February 2026 Greener Davis Environmental News

Going with the Flow: Stormwater and Pesticides

Pesticides are toxic chemicals that are intended to kill pests, such as unwanted insects and plants. However, if these chemicals end up in our waterways, they can harm the aquatic plants and animals.

Follow these tips to help keep pesticides out of our streams and rivers:

• Consider less-toxic alternatives first. Visit Our Water, Our World to learn more about safer ways to control pests.
• Always read product labels and follow the instructions when applying chemicals.
• Choose ready-to-use products instead of concentrates to reduce the risk of spills and chemical exposure.
• If you do spill a pesticide, clean it up immediately by using something absorbent to soak up the chemical, like cat litter, sawdust or paper towels. Dispose of the absorbent material at the Yolo County household hazardous waste facility. Never wash a spilled pesticide into the street or a storm drain!
• Prevent contaminated water from entering local waterbodies by avoiding watering plants soon after pesticide application and by following these irrigation tips.

Pyrethroids are man-made chemicals found in many pesticide products because they’re good at eliminating pests. However, these chemicals can become a problem in wetlands and waterways because they don’t break down in the environment easily and can continue to harm aquatic plants and animals long after the pesticide is applied. Pyrethroid active ingredient names almost always end in "thrin." Be sure to read the labels of pesticide products and avoid products with the following active ingredients, if possible: Permethrin, Bifenthrin, Cyfluthrin, Beta-cyfluthrin, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Lambda-cyhalothrin, Tralomethrin, Esfenvalerate (an exception to the "thrin" rule!).

On-Street Yard Material Pile Collection Season Ending Soon

Recology Davis collects piles of yard trimmings in the street at certain times of the year. This collection service is intended for large yard materials, such as pruned tree limbs and excess leaves that cannot fit into the organics cart.

The last fall/winter on-street collection will occur the week of February 23. After collection ends that week, piles will not be allowed on the street until one week before the spring collection that starts on May 4. More information about the on-street collection of yard materials.

Although the on-street collection season is drawing to a close, yard materials are still collected every week in your organics cart(s). Roll your organics cart around the yard as you do your pruning, weed pulling and raking to fill it up. Cut yard materials into smaller sizes as needed to maximize space in your cart.

Your organics cart is also intended for fruit and veggie peelings, spoiled food, bones, paper plates, paper to-go cups, paper take-out food packaging, used paper towels and more! All the material placed in the cart is brought to the composting facility at the Yolo Landfill, turned into nutrient-rich compost and sold to local farmers. The county also offers free compost to anyone who lives in Yolo county from March to October.

More information about organics cart collection.

Is Your Toilet Running? Catch that Leak!

Did you know that the most common type of indoor water leak is a silent toilet flapper leak? Toilet flappers (the valve seal in the toilet tank) can become old and worn-out. When this happens, water can seep through from the toilet tank into the toilet bowl.

Check for toilet flapper leaks: Put two or three drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. Don't flush the toilet for 15 minutes, then check to see if the coloring has seeped into the bowl. If there is coloring in the toilet bowl, you have a flapper valve leak. Replacement flappers can be purchased at hardware stores. You can bring the flapper with you for comparison or take a picture of the flapper to make sure that the new flapper will fit your toilet model.

Other common indoor leaks include dripping faucets and showerheads, hot water leaks (water heater failures or pipe damage) and water softeners continuously running. Since irrigation should be turned off this time of year, now is a great time to check for unusual water use in AquaHawk, the City’s online customer water-use portal. Log-in (or sign-up) to view your daily and hourly water usage. If you see water being used every hour of the day and night, this could indicate that you have a water leak on the property.

More leak detection tips

Learn more about AquaHawk

Pest or Partner: Snails and Slugs

Slugs and snails are common pests in communal plots and backyard gardens. These slimly mollusks feed on young seedlings, vegetables and soft fruits, wreaking havoc on your anticipated harvest. Aside from the protective shell that snails carry around, snails and slugs are very similar.

Mostly active at night and on damp, cloudy days, slugs and snails will generally seek out places to hide during sunny daylight hours to avoid drying out. Evidence of a silvery slime trail and excrement near plant damage is the easiest way to identify these garden pests.

Some ways to combat slugs and snails include:

• Creating unfavorable environments with slug and snail resistant vegetation, such as plants with stiff or highly scented foliage, woody plants or ornamental grasses.
• Create physical barriers at the base of the plants with materials like copper foil, wool pellets, diatomaceous earth, wheat or corn bran and even beer traps (the yeast and sugar in the beer attract the snails and slugs).
• Reduce landscape irrigation to help dry out eggs and adults hiding in the soil during sunny days. 
• After nightfall, equip yourself with a flashlight and a pail of soapy water and let the mollusk hunt begin. Fill your pail with the snails and slugs that dare to emerge.
• Encourage or protect birds, amphibians and beneficial insects around your garden as they are known to prey on both slugs and snails. Chickens and ducks can be a garden mollusk's worst nightmare. No one gets in between a chicken and this juicy snack!
• If pest levels are beyond the above methods of control, treating with nematodes or iron phosphate may be necessary to reduce the number of slugs to manageable levels.

For more information about managing slugs & snails visit UCANR IPM or UCSF IPM.

California Carryout Bag Law Changes

You may have noticed a change at the check-out counter of the grocery store last month. That’s because a new Statewide carryout bag law went into effect January 1 that eliminated those thick plastic grocery bags. Moving forward, grocery and convenience stores may only use recycled paper carryout bags. Of course, you can always bring your own bag with you, and that’s always the best environmental choice. Reuse is better than recycling!

The new State law does not affect Davis' own ordinance restricting the use of single-use plastic carryout bags at all retail stores and restaurants.

More information on state and local carryout bag laws