Little Gnats in the House

Got annoying gnats in the home? Learn how to identify fungus gnats and how to get rid of them for good.

Overwintering Eggs

Arthropods like praying mantises, wheel bugs, and garden spiders survive the winter in the egg stage. Learn how to identify insects and spiders in your garden landscape.

Fall Invading Insects

It is September, which means all the outdoor insects will start coming inside or bothering us more when we enjoy the cooler weather in the evening. Fall invading insects are just another thing to deal with, but they can be managed. Photo above of Minute Pirate Bug is from Jody Green, Urban Entomologist, Extension Educator…

Carpenter Ants: When to Worry

Carpenter ants make their nests in dead and decaying wood, and sometimes that results to damage to structural wood. People often worry when they see a large black ant crawling in their landscape. Does this mean their house is at risk? Learn about nature’s carpenters and how to prevent carpenter ants from entering and infesting your home.

Rethinking Sweet Autumn Clematis

When we first think about invasive plants, we often conjure images of plants that are not pretty. I often think of the brambles that Maleficent casts around the castle in Sleeping Beauty. Sharp thorns, jagged edges, overall, a barren landscape. Invasive plants are not new. We know that some thistles, leafy spurge, and palmer amaranth…

Black Swallowtails – Caterpillars in the Herb Garden

If you have a flourishing herb garden, you’re bound to get pollinators and pests alike! Learn about the black swallowtail butterfly and why it needs a little bit (or a lot) of tolerance when it comes to sharing your dill, parsley, and fennel.

Old But New

Plant breeders have given us some spectacular wonders for our gardens over the years.  We now have beebalm and phlox that are more resistant to powdery mildew. Coneflowers now come in bright bolder colors with sturdier stems.  We even have different Joe-Pye-Weeds that are shorter, more compact and even some like Eupatorium altissimum ‘Prairie Jewel’…

White-lined Sphinx Moth

The white-lined sphinx moth is a large and beautiful daytime flying moth commonly spotted nectaring on flowers in Nebraska.

Indian Meal Moths and the Infestation that Never Ends

The Indian meal moth is a common household pest, infesting stored food products such as flour, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cereals, chocolate, bird seed, powered milk, pet food, and spices. They are found indoors all year round.