EPA Webinar: Excluding Pests from Schools – September 22

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We’re proud to pass along this announcement from the EPA regarding their upcoming webinar.

Excluding Pests from Schools

photo looking up towards the top of the side of a beige building composed of windows against a blue sky. Blinds are visiible in the window on the bottom right of the photo.

Wherever children go, pests follow – even back to school. Pests know where the goodies can be found and they strive to find a way into the building – under doors, through cracks in masonry, in gaps around pipes and wires – they find a way. Pest issues are universal – from rural to urban schools and all types of neighborhoods in-between. The best way to defeat them in their quest to inhabit your schools is to exclude them from entering the school buildings in the first place. NYSIPM’s Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann and Matt Frye will help you to identify the most likely places of entry in your buildings and the surest way to seal them out.

Attend this free webinar to learn where pests are entering schools and how to keep them out.

Sept. 22 | 2-3:30 p.m. EDT | Followed by a 30-minute Q&A

Register Now

Learning Objectives

  • Learn which pests are of concern in schools and how they are entering.
  • Learn how to exclude common ground-level pests, such as rodents and crawling arthropods, and effective integrated pest management strategies to reduce these pests.
  • Learn how to exclude common flying pests such as bats, flies and stinging insects, and the role of monitoring and trapping.

Presenters

NYS IPM Program’s own:

Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, Ph.D. Community IPM Coordinator

Matthew Frye, Ph.D. Community IPM Extension Area Educator

 

 

 

 

 

EPA’s Upcoming IPM 2022-2023 Webinar Series

New season, new topics. Review the types of IPM issues we will cover over the next year in our 2022-2023 webinar series. Mark your calendars now.

 

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The NYS School Environmental Health Conference

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“Unity is strength. . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” –Mattie Stepanek

What: The NYS School Environmental Health Conference is a free learning & networking opportunity for school personnel & related professionals interested in school environmental health

When: October 25, 2022, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm

Where: The Empire State Plaza Convention Center, 279 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY  12242

How: Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nys-school-environmental-health-conference-2022-tickets-338999204747

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CCE PMEP’s Outreach Arm Launches a New Name and Website

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We’re happy to help spread the word both about the Pesticide Management Education Program and their name change. Thank you to Mary Centrella, PhD, Director & Educator of the Pesticide Safety Education Program, for providing the text.

photo of Mary Centrella

Dr. Mary Centrella, PSEP Director

The outreach arm of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP) has always operated under the name of the overall program. However, because PMEP also includes the Pesticide Sales and Use Reporting (PSUR) group, we are adopting the name Cornell Cooperative Extension Pesticide Safety Education Program (CCE-PSEP) for our outreach arm to better reflect its mission. PMEP will continue to exist as an umbrella term for both PSUR and CCE-PSEP.

image of the landing page of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Pesticide Safety Education Program

Click on the image to visit the new PSEP website.

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Dealing with Woodchuck Concerns

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“My enemies are worms, cool days, and most of all woodchucks.” – Henry David Thoreau

photo of Paul Curtis

Dr. Paul Curtis

Thank you to guest blogger Paul D. Curtis, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, Cornell University.

 

Woodchucks (Marmota monax) are large members of the squirrel family and are closely related to other species of marmots in North America. They usually are grizzled grayish brown from head to toe. Their compact, chunky body is supported by short strong legs. The forefeet have long, curved claws that are well adapted for digging burrows.

photo of brown, chunky mammal with short, rounded ears and a thick neck with one paw pulling a plant towards its open mouth

Woodchuck, aka Marmota monax, groundhog, whistle pig, and land beaver. Photo: mass.gov

Like other rodents, woodchucks have chisel‐like incisor teeth. Their eyes, ears, and nose are located toward the top of the head, allowing the animal to remain concealed in its burrow while checking for danger over the rim of the burrow opening.

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4 red and black insects on a brick wall

For some pests, your school is their winter getaway

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smiling women dressed for autumn in front of a outdoor fall scene

Joellen Lampman, School & Turfgrass IPM Extension Support Specialist

I recently presented at the New York State School Facilities Association Conference & Expo and was asked multiple times, “What can I do about boxelder bugs?”. That provided the opportunity to talk about them and other fall invaders. The good news is that most fall invaders are just looking for a warm place to wait out the cold winter. The bad news is that usually we have had our first frost by now, and the lack of frost is  extending the period of time that intruders are attempting to break into our buildings. But there are still steps we can take to prevent more from coming in.

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