Pests of Landscape Trees and Shrubs: An Integrated Pest Management Guide

Clear, concise and accessible, this guide to pest management is likely to become a valued resource for homeowners, and should be considered a required text for landscape managers and their crews. Unlike some other books in the field, which survey pests and the poisons that are designed to kill them, entomologists and plant pathologists at UC Berkeley have collaborated with Dreistadt and Clark to produce a complete and sensible approach to controlling pests through choice of plant types; planting practices; early identification of problems; adopting mechanical, physical and biological combatant measures; and, as a last resort, chemical antidotes. The details of pests' life cycles are revealed--and even interesting. Tables in the back of the book help identify plant varieties, symptoms and more. Although the book focuses on trees and shrubs in California landscapes, the information is sound and broad enough to be of help in other climates, too. Photos not seen by PW. (July)