Research and Initiatives
Building stronger, safer farms and communities
Through innovative technology and hands-in-the-dirt research, we’re pioneering ecologically resilient pest management practices that lead to safer, more sustainable strategies for managing pests where New Yorkers live, study, work and play.
Key 2024 Accomplishments
Agricultural IPM
- Reached nearly 235,000 people through social media awareness campaigns and talked to thousands of New Yorkers about invasive spotted lanternfly at events across the state, including Farm Aid 2024 and Cornell University’s Insectapalooza. Efforts to increase recognition and management of SLF were also shared with Amish and Mennonite communities through ads and articles in community newsletters and publications.
- Completed year three of research trials designed to explore alternatives to neonicotinoid seed treatments for corn and soybeans, revealing minimal damage from soil-borne pests like seedcorn maggot and identifying diamides and Spinosad as viable replacements for neonicotinoid treatments.
- Coordinated the spotted wing drosophila (SWD) monitoring network, including 42 sites across NY State. Results were reported weekly on the new Berry Pest Monitoring Network Blog and map.
- Reached thousands of New York farmers and growers at crop congress events throughout the state, where we provided information on alternatives to seed treatments and updates on neonicotinoid research.
- Worked with 50 New York farmers to analyze their weed seedbanks—all of the weed species present in their soil–in order to help develop a management plan that utilizes the tools available to each farmer to address the entire suite of weeds, rather than just those that are problematic in a given year. Seedbank results and management recommendations will be provided to each farmer in a written report and shared with 500 additional farmers.
- Biocontrol agent profiles for 42 organisms were added to a dedicated biocontrol website, providing practical information for farmers and growers interested in using or learning more about using natural enemies of pests in conjunction with their integrated pest management plans.
- Conducted a survey on 19 beef farms, finding that feed-through insecticides reduce the abundance and diversity of dung beetles.
- Provided outreach and training to Spanish-speaking farm owners and employees on pest identification, monitoring, prevention, and control.
- Completed year two of a grant to enhance western bean cutworm trapping methods to improve monitoring and management in key dry bean production areas of New York, focusing on identifying the most effective trap type, lure type, and trap placement.
- Researched the ability of entomopathogenic nematodes to control striped cucumber beetles in soil, yielding promising results that could benefit organic growers utilizing trap crops.
Community IPM
- Helped plan, organize, and present at the Inaugural National Urban Rat Summit hosted by the New York City Mayor’s Office. Over 100 scientists and municipal officials looked at the pervasive problem of rats in cities, highlighting challenges and solutions in six “essential elements.” including parks, yards and alleys, sewers, construction, waste management, and public housing.
- Five educators joined the New York State Department of Health’s efforts to conduct regional New York State School Environmental Health Program workshops. Participants learned the importance of IPM in schools and strategies for implementation with an emphasis on bed bugs, and 270 participants were guided through mock integrated pest management inspections in school kitchens, pantries, classrooms, and utility rooms.
- Through the Don’t Get Ticked NY campaign, our team provided nearly 1,000 New Yorkers with guidance and resources to protect themselves and their families against tick bites and tick-borne diseases.
- Worked with New York housing authorities, nursing homes, and affordable housing properties to provide training and technical assistance, including on-site inspections, treatment options, and communications strategies on common housing pests like bedbugs, cockroaches, and rodents. With new insight, three properties changed contractors and treatment protocols and one nearly eliminated a chronic cockroach infestation.
- Community IPM efforts, including presentations, workshop facilitation, and education efforts at tabled events on rodents, invasive species, sustainable lawn care, flies, toxic plants, ticks, and other pest issues, added up to nearly 12,000 hours of outreach to New Yorkers.
- Continued efforts to provide practical solutions to common pest problems through the “What’s Bugging You? First Friday” webinar series. Nearly 7,500 people registered for programs in English and Spanish, and recorded sessions of monthly programs generated more than 3,400 views on our YouTube channel in the first 10 months of 2024.
- Organized and hosted the 2024 Annual IPM Conference on Fruit IPM for the Home Garden and Landscape, held on June 27 in Albany. Speakers provided insight and instruction on incorporating sustainability and trusted IPM strategies for managing common pests, pollinators, and natural enemies of tree fruit and small fruit.
