About half the houses in my neighborhood are empty. Well, it’s actually more like 20%, but it seems like half. So what could make owning a home in Yucca Valley even less appealing?

A zombie apocalypse? No, that’s so 2010.

Roving packs of bloodthirsty hyenas? Nah!

I know! How about a nice dose of Xylella fastidiosa? That’s the ticket!

You start with oleander shrubbery that looks like this:

Then you give them the infection. That will give you bushes that look like this:

Now repeat about 30 or 40 times, all around your backyard: