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This publication covers the basic biology, behavior, prevention, and management of blow flies in North Carolina.
Homeowners who grow fruit in backyards or small orchards find that disease and insect pests often ruin the crop and in some instances damage the tree itself. This publication covers common diseases and insect issues in backyard orchards in North Carolina.
This organic gardening chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook provides systematic approach to fertilization, soil, and pest management that views a garden as a working ecosystem.
This publication discusses weeds common to watermelon and how to control them. Weed management strategies include mechanical control, cultural control, and herbicide recommendations for grasses and broadleaf weeds such as Palmer amaranth and sedge weed species.
A factsheet discussing the basics of flea biology, health risks posed by fleas in North Carolina, signs of infestation, and recommended steps for prevention and control.
A publication covering the fundamentals of German cockroach biology and behavior, as well as their history alongside humans and health risks posed by infestation.
This factsheet provides an overview of German cockroach management, the do’s and don’ts, and the information needed to consult and hire a professional pest management company
This appendix from the Extension Gardener Handbook includes tables to help gardeners identify common problems and management strategies for fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants.
This pest control guide was a project of the Southern Nursery IPM Working Group (SNIPM) and collaborators. It is intended to provide up to date information about pest control products used in nursery crops and ornamental landscape plantings, and as a supplement to the more comprehensive integrated pest management (IPM) manuals for trees and shrubs. Recommendations for the use of agricultural chemicals are included in this publication as a convenience to the reader.
The red-headed flea beetle (RHFB), Systena frontalis, is a serious pest of broadleaved ornamental plants in nurseries. This document describes current knowledge of the pest and best practices for its management in nurseries.
This factsheet describes the biology of the rose midge, Dasineura rhodophaga, and provides residential management recommendations.
This factsheet offers information on Pierce's Disease, a bacterial disease of grapes in North Carolina.
Two-spotted spider mites are a common pest of North Carolina grapes. This factsheet discusses the biology, damage, and control of these pests.
A foundation of IPM in urban landscapes is to put the right plant in the right place. This reduces plant stress and thus the long term costs of pest management. Impervious surface cover is linked to red maple condition and scale insect infestations. This publication describes impervious surface thresholds to use when selecting sites for planting red maples in urban landscapes.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can be defined as a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining cultural, biological, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, aesthetic, health, and environmental risks. A first step in implementing an effective IPM program is to maintain healthy, vigorous plants, which are much less likely to have pest problems. Therefore, an integrated pest management program will also consider cultural practices that lead to healthy and resilient plantings.
This insect note contains a pest management calendar for azalea insect and mite pests.
This updated entomology factsheet expands upon the previous entomology insect note on questions around honey bee removal by providing expanded information on diagnosis and treatment options for both residential and commercial property owners.
This publication, chapter 10 of the 2023 Southeast Regional Caneberry Production Guide, points users to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) resources for blackberry and raspberry production.
This factsheet provides information on the red imported fire ant and its impact on North Carolina strawberries.
The twig pruner, Elaphidionoides villosus, is a slender grayish-yellow, longhorned beetle about 1/2" long that is normally considered a secondary invader of declining trees and shrubs. The twig pruner attacks healthy twigs and small branches. The female lays an egg in the bark by slitting the surface at leaf axils in late spring. When these eggs hatch, the legless grubs bore into the twig.
This factsheet describes the biology of the ligustrum weevil, Ochyronmera ligustri, and provides residential management recommendations.
This factsheet describes the biology and management of the green June bug (Cotinus nitida), an occasional pest of grapes in North Carolina
Healthy plants are important components of urban landscapes. These plants, however, are subjected to attacks by a myriad of pests while they are being grown in a nursery or maintained in a landscape. The ultimate goal of a successful ornamental plant pest management program is to improve the quality of plants (nurseries and greenhouses) and plant care services (landscape care operations) while minimizing pesticide use and the negative impacts of pesticide use to the environment, workers, clients, and other non-target organisms. To do so, ornamental plant growers and landscape care professionals have to understand the basic operating principles of integrated pest management, or IPM. The results of IPM can be spectacularly effective when well designed and executed.
This factsheet describes the identification and management of the grape root borer, a caterpillar that feeds on the roots of grape plants in North Carolina.
This factsheet provides information on the sugarcane beetle and its impact on North Carolina strawberries.
Impervious surface cover increases tree stress and reduces tree condition. We developed an impervious surface threshold to help tree care professionals select planting sites where red maples will thrive. In this publication we describe how to estimate impervious surface cover, on site, with the Pace to Plant technique.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can be defined as a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining cultural, biological, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, aesthetic, health, and environmental risks. A first step in implementing an effective IPM program is to maintain healthy, vigorous plants, which are much less likely to have pest problems. Therefore, an integrated pest management program will also consider cultural practices that lead to healthy and resilient plantings.
This factsheet describes the biology and management of the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica), a minor pest of grapes in North Carolina.
This insect note contains a pest management calendar for Leyland cypress.
This publication, chapter 12 of the 2025 Peanut Information handbook, describes integrated pest management and pesticide stewardship in peanut production.
In container nurseries -- frequent hand weeding reduces cumulative weeding costs by an average of ~ 36% compared to weeding only before herbicide reapplications. Based on research conducted at North Carolina State University.
The spined stilt is the most abundant predator insect in tobacco and is found in other economically important crops covered with trichomes, including tomatoes. This factsheet offers information on this pest.
European pepper moth (Duponchelia fovealis) is a pest of ornamental and vegetable crops with nearly worldwide distribution. In the US, it is most common in the Southeast but can live in greenhouses in northern regions. European pepper moth caterpillars feed on hundreds of plant species in many families. The caterpillars near the soil surface where they feed on lower leaves, stems, and roots. Management of this pest is difficult because it is hard to detect and it is protected from insecticides within silk webbing.
Rice is a minor crop in the state of North Carolina with less than an estimated 2000 acres in the entire state. Unfortunately this means there are very few resources for growers. There are currently no insecticides or herbicides registered for use on rice in the state of North Carolina. Due to legal and liability issues we are not allowed to recommend any brand or chemistries of insecticide or herbicide to be used. Since rice is usually a second or third priority crop behind flowers and vegetables we are tailoring these recommendations in a way where you can grow your crop and receive the maximum yield benefits possible given the circumstances. What follows are a series of cultural and non-chemical controls for weed and pest management.
