Thank you to Mary Centrella, PhD, Director & Educator of the Pesticide Safety Education Program, for this guest post. The purpose of National Pesticide Safety Education Month is to reinforce core principles of safe pesticide use with many audiences and raise awareness of and support for the land-grant university Pesticide Safety Education Programs (PSEPs). To…Continue Reading 5th Annual National Pesticide Safety Education Month
Permethrin treated clothing – watch your timing
“One can never have enough socks.” ― Albus Dumbledore For Christmas, I gifted my step-family… socks. To be honest, I was a bit surprised by the delight with which the 8 and 10-year-old boys received them. (I didn’t get excited by socks until I was college-aged.) And, in my defense, they were good hiking socks….Continue Reading Permethrin treated clothing – watch your timing
Permethrin Treated Clothing? Do it the right way.
“Frugality, I’ve learned, has its own cost, one that sometimes lasts forever.” – Nicholas Sparks Some pesticides containing permethrin can be applied to clothing, footwear and gear to protect against mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects. Recent research confirmed that permethrin interferes with blacklegged, American dog, lone star and Asian longhorned ticks’ ability to move…Continue Reading Permethrin Treated Clothing? Do it the right way.
Don’t Make Your Own Tick Tubes
“Frugality, I’ve learned, has its own cost, one that sometimes lasts forever.” – Nicholas Sparks Commercially available “tick tubes” are tubes filled with permethrin-infused cotton. Mice take the cotton to line their nests and are treated for ticks every time they return home. It’s estimated that a typical ¼ acre yard needs six tubes twice…Continue Reading Don’t Make Your Own Tick Tubes
Bugs in your bed? IPM solution at your fingertips
Bed bugs are a longtime pest all over the world. Lord knows we here in the states have labored under their curse for upward of four centuries now. The respite we got from DDT was short-lived in evolutionary time, since it takes little for a pest of any sort to become resistant to whatever pesticide…Continue Reading Bugs in your bed? IPM solution at your fingertips
35,500 western bean cutworms later, it’s a record year for IPM in corn
Got a sweet tooth for sweetcorn? You’re in good company. So should you hear rumors on the wind about wormy sweetcorn — or field corn or dry beans (the kind you put in your soup kettle) and you’re curious about what’s behind them, here’s the scoop: The western bean cutworm (just call it “WBC”), a…Continue Reading 35,500 western bean cutworms later, it’s a record year for IPM in corn
It’s Pollinator Week. Read All About It.
When we think about bees, we mostly think about honeybees … a European native brought here by the very first colonists. Now honeybees are struggling, hammered by a constellation of 20-plus diseases and parasites — not to mention a range of insecticides and fungicides. About 450 species of wild bees also populate our fields and…Continue Reading It’s Pollinator Week. Read All About It.
Keep Off the Grass? IPM for Anyone With a Lawnmower
Now that spring has arrived and you’ve dusted off the lawn mower … PUBLISHED ON MAY 3RD, 2017, CANTON, N.Y. | Courtesy Paul Hetzler, CCE St. Lawrence County As a kid of about five, I became suspicious of lawns. In a rare moment of TV viewing, I had seen a public-service ad wherein a bundle…Continue Reading Keep Off the Grass? IPM for Anyone With a Lawnmower
Stop Pests in Housing IPM Conference — Bed Bugs, Cockroaches and Mice, Oh My
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin Do you work with public housing? Inevitably, pest issues come up. Knowing how to prevent problems and what to do when an issue arises can help save time and money while reducing human health risks. The May 31st “Stop Pests in Housing Conference” at…Continue Reading Stop Pests in Housing IPM Conference — Bed Bugs, Cockroaches and Mice, Oh My
Best Bets for Bees
Make your yard ‘bee-friendly’! It’s everywhere in the news these days. So how can you keep your garden a haven for pollinators of all types? 1. Keep it blooming – all season long Have lots of different blooming plants – annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, even weeds (ahem — wildflowers) for ample pollen and nectar for…Continue Reading Best Bets for Bees