“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…Continue Reading What’s Bugging You? – Missed Opportunities
What’s Bugging You? – Mice
“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” ― Willie Nelson On a recent call with my mother, I learned she’d found holes in bags of rice, and so she’d put out traps. She expressed her hope that after catching four mice, she’d dealt with all of them. “Well, probably…Continue Reading What’s Bugging You? – Mice
What’s Bugging You? – Birdseed Pests
Birds spark a deep wonder and endless fascination. They help us understand the living world and our connections to it. – Ian Owens, Executive Director, Cornell Lab of Ornithology February in New York can be a dull prospect. Sure, a fresh blanket of snow can transform the landscape, but shades of brown take over again…Continue Reading What’s Bugging You? – Birdseed Pests
New Resources from our friends at STOP PESTS.ORG
Understanding pest biology (the why and how they do things) is key to reducing pest problems. Pest management can be a real challenge in any structure–maybe more so in multi-family housing. Pests like cockroaches, rodents and even bed bugs travel from room to room and, unfortunately, from apartment to apartment. We asked Susannah Reese of…Continue Reading New Resources from our friends at STOP PESTS.ORG
Ticks and Their Pathogens in New York State– New Findings Released
A scientific paper, Active surveillance of pathogens from ticks collected in New York State suburban parks and schoolyards (2017-2018), was published in July of 2020. Four NYSIPM Staff– Dr. Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, Joellen Lampman, Dr. Elizabeth Lamb, and Dr. Matt Frye are among the authors. The increasing number of cases of tick-borne disease prompted this work,…Continue Reading Ticks and Their Pathogens in New York State– New Findings Released
Back to School – Keeping the Rodents Outside
“We should have little trouble with vermin if builders would hear and understand the ‘language’ of vermin and do a better job in eliminating their entrances and hiding place.” – Hugo Hartnak, 1939 Pests enter school buildings in one of two ways: they are transported in by students, staff, or delivery truck or they make…Continue Reading Back to School – Keeping the Rodents Outside
Best Wishes for a Pest-Free Retirement to Lynn Braband, NYSIPM Community IPM Educator!
Lynn Braband has a favorite story about how he came to be employed by the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. It occurred back in 1999 when Lynn’s experience with wildlife management brought him in contact with Director Jim Tette. Our story is that it was a good day for IPM. Statewide, regionally, nationally,…Continue Reading Best Wishes for a Pest-Free Retirement to Lynn Braband, NYSIPM Community IPM Educator!
Help! I found a tick on me! – Spring Edition
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 it so! ~Mark Twain Part of what we want is to be outside! And, with…Continue Reading Help! I found a tick on me! – Spring Edition
Timely School IPM Tip #3: Sanitation
This is the third and final post dedicated to tactics of school IPM most appropriate to the current situation of shuttered schools. (If your building is open to provide meals for at-home students, we applaud your efforts!) Post #1 Scouting, Post #2 Exclusion. Sanitation is a third step in structural pest management, as it reduces…Continue Reading Timely School IPM Tip #3: Sanitation
Timely School IPM #1: Scouting for Building Pests
While pests like bedbugs are inactive waiting out school re-openings, the old standards like cockroaches and rodents can use quiet buildings to their advantage if habitat needs are met. Food, water and shelter are available in areas such as storage rooms, kitchens, boiler rooms and crawlspaces. If your building is currently unoccupied, pest activity can…Continue Reading Timely School IPM #1: Scouting for Building Pests