“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese proverb

When it comes to integrated pest management, we talk, a lot, about prevention. Keeping mice and brown marmorated stink bugs out is preferable to dealing with them once they’re in your house. So remember those fall intruders and take advantage of the improving weather to prevent next fall’s invasion. At the same time, you’ll get ahead of the summer ants, flies, and mosquitoes that take advantage of small openings around windows and doors.

What’s Bugging You First Friday Events

Need some help? Last year, NYSIPM missed the opportunities for in-person education and started the virtual What’s Bugging You First Friday events. These 1/2 hour live events provide timely topics in short, engaging, and practical presentations that focus on actionable items. If you haven’t been joining us live, you haven’t missed out (except for missing the opportunity to ask a live question) as the recordings are available on our YouTube channel.

Speaking of timely, here’s last April’s presentation on springtime ants.

Wrapping up each First Friday event is an IPM Minute that provides very specific, actionable steps people can take relative to a pest or situation. In the above presentation, the IPM Minute covered protecting yourself from spring ticks.

What other opportunities did you miss? It’s not too late! Here are some other seasonally timely presentations you should check out:

• Spotted lanternfly: a new invasive pest
• Spring cleaning – in the garden
• Recognizing and avoiding woodpecker damage on your home
• Sanitation when starting garden seeds at home
• A better lawn without pesticides
• Avoiding the sting: inspections to locate and remove wasp nests
• Scouting for spotted lanternfly egg masses
• Keeping pests out of your home this fall, from stink bugs to mice (Okay, this is for fall, but the same tips will keep out spring and summer pests too!)

The best time to deal with a pest is before it shows up. The second best time is now. You haven’t lost the opportunity to prevent future problems. Use our existing resources, especially the updated What’s Bugging You? section of our website to learn how.