- As a first step in increasing the uptake of tick-borne disease protective strategies, NYSIPM Educator Joellen Lampman conducted focus groups to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and barriers to protection among parents of young children and outdoor workers.
- The IPM Pesticide Safety Education project team assessed the needs of Extension Educators for science-based information and to determine the desired format of educational resources on integrated vertebrate pest management.
- Engaged with Cornell Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Camp Directors to develop a cooperative effort to educate camp staff and attendees to reduce the negative impact of tick encounters at camp.
- Attended Mexican Mobile Consulate visits throughout the state to inform Spanishspeaking individuals and families about invasive species, ticks, and tick-borne diseases.
Pesticide Safety Education Program
- Pesticide applicators completed 650 Pesticide Safety Application Program online recertification courses for New York State credits.
- Provided recertification credits for more than 500 applicators during two workshops on managing pests in rights-of-way, structures, food establishments, and stored commodities.
- Presented in-person recertification training to more than 1200 applicators on topics including label comprehension, herbicide safety, pesticide safety for state agency workers, pesticide risk hazards, pesticide drift, recordkeeping, emergency pesticide applications in schools, and pesticide compatibility.
- Presented pesticide use/safety topics to more than 300 New York residents, including Master Gardeners, university students, IPM practitioners, regulators, industry personnel, and researchers.
- Published and reviewed the 2024 Cornell Crop and Pest Management Guidelines series.
- Responded to more than 100 inquiries on topics, including legal pesticide options, pesticide label interpretations, pesticide applicator certification/ recertification requirements, proper pesticide use, pesticide risks, the New York Birds and Bees Protection Act, and pesticide registration status.
- Promoted legal and proper pesticide practices in and around New York State schools through presentations and participation in the New York State Department of Health’s School Environmental Health Program Steering Committee.
- Hosted the National Pesticide Certification Manual Development Workshop for regulatory agencies and officials from New York and throughout the nation.
- Helped lead the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators’ ad hoc committee, which is exploring issues related to developing and implementing non-English language pesticide applicator certification and training manuals and exams.
- Provided information about the impacts of the Endangered Species Act on pesticide use to more than 200 people through the webinar, "The Endangered Species Act and Pesticides: An Example."
- Developed and translated pesticide safety awareness fact sheets in English and Spanish.
Key 2023 Accomplishments
Agricultural IPM
- Expanded the collective reach and expertise of both the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program (NYSIPM) and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) by making PSEP a program of NYSIPM.
- Lead statewide efforts to explore safer and more sustainable alternatives to neonicotinoid insecticides in agronomic and specialty crops, connected with 700 growers, farmers and ag professionals at seven crop congress events and developed a dedicated website to highlight these efforts and educate farmers, growers and consumers.
- Conducted 15 research trials in eight locations across New York to test alternative seed treatments for controlling seedcorn maggot.
- Developed and facilitated a six-week, online Greenhouse Scout School and webinar series to train growers and students on efficient and effect scouting methods for greenhouse insect pests, diseases, abiotic issues and biological controls.
- Engaged with New York State cut flower producers through a host of course offerings and presentations statewide, contributing to a 1.5 times wholesale value increase in cut flowers.
- Published biopesticide profiles on the NYSIPM website to guide growers in the proper use, mode of action, compatibility, storage conditions, and shelf life for commonly used biopesticides.
- Continued our work to protect pollinators and other beneficial insects by hosting a beneficial habitat open house, which brought more than 100 people to Cornell AgriTech and thousands to the NYSIPM website.
- Contributed to global food security and regenerative agricultural efforts for global companies like McCain Foods, Syngenta, Agrohub and more through the expanded use and improvement of our Environmental Impact Quotient
- Hosted an online Spotted Lanternfly Summit and in-person Spotted Lanternfly Workshop, which brought together nearly 800 nationally recognized researchers and regulatory officials from across the United States and Canada.
- Joined efforts to reduce the spread of invasive box tree moth through a comprehensive social media campaign which reached more than 20,000 people.
- Collaborated to host the first Bilingual Fruit IPM School, which brought together farm employees and growers to learn about pests in apple orchards, pesticide safety, soil health, pollinators and farm leadership.
