Michael Baefsky is the owner of Trees, Bugs, Dirt a Landscape Consulting firm in Contra Costa County, California. He consults with & trains commercial, public agency and residential clients about trees, plant pests, plant diseases, weeds, and soil health care. 

Michael is a leading professional in his fields of expertise and currently holds the following certifications and licenses:

• • Certified Arborist (#WE0222A International Society of Arboriculture)
  • Registered Consulting Arborist (#456 American Society of Consulting Arborists)

• • Qualified Tree and Plant Appraiser (#456 American Society of Consulting Arborists)

• • Qualified Tree Risk Assessor (#WE0222A) International Society of Arboriculture)

• • Licensed Agricultural Pest Control Advisor (#074617 State of CA)

• • CA Qualified Applicator license (#99864 State of CA)

• • Licensed Landscape Contractor (#931410 State of CA) – Inactive

Michael Baefsky recently co-wrote Design Guidelines for Pests in the Landscape.  His collaboration with the City of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment consolidates decades of research and field work into an organized manual for architects and landscape design professionals.

Pest Prevention by Design- Guidelines for Landscapes is available, at no cost, in two forms:

Online tool: The online version allows access to all of the details, including downloadable attachments, references, and links to various product examples. Use this version to get the most complete and up-to-date information. Try clicking the “Filter” to refine your search of tactics [Latest update: 2/6/2020]

Downloadable manual (PDF, 93 pages): We also created a more readable PDF version that can be downloaded and printed. [Latest update: 2/14/2020]

Pest Prevention by Design-Guidelines for Structures is a related publication and available as a pdf.

Mr. Baefsky began working as an agricultural pest management researcher in Israel, assisting small farmers with their vertebrate pest problems. guided by University scientists. He then worked as a research assistant on whiteflies & carpenter bees, followed by a degree in pest management from UC Berkeley.   Since graduation he has  been actively involved in  providing workshops, trainings, classes and consulting on trees, bugs and dirt.

He is a former member of the Orinda Association’s Tree Committee, and of the Contra Costa County Tree Ordinance Committee, Contra Costa County’s IPM Committee, and Contra Costa County’s IPM Task Force, helping improve tree care and implement IPM in the main county where he lives and works.

For many years Mr. Baefsky contributed to the landscape community through teaching adults in vocational horticulture programs.  He taught Plant Pests & Diseases, Arboriculture, Soils Management, Integrated Pest Management, and Insect ID & Control at Diablo Valley College (Pleasant Hill) and Merritt College (Oakland CA).

As a public speaker and workshop facilitator. Baefsky inspires a sense of awe and wonder about the natural world.  Dating back to the 1970’s, his energetic and passionate involvement in outdoor education, hands-on interactive nature studies, and real-life problem solving have endeared him to audiences around the state.