“None of us is as smart as all of us.” –Ken Blanchard 2018 has been quite the year and we have been busy blogging, tweeting, videoing, and Facebooking about it. Here’s a recap of some of our more popular 2018 offerings: ThinkIPM – our catchall blog and a great way to keep a pulse on…Continue Reading 2018’s Best of NYS IPM
December’s wintery breath is already clouding the pond, frosting the pane, obscuring summer’s memory… ― John Geddes Winter had an early showing in New York this year. So when the temperature hit 50oF yesterday, I took the opportunity to spend some time outside. And, as I had warned people that follow me and NYS IPM…Continue Reading Tick IPM – The Dog Zone
You’ve all heard about them, right? Yeah, the little buggers sneak up on you, bite you, and—maybe—make you sick. Sometimes really sick. They’re not really bugs, of course, but tiny eight-legged critters remotely related to spiders but without the benefits spiders provide. (Note that adult females plump up like small grapes once they’ve satisfied their…Continue Reading Tick, Tack, Toe the Line: Lyme Disease and What to Do
Got ticks on your mind? Your questions. Our answers: How common are tick-borne diseases — and who is at risk? Lyme disease is the second most common infectious disease in the entire U.S. But over 96% of all cases come from only 14 states. Now that’s scary, because New York and the Northeast are at…Continue Reading Tick Trickery
Now for the science-y part of this post. (I suggest you re-read Part l. Can’t hurt. Might help.) If you’ve read our other posts on the blacklegged tick (aka the deer tick), you might guess—and rightly so—that it’s the tick that’s been on our radar the longest; the one we (still) give most of our…Continue Reading The New Tick in Town (Part ll.)
Last month we discussed ticks and the freezing weather. I predicted that “as soon as the temperatures rise into the mid-30s (and we know you will be out enjoying the veritable heat wave), ticks will be questing”. February 21, 2018 was an actual heat wave with temperatures reaching the mid-70s in parts of upstate NY….Continue Reading Ticks don’t care what month it is
Year in and out, outreach to schools has our community IPM staff going back to school. Literally. We work with maintenance staff, nurses, groundskeepers, teachers, and parents. We provide the insight and know-how it takes to keep kids safe from pests and pesticides both. But schools are tricky to manage because—well, think of them as…Continue Reading Pests and pupils don’t mix
These days if you live near anything green — a suburban development, however humble or high-class; a neighborhood park where shrubs and meadow flowers grow — best you’d read up on ticks, be they black-legged ticks (aka deer ticks) or lone-star ticks (so named for the silvery white dot on the female’s back). While you’re…Continue Reading Steer Clear of Ticks and the Diseases They Carry — the IPM Way
By now, you’ve heard of Lyme disease. If you’re reading this in the Northeast, chances are you’ve had Lyme disease or know someone that does. And perhaps you know that Lyme disease is a topic entrenched in scientific and political controversy in terms of accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and access to insurance. Putting these larger…Continue Reading Lyme Disease by the Numbers
Remember the days when we could play with our tykes in tall grass near a wooded hedgerow? When we could wander at will through open meadows, picking wildflowers? When we could have impromptu picnics in the shade of tall oaks and basswoods deep in wild violets and leaf litter where a park blended into a…Continue Reading Tick Trickery and Lyme Disease: the Great Imitator? Sometimes.