University of Illinois Extension

Blog Posts (38)

What’s the real deal with cover crops and SCN?

Tips for moving houseplants indoors and overwinter care

Tips for moving houseplants indoors and overwinter care. A group of houseplants in pots sitting on a windowsill next to a window.

Managing spider mites in the garden and at home

Managing spider mites in the garden and at home. Dahlia leaves covered in white webbing and red-orange spider mites.

Manage brown rot of peaches and other stone fruit in the garden

Managing brown rot of peaches and other stone fruit in the garden. Peach fruit infected with brown rot. Fruit is covered in brown fuzzy mass.

Managing squash vine borer in the garden

Managing squash vine borer in the garden. Colorful adult vine borer moth laying egg on squash stem

You don’t know what you have till it’s gone

Using Phenology for Ornamental Pest Control

Sick tree

Houseplant pests and how to manage them

Houseplant pests and how to manage them. Grouping of green houseplants in pots in a home

How to get fruit plants ready for winter: Start preparing for a successful harvest

How to get fruit plants ready for winter: Start preparing for a successful harvest. Unharvested apples and apple mummies in an apple tree.

Aphids on Milkweed

Common milkweed in bloom

Nature’s balance can be helpful to gardeners

lady beetles eating aphids on a plant

Not all bugs are bad: Good bugs in the garden

Not all bugs are bad: Good bugs in the Garden. Parasitoid was and syrphid fly larva in an aphid colony

Integrated pest management key to preventing herbicide resistant weeds

Two Weeks after post-emergence herbicide application

How to prune fruit trees for healthier trees and better harvests

Person holding pruners getting ready to prune branch off a fruit tree

Hackberry Gall

Purple Martins

Asian Lady Beetles

Bacterial Leaf Scorch Infecting Illinois Oaks

This pin oak tree tested positive for bacterial leaf scorch and displays the most distinctive symptoms characterized by brown leaf margins, a colorful band and green tissue along leaf veins.

It's big, but it's not a murder hornet: How to identify large wasps

picture of a European hornet on a leaf, a cicada killer on a leaf, and a baldfaced hornet on flowers

Noticing Yellow Soybeans

Interveinal chlorosis on soybean leaves

Landscaping Fiction (Part 2): Eggshells, railroad ties, and organics

tomado demonstrating blossom end rot

Landscaping Fiction (Part 1): Don't be fooled by garden add-ons

mole emerging from soil

Pollinator Pockets

Submit your application today so you can proudly post a Pollinator Pockets sign in your garden.

Hornworm caterpillars on tomatoes

a large tobacco hornworm feeding on a tomato leaf

Tomato Care

Tomatoes are one of the most planted garden crops in the US, with several common problems here in central Illinois that can be managed through fairly simple cultural practices.

Plant Pathogen Spread

The alien-looking fingers protruding from these crabapples release spores that can infect trees in the juniper family to perpetuate cedar-apple rust disease.

Japanese Beetle Emergence

Japanese beetles emerge each June to feed on a variety of host plants, like this rose.

Controlling Spotted-Wing Drosophila

Trouble(s) with Cucurbits

squash bug nymphs feeding on pumpkin vines

Trouble(s) with Tomatoes

a green tobacco hornworm on a tomato stem

Starting a Garden: Pest Management

squash vine borer larva inside of the stem of a zucchini plant

Talking Biodiversity, Habitat, and Sustainability in the American Landscape

Blog title

Scouting in the Garden

Squash bugs

squash bugs

Living with Japanese Beetles

japanese beetle

Blossom End Rot

Common Tomato Diseases

tomato plant

Mosquito and Tick Season is Upon Us

mosquito on a human arm

News Releases (22)

Grassy weeds becoming more common in lawns

Bugs can be a solution for high-tunnel farmers

Leaves of three? Keep poison ivy out of the home landscape

To outsmart weeds in the garden, take multiple approaches

Crop scientists explore using predator insects to eat pests in high tunnels

Illinois pesticide program honored by national association

Invite good insects into the garden to battle pests

Pesticide users balance risks, benefits for producers, neighbors

Applying herbicides in natural settings lowers costs, increases efficiency

Research study focuses on predatory insects used as biological control in high tunnels

Keep pesticides from drifting into unwanted spaces

Crop Scout School features 22 free, online training videos

Keep an eye out for invasive jumping worms in the garden

Get rid of weeds and insects at home without pesticides

Grow your green thumb this spring with free online gardening classes

Turfgrass, ornamentals pesticide applicator certification open online

Become a U of I Extension Master Gardener

Learn to manage pests and diseases in the home landscape

COVID creates shortage of PPE for pesticide applicators

All About Berries Series in Macoupin County

Resistance for Fusarium head blight is key in integrated disease management strategy for wheat in 2020

Extension to Host Weed and Pest Management Webinar

Staff (5)

German Cutz staff photo

German Cutz

Horticulture Educator

Zachary Grant

Zachary Grant

Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator

Doug Gucker staff photo

Douglas B. Gucker

Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator

Ken Johnson Staff Photo

Ken Johnson

Horticulture Educator

Photo of Maria Turner

Maria Restrepo-Turner

Extension Specialist, IPM