Spring starts early for insect pests of conifers. Which means the message for landscapers and Christmas tree growers is: know when your pests are active and get scouting. Because it could be now. For balsam twig aphid, white pine weevil and spruce spider mites, early treatment is important. It all has to do with their biology…Continue Reading Goodbye Snow, Hello Scouting
Tick Checks and More — Stay Healthy and Happy While You’re Outside
Gardening. Hiking. Camping. The delights of spring after a tough winter. But spring also brings … deer ticks and the threat of Lyme disease. Not every tick carries the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. But enough do to make proper clothing and even repellents an essential part of your daily outdoor routine — and careful…Continue Reading Tick Checks and More — Stay Healthy and Happy While You’re Outside
Athletic-Field Disaster — It’s All About Prevention
We’ve all heard it: “Lack of planning on your part doesn’t constitute an emergency on my part.” But — but — sometimes it creates an incredible mess. Two basic steps in Integrated Pest Management — planning and communication —avoid a number of problems. Recently an upstate NY school rented its space to an outside agency…Continue Reading Athletic-Field Disaster — It’s All About Prevention
Go wild for wild bees!
Join the Northeast Pollinator Partnership! A lesson scientists can learn from citizens, especially apple growers, is which native bees are pollinating their apple blossoms and where. Apple flowers need pollen from another flower in order to be fertilized (don’t blush!). Indeed often the pollen has to come from another apple tree of a different variety….Continue Reading Go wild for wild bees!
Feelin’ the burn
It’s warming up, so maybe we really have weathered the storms. But hey, why is my evergreen turning brown now? Perhaps because of winter burn or winter injury. There are 2 ways this can happen. During cold and windy winters, trees lose more moisture from their needles than normal. And, there’s no way for the…Continue Reading Feelin’ the burn
Order Greenhouse Test Kits Now and …
… don’t be caught with your plants down. Greenhouse virus diseases often have symptoms so subtle at first that early detection can be difficult. But using test kits can help. The kits could be especially important this year because Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) is increasingly prevalent. This disease has the potential to spread to most…Continue Reading Order Greenhouse Test Kits Now and …
Mice in Your School? Who’s Job Is It, Anyway?
School kitchens, cafeterias, and food storage areas provide great habitat for mice. And it takes real dedication and attention to detail to deep-clean those hard to reach places. But here’s why you’ve got to: Mouse droppings, urine, and even the greasy sebum trail — grease marks from protective oils on rodent fur —aren’t just health…Continue Reading Mice in Your School? Who’s Job Is It, Anyway?