- Hired a Fruit IPM coordinator and created and recruited for a program economist and grape IPM specialist.
Community IPM
- Joined the New York State Department of Health’s efforts to conduct regional New York State School Environmental Health Program seminars, guiding 375 participants through mock integrated pest management inspections and providing nearly 300 participants with information on school IPM, with an emphasis on bed bugs.
- Provided New Yorkers with guidance and resources to protect against tick bites and tick-borne diseases through the Don’t Get Ticked NY campaign. Presentations in English and Spanish reached nearly 800 people, including 300 farm employees and 360 state employees.
- Connected with more than 110,000 people through digital efforts related to Our Land, Our Water, a campaign designed to encourage Long Islanders to consider IPM alternatives to lawn and landscape pesticides and to choose sustainable practices that protect the environment.
- Spent more than 5200 hours presenting, leading workshops and educating New Yorkers at tabled events on rodents, invasive species, sustainable lawn care, flies, toxic plants, ticks and other pest issues. Programs were offered both in English and Spanish.
- Held our first in-person annual conference since the coronavirus pandemic. “Sustainable Landscapes” was attended by more than 100 participants who learned strategies for creating environmentally friendly outdoor spaces.
- Reached more than 150,000 New Yorkers through a social media campaign dedicated to spreading awareness, dispelling myths and increasing reporting of invasive spotted lanternfly.
- Continued efforts to provide practical solutions to common pest problems through the What’s Bugging You? First Friday webinar series. Nearly 1500 people registered for programs in English and Spanish and recorded sessions of monthly programs generated more than 16,800 views on our YouTube channel.
- Hired a Western New York Community IPM Specialist to lead extension, outreach and education efforts devoted to Community and Urban Agriculture efforts in Western New York and the Finger Lakes.
- Facilitated the Municipal Rodent IPM Working Group, which developed a white paper about rodent management in municipalities, completed a comprehensive roadmap for municipal rodent management that provides a vision, objectives and approaches for successfully controlling rodents, and generated Municipal Rat IPM Priorities for research and outreach efforts.
Pesticide Safety Education Program
- Expanded the collective reach and expertise of both the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program (NYSIPM) and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) by making PSEP a program of NYSIPM.
- Applicators completed 1130 CCE-PSEP online recertification courses for NYS credits.
- Provided recertification credits to more than 400 pesticide applicators responsible for managing pests in rights-of-way, structures and food establishments.
- Presented live recertification training to more than 1000 applicators on topics including: label comprehension, herbicide safety, pesticide safety for workers and their families, container disposal/handling, pesticide risk/hazard and mixing pesticides properly.
- Developed presentation a program for Spanish-speaking audiences, “Seguridad con Pesticidas para Protegar su Salud y la de su Familia,” (Pesticide Safety to Protect You and Your Family), which was presented in conjunction with the Cornell Bilingual Fruit IPM School and attended by 90 participants from the region.
- Reached more than 600 NYS residents, including Master Gardeners, university students, IPM practitioners, regulators, industry and researchers through pesticide safety presentations.
- Led a national pesticide applicator training manual development workshop for colleagues from pesticide regulatory and safety education programs from 23 states, territories and tribes.
- Created the new fact sheet, “Who Can Apply Pesticides in Schools?”
- Responded to more than 80 inquiries on topics, including legal pesticide options, pesticide label interpretations, pesticide applicator certification/recertification requirements, proper pesticide use, pesticide risks and pesticide registration status.
- Promoted legal and proper pesticide practices in and around NYS school through presentations to school personnel and active participation on the New York State Department of Health’s School Environmental Health Program Steering Committee.
- Connected with 900 people nationwide through presentations on why and how the EPA’s risk assessment process shows that glyphosate use meets the standard of not causing unreasonable adverse effects to human health and the environment when used according to label directions.
- Conducted a workshop focusing on exclusion and sanitation practices to help food facilities control pests that spread foodborne pathogens, protecting cultural heritage in museums and libraries from pest damage, and challenges and solutions in managing bed bugs in multifamily housing.
- Reviewed and published the 2023 Cornell Crop and Pest Management Guidelines series.
- Co-chaired a committee of the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators to explore the logistics of states certifying applicators for whom English is a second language, even though pesticide label directions are only provided in English.