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Home Pests

Extension works with homeowners and gardeners to identity the safest, most cost-effective most environmentally ways to deal with home and gardening pests, animal control issues and plant diseases.

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Master Gardener Helpline Now Open

Blue skies and warm weather draw people out of their homes and into their gardens and landscapes. Some people are... more

Learn About Bats and How To Manage Them

Thirteen species of bats can be found in Alabama. The only mammal that can truly fly, bats are beneficial... more

You Have Fire Ants Where? Webinar Set for April

The third Don’t Bug Me webinar set for Friday, April 5 discusses how to keep fire ants away from... more

Ants! Ants! Ants! Webinar Set for March 1

The second Don’t Bug Me webinar set for Friday, March 1 discusses tramp ant species such as tawny crazy... more

First Don’t Be Bugged Webinar Slated for Early February

The inaugural Don’t Be Bugged webinar will provide answers on what works and what doesn’t work to control fire ants.... more

Learn How to Manage Ants and Other Pests Via Don’t Bug Me Webinars

Got ants? Tired of ladybug invasions in the fall? Brought home bed bugs from your last trip? Alabama Cooperative... more

Coyotes becoming problem for urban areas

Our own Dr. Jim Armstrong, Forestry, Wildlife & Natural Resources Extension Coordinator & Professor, featured on Auburn University's WireEagle: Coyotes have long inhabited... more

Human Wildlife Conflicts

Human wildlife conflicts are on the rise across the country because both  … human... more

Fall is Peak Season for Yellow Jackets

Fall is the peak season for yellow jackets in Alabama. In fall, their colony size is at its largest because... more

Fall Is Peak Season for Yellow Jackets

​Fall is the peak season for yellow jackets in Alabama. In fall, their colony size is at its largest... more


Garden Bugs

Vegetable Garden

The best way to manage insect pests in the home vegetable garden is to use a combination of strategies, including cultural, mechanical, and biological controls. Organic gardeners rely totally on nonchemical methods. Most home gardeners can tolerate some insect damage on their vegetables; consequently, they are able to use many nonchemical control strategies that can reduce, but not always eliminate, insect damage. Home gardeners not opposed to using chemicals may use chemical controls when nonchemical methods do not provide sufficient levels of control.

Modern pest management relies on “planning before planting” rather than responding to a pest problem after it has occurred. For example, you can prevent many insect pest problems by using what you know about the pest to make the vegetable planting less suitable for pest development. This could mean planting early to avoid high pest numbers that occur late in the season.

Correct identification of insect pests infesting the vegetable garden is critical so you can develop a management plan. Equally important is recognition of beneficial insects. Your county Extension agent can help you identify pests and develop management strategies for specific pest and crop situations. more...

Alabama IPM


Fire Ant Information