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 —...
View ArticleNews Flash! IPM Research — Rats, Fleas, and the Plague
Norway rats are your consummate “where you go, we go also” species, being as well adapted to urban living as we are. Meaning that the diseases we’ve blamed on them are most likely grounded in reality....
View ArticleFor IPM, Looking Back Means Looking Ahead
2015 marks our 30th anniversary here at NYS IPM. With age comes a new approach to our Year in Review — to our annual report. Yes, as always our focus is real science for real people. But “commodity...
View ArticleThe German Cockroach: America’s #1 Cockroach Pest
German cockroaches are one of the most common insect pests found in urban areas throughout the world, and are the number one cockroach pest species worldwide. They are well-adapted to human...
View ArticleTrees and Threes: Prune Now to Keep Trees Healthy
Our gratitude to Paul Hetzler for this lovely piece, adapted for “Think IPM.” Here in one place is most everything you need to know about pruning to keep your trees fit and trim. As far as trees are...
View ArticleIt’s tick season. Put away the matches.
It’s tick season and social media is blowing up with recommendations for removing ticks. Petroleum jelly, a hot match, twisting tools, and swirling with a cotton swab are a few on the list. They all...
View ArticleDandelions? Wasps? Mice? For Every Season There Is a Purpose (But It’s Not...
It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want — oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want … Continue...
View ArticlePavement Ants – A Groovy Pest
Pavement ants are one of the most common indoor ant pests in the northeastern United States. These small brown or brownish-black ants make their nests under building foundations, sidewalks, patios or...
View ArticleFor Wasps, Prevention Is Key — and the Time Is Now
Most of the wasps we’re too familiar with (and afraid of) are sociable with their own kind, building large nests in trees or underground. The problem is when they build nests under your eaves, picnic...
View ArticleEarly Detection – Rapid Response
I’m an urban entomologist with expertise in pest management, so you might think my house is free from pests. Not true. My recent adventure confirmed the importance of addressing an issue at the onset....
View ArticleFighting Waterbugs — with Water
Plumbing issues lead to pest problems — there’s little doubt about that. Leaks offer standing water to rodents, and clogged, scummy drains are breeding sites for flies. How curious that one of the most...
View ArticleWorld-class Golf Comes Home. Thank You, IPM
The Barclays PGA Tournament kicks off the FedEx Cup playoff in professional golf. This year it’s right here, right now — at Bethpage State Park on Long Island in downstate New York. The IPM (integrated...
View ArticleTick Talk, Tick Checks, Tick Folklore — and More to Come
I needed some quick advice on ticks. So I went to NYS IPM’s tick webpage and saw — oops. This page is due for a makeover. Now. Why? Conventional wisdom has it that a (so-called) deer tick needs to be …...
View ArticleTrees and Drought Make for Less Colorful Fall (and the IPM Connection)
Many thanks to Paul Hetzler, CCE St. Lawrence County, for permission to use this piece. It turns out that, in terms of fall foliage, the color of too dry is officially known as “blah.” This would...
View ArticleMove Over, Medusa: Pretty? Poisonous! in the Caterpillar Clan
Our gratitude to Paul Hetzler, CCE St. Lawrence County, for letting us use this post. The IPM connection? ID those fuzzy beasts before you add them to your “warm and fuzzy” petting zoo. When I was a...
View ArticleHow to Winterize Your Compost Pile
Let’s make compost. It’s an earthy topic. Does it matter? Oh, yes. Bagging up organic matter and setting it out for trash is a pity — the moment it’s dumped in the landfill, it turns quickly to...
View ArticleRat czar Robert (Bobby) Corrigan earns IPM award
For Robert Corrigan the moment was pivotal. Enchanted from childhood by the story of iconic oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Corrigan enrolled at the State University of New York at Farmingdale...
View ArticleHappy Cows, More Milk — Organic Dairy Guide en Español
Happy cows. More milk. Now let’s try it in Spanish: Vacas felices. Más leche. Pests can pack a wallop to a dairy farmer’s bottom line, costing between five and 20 percent of lost production. For every...
View ArticleEarth Day. It’s Every Day. Especially for Farmers.
For farmers everywhere, but perhaps most of all for organic farmers, every day has to be Earth Day. And since what matters for farmers matters for us all, every day is Earth Day for you, me, everyone....
View ArticleKeep 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...
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