Fall/Winter Yard Material Pile Collection Season is Coming!

Fall/winter on-street yard material pick-up will begin the week of October 20 and will continue every other week for 10 pick-ups through the end of February. Here are some reminders to be sure that collection runs as efficiently as possible!

• Always fill the organics cart first. On-street yard material collection is intended for excess leaves and prunings from trees and bushes that cannot fit into the organics cart. Placing yard trimmings in the organics cart rather than in piles keeps our streets cleaner, frees up space for parking and allows for more efficient collection.
• Place your piles out at the right time. Yard material piles cannot be set in the street more than seven days before collection. Check the yard material pile collection schedule and place piles on the street as close to collection day as possible.
• Check your pile size before pick-up. The Claw cannot pick-up piles that are larger than 5 feet in any direction. If your pile is too big, break it into smaller piles, but the piles need to be separated so the Claw can pick each one up seperately. Make sure that branches are not larger than 8" in diameter and cut long branches into sections 5 feet long or shorter so that they can be collected with the rest of the pile.
• Keep piles out of bike lanes. Be aware that yard material piles can create serious hazards for cyclists; yard material piles may not be placed in any portion of a bike lane.
• Sign-up to receive collection day alerts. The City has a notification system available for customers to receive email alerts when their collection day is approaching. To sign up to receive these notifications, go to the Yard Material Collection page and scroll down to just above the collection calendar to enter your address, which will generate your pick-up day. Then, select the notification button for your pick-up day to sign up and receive the notifications.

Outdoor Cleaning and Stormwater Protection

Did you know that anything that goes into the street, down the gutters and into the storm drain ends up in our local wetlands and waterways? Washing off sidewalks, driveways and other hardscape surfaces can not only can cause pollution; it’s also prohibited under the City’s current water-use restrictions (unless necessary for health or safety).

Please help protect our waterways by making sure that dirty water and cleaning solutions do not end up in parking lots, sidewalks, gutters or other places where they will make their way into wetlands and waterways. When cleaning outdoor surfaces, use a broom, vacuum or other method to clean without using water.

More information on cleaning and stormwater protection.

Keep Your Pumpkin Happy—Compost It!

Keep your pumpkin happy after Halloween and place it in your organics cart for composting! Just be sure to remove the candle first. To avoid a sticky mess in your organics cart, place some cardboard, leaves or other yard trimmings in the cart before adding your pumpkin.

Pumpkins should never be placed in on-street yard material piles. They can make a goopy mess on the street and encourage rodents and other pests to hang out around your property. This is not quite the Halloween horror you’d want for your front yard decorations!

If you want to compost your pumpkin at home, check out our composting webpage for tips and tricks to compost pumpkins and other food scraps without inviting pests to your yard.

Halloween and Candy Wrappers 

We often find a lot of candy wrappers on the ground along streets, sidewalks and greenbelts after Halloween. When out trick-or-treating, make sure you don’t drop candy wrappers on the ground.

Candy wrappers and other plastic litter can be washed or blown into the street and down a storm drain where they will end up in local wetlands and waterways, polluting the water and becoming hazardous to animals living there who might eat them by mistake.

If you’re out trick-or-treating or eating candy on the go, place wrappers in your pocket or bag until you can find a trash can (candy wrappers are not recyclable). 

Invasive Mosquitoes Detected in the Area

Invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have recently been detected in the City of Davis. Unlike many other mosquitoes, this species is most active in the fall and poses a serious health concern because it can transmit diseases, such as Zika, dengue and chikungunya. What makes Aedes aegypti especially challenging is that they thrive in small backyard water sources and can even breed in as little as a teaspoon of water.

These mosquitoes are “container breeders,” laying eggs on the sides of buckets, plant saucers, bird baths, pet bowls and other small water sources around homes. Their eggs can survive for months, making them difficult to control. To reduce their spread, residents are urged to:

• Dump and scrub water-holding containers weekly.
• Cover buckets, bins, and tubs with tight-fitting lids.
• Empty and refill bird baths, fountains and pet water dishes every three days.
• Keep rain gutters clear and redirect sprinklers away from containers.

The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District encourages residents to inspect their yards regularly and do their part to eliminate mosquito breeding. Free home service inspections are available for outdoor areas to help identify any issues. To schedule an inspection or to sign up for email notifications from the Vector Control District, visit www.FIGHTtheBITE.net. Together, we can help protect our community from invasive mosquitoes! 

Irrigation and Weather Changes

With shorter days and cooler temperatures, landscapes need less water in the fall and winter months. Consider reducing your irrigation by one day a week and/or by a couple of minutes each time it runs. Remember to water with the weather; turn your irrigation system off when it rains and keep it off for 48 hours after a rain event.

Have you signed up for AquaHawk? This online water-use portal gives customers access to view hourly water use and the ability to set and receive usage alerts. By checking for continuous water use in AquaHawk, you can find and detect potential water leaks immediately rather than waiting for a large water bill.



Learn more at SaveDavisWater.org

Pest or Partner: Mosquitoes

Flying around in an attempt to quench their endless thirst for blood, mosquitoes can sneak up and bite our necks, arms and ankles in a blink of an eye. They are definitely a pest and not a partner in our homes and gardens. Mosquitoes begin their lifecycles in standing/stagnant water (planters, tree holes, out-of-services pools, etc.), consuming algae, bacteria and fungi floating in the water. After a few growth spurts (instar larvae stages), the larvae pupate and emerge from the water covered in tiny scales with a razor-sharp, needle-like straw (proboscis), ready to feed.

A mosquito's first meal is primary sugar from nearby vegetation and only female mosquitoes require a blood meal for the next generation of thirsty blood suckers to develop. Managing water sources and vegetation around your garden can reduce mosquito breeding and resting sites. Some species of mosquitoes are capable of transmitting disease. When mosquitoes are present, wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved clothes, pants and/or EPA registered repellents to protect yourself from mosquito bites. 

In the Garden: October Tips

• Fall is a great time to plant with shorter days and cooler temperatures leading to less stress on new plants.  
• Add mulch around your plants to increase soil water retention, to keep soil and plant roots cool and to reduce weeds.
• Pick-up fruit that has fallen to the ground to avoid attracting pests and other animals to your yard. Fallen fruit can become a breeding ground for pest species like moth larvae  and the carpophilus beetle.
• Over the fall and winter, try in-ground composting: burying food scraps 6 to 8 inches under the soil. This is a great way to add organic matter to the soil in areas where you haven’t planted yet and prepare your veggie garden beds for planting. Learn more about in-ground composting.

Free Shred Event

Recology is hosting a free shred event on October 18 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (or until the shredding trucks full up!) Stop by and drop off papers and confidential documents that you’d like shredded and recycled. This is for Davis residential customers only with a limit four 11″ x 14″ file boxes. For more information, please contact Recology Davis at 530-756-4646 or RecologyDavis@Recology.com or visit Recology Davis’ website.