Biological Control Outreach Materials

We have developed a set of materials to help UC Master Gardeners educate other Master Gardeners and their local communities about biological control. Most of these materials were demonstrated at the Advanced Training for Master Gardener workshops in summer 2012. The materials include a PowerPoint presentation, handouts, a poster, and tips for presenting your own biological control class.

Getting started

1. Do some preparation

   • Read the Pest Note Biological Control and Natural Enemies and all the other handouts (below) and be sure you understand the information.
   • We also recommend that you purchase or borrow a copy of the Natural Enemies Handbook and bring it to your class.
   • Also review all the natural enemies in the Natural Enemies Gallery. Sort the gallery list by pest attacked to help teach yourself what pests each natural enemy attacks.

2. PowerPoint presentation

   • The Biological Control PowerPoint presentation includes a script. To help prepare your presentation, watch a narrated version of the presentation, which runs about 24 minutes and covers the entire script.
   • Practice your presentation before presenting it.
   • Time yourself—it will probably take at least 30 minutes.

3. Natural Enemies poster

   • UC IPM will supply copies of the Natural Enemies poster for UC Master Gardener programs presenting biological control workshops. However, you must submit a short proposal explaining how you are going to use them.
   • Laminate a display copy of the poster to increase its durability for your classes.

4. Samples of natural enemies

   • You will greatly enhance your presentation by bringing some samples of natural enemies.
   • You probably won't be able to put together as extensive a collection as was displayed at the Advanced Training program, but even a few samples will be very valuable in grabbing the interest of your audience.
   • See Tips for Presenting Your Own Biological Control Class (PDF) for information on how to find natural enemies for your class and other tips.

Primary handouts

View these documents online or download a PDF file. Your UC Master Gardener office should have paper copies of the Quick Tips. If not, ask your coordinator or office staff to order them from us.

• PowerPoint presentation handout (2.8 MB PDF)
• Pest Note: Biological Control and Natural Enemies (DOWNLOAD PDF)
• Five Quick Tip cards related to biological control (view or download below).
  • IPM & Beneficial Insects (DOWNLOAD PDF)
  • Beneficial Predators (DOWNLOAD PDF)
  • Common Garden Spiders (DOWNLOAD PDF)
  • Parasites of Insect Pests (DOWNLOAD PDF)
  • Less Toxic Insecticides (DOWNLOAD PDF)
• Poster: Meet the Beneficials: Natural Enemies of Garden Pests (DOWNLOAD 2 MB PDF) You can download the poster and print additional copies at sizes up to 19 x 25 inches for use in your educational programs. Also see note below about getting printed copies for your educational event.

Additional resources

• Lady Beetle Releases for Aphid Control: How to Help Them Work (PDF)
• The Natural Enemies Gallery
• Natural Enemies Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Biological Control
• List of Natural Enemies on display at the July 24, 2012 Advanced IPM Training at UC Davis (PDF)
• Template for a quiz (DOC)

Using the PowerPoint presentation

• The PowerPoint presentation has a suggested script built into each slide. View the Notes Page to see it.
• To prepare yourself to give the presentation, we suggest you view the narrated version of the PowerPoint on the UC IPM web site.
• You may modify the script to make it more appropriate for your audience. It may be too technical or too long for some audiences.
• The script also includes captions for the photographs in each slide and in many cases resources for more information.
• If the slide presentation is too long, you may eliminate some slides.

To access and download the PowerPoint:

1. Log on to the ANR Portal (login and password protected).
2. Under the list My Links on the left-hand side, click on Repository.
3. In the Search Repository box at the top right-hand side of the Repository page, type in the title:
        UCIPMforMGs_BiologicalControl

Requesting copies of the Natural Enemies poster

Each UCCE County Director should have several of the Natural Enemies posters for use throughout county programs, including Master Gardener programs. We hope the poster and other materials will stimulate Master Gardeners to do more to educate the public about beneficial insects.

If your Master Gardener program could use additional posters for a special education or outreach program related to biological control, we may be able to provide them. Please submit a proposal for how you plan to use them.