It’s a really challenging time, with all of us in self-isolation.. Parents are working from home and kids are out of school. Are you struggling to find something fun and interesting for your kids to do while you work? Well – never fear! We are here to help with our Top six pests – Activity Book!

While we’re all at home, it’s a great time for us to slow down and learn more about nature. Kids can learn so much about the plants and animals in our backyards, by  just going outside and observing. Send them on nature scavenger hunts. Lend them a phone or a camera and get them to photograph things they see. Even better, get them to draw or paint or write about what they see in a scrapbook. Get them excited about becoming citizen scientists. Teach them how they can find more information about the creatures they’ve found by accessing online information from libraries and science organisations.

At the Urban Plant Health Network, we’ve put together a downloadable kids’ activity book about six particularly “bad bugs” that we don’t want in our Australian gardens. They are:

• Brown marmorated stink bug
• Red imported fire ant
• Glassy-winged sharpshooter
• Asian citrus psyllid
• Spotted wing drosophila
• Asian honey bee

The Activity Book has information about who they are, where they’re from and why they’re so bad; along with some fun activities.

So if you’re looking for something for your kids today, download a copy and send them outside looking out for these bugs.

If they do happen to find one, get them to upload a photo to the MyPestGuide Reporter app or website, making sure you choose “My Pest Guide” in the “Send report to:” field. Or send us a photo through our Facebook page @urbanplanthlth, or here on our “Ask the Team” page.

We need as many pest warriors as we can get looking out for these bad guys in our backyards!