Autumn is a good time to prepare your lawn for the year ahead, and the best time to tackle any long-term improvements. Tasks such as raking out lawn debris, eradicating moss, feeding, and aerating will improve the quality of your lawn greatly if carried out on a yearly basis.

Over the years, grass clippings and debris form a "thatch" on the surface of your lawn. This affects growth of the grass and should be removed with a lawn rake. Raking also removes moss.

If grass growth is poor, aerate the lawn. You can do this using a hand core aerator of renting one from you favorite rental yard.  We do not recommend the spike type of aerators as they ultimately only compact the soil more. After aeration, apply Cal-CM brand of gypsite to improve drainage and reduce alkali. Reseed as necessary particularly for tall fescue lawns.  Next apply a liberal amount of compost (2 yards per 1000 square feet would not be overdoing it). Add some Gro-Power or Soil Life Humate Soil Conditioner along with a bit of commercial fertilizer such as Best Turf Supreme.  Now keep moist and stand back.  Be prepared for the lushest greenest lawn on your block.  A bet of effort now will make a great looking yard for the rest of the year.

Voles are small, mouse-like rodents that are commonly called meadow or field mice, but with shorter tails, a stocky build and small eyes that distinguish them from true mice. Moles are slightly larger with longer tails. Both can inhabit garden areas but prefer a subterranean life in the soil.

Moles are usually harmless except for annoying tunnels that can create air pockets around some plants, which can lead them to dry out faster. Moles feed on insects, grubs and earthworms and rarely consume plant materials.

The difference between them is that voles can wreak havoc in the home landscape, attacking young plants in early spring when they are emerging from the soil. Voles clip off the young plants and dig up the seeds; they can also consume flower bulbs and vegetable crops, leaving significant damage. Vole damage can be costliest during the winter when a shortage of preferable foods forces them to eat the inner green bark layer of trees and shrubs. The gnawing required to reach this layer can severely damage or kill many young trees, shrubs and landscape plantings.

Voles can also scar lawns by constructing runways and clipping grass very close to the roots. Though the damage done is not usually permanent, it may detract from the appearance of a well-kept garden, just as mole tunnels may. Voles also tunnel below ground and feed on the roots of trees and shrubs.

Voles have been known to travel via tunnels developed by moles to gain access to flower bulbs and other plant roots. Damage of this type is often mistakenly blamed on moles. Voles don't always cause significant property damage--but it only takes a few voles to damage a highly valued tree or flower bed and to warrant control.

There are a number of approaches one can use against both voles and moles that are both preventative and controlling. If early in the season, consider using a repellant, such as Bonide Mole & Gopher Repellant. Existing animals can be controlled by trapping or using toxic baits.

Simple mouse traps set together within the runway, with the triggers facing away from each other, can be very effective and no bait is needed. The use of a bait containing zinc phosphide can also be very effective, especially during the fall and spring seasons. For moles, we also recommend using a grub control product, such as Bayer Advanced Grub Control, to remove one of the mole's major food attractions.

The citrus leaf miner is a new insect pest that has started showing up in Southern California. The larvae are laid by tiny, minute, silvery white moths that tunnel within the leaves, leaving snaking trails of dead tissue behind. Other symptoms of infestation include curling of leaves and, in severe cases, even succulent young branches of green shoots may be attacked.

Although leaf miners don't usually demolish an entire plant, they can cause quite a bit of unsightly damage. This makes it important to start controlling this pest at the first signs of attack and following up with repeat applications to break the life cycle of this insect pest.

Citrus leaf miners tunnel between the upper and lower surfaces of leaves to lay eggs. The clear waxy trail they leave behind is unmistakable--and permanent. Once they eat a path between leaf surfaces, they drop off the leaf to pupate in the soil beneath. Then the whole process starts over again, yielding several generations of leaf miners over the course of a summer.

Controlling leaf miners is difficult, even with chemicals, because they are protected by the upper and lower leaf surfaces. We recommend treating your infected plants with an insecticide containing Spinosad, such as Green Light Lawn & Garden Spray w/ Spinosad . Another effective control is to remove (and destroy) affected leaves.