Helga George, PhD 
Argentine ants are one of the most invasive of all ant species. With multiple queens and colonies, they can quickly take over large areas, spreading disease and encouraging crop pests. Learn how to identify these insects and strategies to manage an Argentine ant infestation in your home and garden. Read more now.
If you live in a colder climate but still want to grow avocados, you’ll need to choose a cold-hardy variety. Luckily, there are several cultivars available that can tolerate the cold, and still thrive. Discover the best cold tolerant avocado varieties that can withstand freezing temperatures and still produce fruit.
Pavement ants make their nests in concrete slabs under houses or in foundations. You can tell an infestation by the tell-tale piles of soil or sand near the colony. Fortunately, they are fairly easy to control once you know how. Learn how to identify and treat a pavement ant infestation in your home. Read more now.
Despite kale’s tendency to be healthy and vigorous, the plants can be vulnerable to insects, nematodes, bacteria, and fungi under certain circumstances. Read on to learn how to identify and control pests and pathogens on your kale plants.
The invasive spotted lanternfly is currently under quarantine in multiple states, and could easily cause billions of dollars of damage in Pennsylvania alone. It feeds on hardwood and fruit trees and vines, and is a particular threat to grape vines and hops. Read on to learn how to manage an infestation.
Citronella ants feed on insect secretions rather than human food. So, you might not think they are a threat. However, these ants frequently invade houses when they swarm and look like termites. Read on to discover the difference between citronella ants and termites and what to do when you are under siege.
Apricot soft rot caused by Rhizopus is a very serious infection that can destroy all your ripe peaches, apricots, nectarines, or plums . However, you can take steps to minimize the chances of your stone fruits from being infected. Read on to learn how to prevent Rhizopus rot in your harvest.
Pharaoh ants are highly difficult to control. While they are extensive problems in Florida and Texas, they also infest buildings in cooler climates. These aggressive ants will even attack the skin of burn victims in hospitals. Read on for tips on controlling these foreign invaders.
While you may think of potatoes when you think of soft rot, these bacterial diseases destroy a range of plants – from broccoli to tomatoes. There is no cure once your produce is infected, but there are steps you can take to prevent infection. Read on to learn how to protect your stored crops against bacterial soft rot.
Turnip mosaic virus affects cabbage and a broad range of cole crops along with many other types of plants. Weeds serve as reservoirs for the disease, which is spread by aphids. Read on to learn how to control this potentially devastating disease.
Phytophthora and the fungi Armillaria, Phymatotrichum, and Xylaria can all cause devastating cases of root rot on fruit, nut, and landscape trees along with woody shrubs. Prevention is the best way to manage these diseases. Read on to learn the best ways to avoid these diseases and biocontrol agents and fungicides that may help with Phytophthora root rot.
Odorous house ants are native to the entire continental United States and are one of the most common types of ants that infest houses. They prefer warm, moist places like hot water heaters and will even nest behind paneling. Read on to learn how to eradicate these invasive creatures.
An incurable grapevine disease that is spread by very common insects threatens grapevines in warmer parts of the United States. However, there are steps you can take to prevent your plants from becoming infected by both tackling the insects that spread it and implementing cultural methods to protect your plants. Read on to learn how to prevent Pierce’s disease.
Although slugs can be highly serious pests of cabbage and other cruciferous veggies, there are a variety of techniques that you can use to control these land mollusks. Read on to learn a number of ways to banish slugs from your garden. You have options ranging from barriers to traps to predatory slugs and bait.
White spot fungi are selective in the crucifers they infect and cause disease on the leaves of turnip, rutabaga, canola, mustard, radish, and horseradish. The fungi overwinter on volunteer plants and cruciferous weeds. Read on to learn how to control white spot fungus on crucifers.
Cabbage butterflies live throughout the US and southern Canada. While you can handpick the cabbage worms if there are just a few, large numbers can kill your cabbage plants and many other cole crops and crucifers. Read on to learn how to control these voracious caterpillars.
Turnip and rutabaga plants can be severely infested by several types of insects. While row covers can prevent some of these infestations, wireworms are soil-borne threats that can cause the end of the season’s crop in an infested field. Read on to learn how to manage cabbage aphids, root maggots, flea beetles, sawflies, and more.
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens colonizes plant roots and stimulates plants to both grow and to activate their immune systems, resulting in resistance to pathogens. These bacteria also outcompete other microbes and inhibit both bacterial and fungal plant pathogens. Read on to learn more about this biocontrol agent.