sunlit green leaf, gripping a small dark insect it has captured beneath its body.

Your Garden’s Deadliest Allies

by Molly Jameson
June 11, 2026

Your Garden's Deadliest Allies As a gardener, summer can feel like it takes knightly status to grow fruits and vegetables. You strap on your metaphorical armor, raise your shield, and draw your sword to battle the stink bugs, squash ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Arilus Cristatus, Assassin Bugs, Beneficial Insects, Biological Pest Control, Garden Pests, Insect Identification, Integrated Pest Management, IPM, Milkweed Assassin Bug, Natural Pest Control, Panhandle Gardening, Predatory Insects, Wheel Bug, Zelus Longipes
photo of a blooming garden with a watering can and gloves in the foreground

Heat-Tolerant Edibles for the Summer Home Garden

by Julia Sirchia
June 11, 2026

Growing plants at home can help supplement your diet and stretch a household food budget. Luckily, there are some warm-season, heat-tolerant edibles that can thrive in a summer garden and produce year after year with the proper care. Heat Tolerant ... READ MORE

Category: Horticulture
Tags: Fresh Fruit And Vegetables, Fruit Gardening, Full Sun, Gardening, Heat-Tolerant Edibles, Heat-Tolerant Edibles For The Summer Home Garden, Home Garden, IPM, Seasonal, Summer Garden, Summer Plants, Vegetable Gardening, Warm Season

The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper: Pest Control

by Julia Sirchia
May 26, 2026

The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper Does the grasshopper pictured below look familiar to you? Eastern lubbers are common in Central/Southern Florida, especially at this time of year. You may see clusters of small to medium-sized black grasshoppers ... READ MORE

Category: Horticulture
Tags: Biological Pest Control, Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, Insect Pest, Integrated Pest Management, IPM, Pest Control, Pest Management, Romalea Microptera

Lovebugs are back! But experts say the familiar Florida pest is a harmless nuisance

by Jamie Groh
May 19, 2026

They may be one of Florida’s most complained-about insects, but lovebug swarms are short-lived, harmless, and even helpful in their early life stages, researchers say.   While many will have to swat them away while crossing parking ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, UF/IFAS
Tags: Bug Season, Car Care, Decomposition, Department Of Entomology And Nematology, Ecosystem Benefits, Environmental Education, Fans For Insects, Featured, Florida Insects, Florida Wildlife, Harmless Insects, Highway Driving Tips, Home Prevention, Insect Control, Insect Ecology, Insect Swarms, Integrated Pest Management, Larvae, Lovebugs, Natural Cycles, Non Toxic Pest Control, Nuisance Insects, Outdoor Tips, Pest Management, Seasonal Pests, Soil Health, UF-IFAS
A collage photo of crops that are impacted by the two-spot cotton leafhopper pest. From left to right, Florida commodities include cotton, tropical hibiscus, okra and eggplant.

Can two native wasps help regulate invasive leafhopper populations attacking Florida’s crops?

by Lourdes Mederos
March 19, 2026

Most people retreat at the sight of a wasp, yet University of Florida researchers’ discovery of two newly identified tiny native wasps targeting an invasive pest that threatened Florida agriculture may be a hopeful sign for growers. In ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, , Conservation, Crops, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Acarology, Agriculture, Alexandra Revynthi, Anagrus Sp. Near Vulneratus, Anagrus Vulneratus, Beneficial Pests, Biocontrol, Biological Control, Chemical Inputs, Cotton, Eggplant, Entomology And Nematology, High-value Crops, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Integrated Pest Management, News, Okra, Ornamental Entomology, Pest, Roselle, Spanish, Sunflower, Tropical Hibiscus, Two-spot Cotton Leafhopper, UF-IFAS, Wasp

Subscribe For More Great Content

IFAS Blogs Categories