2023-2024 Outreach and Extension Highlights
New York State Integrated Pest Management 2023–2024 Annual Report
NYSIPM Brings Tick Training On the Road
When it comes to tick encounters, no one is immune, not even trained outdoor professionals. Thanks to NYSIPM Educator Joellen Lampman, however, more than 200 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) staff members are better prepared to protect themselves from tick-borne diseases.
During the summer of 2023, Lampman, with help from associate director of community and urban IPM Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann visited eight of New York’s nine regional DEC offices, where she provided training on tick identification, protection and removal to employees whose work routinely included outdoor tasks.
Lampman advocated the use of what she calls “the Swiss cheese model” of tick protection—reminding employees that there is no one method that shields against ticks in every situation. For example, repellants work, but they don’t last all day. Instead of relying on one technique, she encouraged training participants to employ multiple safeguards, like performing daily tick checks, wearing light colored pants tucked into socks and light colored shirts tucked into pants, and avoiding areas with dense vegetation, leaf litter or other debris.
While no one “slice of cheese” is perfect when it comes to avoiding ticks, “there are slices with smaller holes,” Lampman said.
Impact
More than 200 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) staff members are better prepared to protect themselves from tick-borne diseases.
Keeping Schools Safe from Pests
Managing pests in and on school grounds comes with unique challenges. From enhanced restrictions on pesticide use to in-house food facilities, there are countless factors for school facilities teams to consider when working to prevent and reduce pests on campus.
To help Facilities officials maintain clean indoor air and healthy school environments, the New York State School Environmental Health Program offered a Regional Seminar Series and invited New York State Integrated Pest Management’s Community team to participate.
Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, associate director of community and urban IPM, and IPM Educator Joellen Lampman attended nine of the 10 seminars, which were held at regional BOCES facilities throughout the state, where they reminded school officials that integrated pest management is both required and best for reducing risks associated with pests and pesticides. Events also included walk throughs of host buildings to identify potential problems.
In total, nearly 340 facilities personnel were reached during these information sessions, building on our goal of keeping New Yorkers safe where they live, work, learn and play.
IPM Educator Joellen Lampman conducting a walk through of a school kitchen to identify potential problems.
IPM Educator Joellen Lampman teaching school officials about integrated pest management requirements and benefits for reducing risks associated with pests and pesticides.
IPM Educator Joellen Lampman conducting a walk through of a school weight room to identify potential problems.
Ag and Markets Conference Offers Opportunity for Collaboration, Connection
Members of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets’ Plant Industry Division received an in-depth look at the projects, people and pests driving the work of NYSIPM during the Division’s three-day conference, February 6 through 8.
For the first time, the Division held its annual conference on the Cornell AgriTech campus, affording NYSIPM staff members the opportunity to provide hands-on activities, panel discussions, presentations and campus tours to more than 100 Division employees.
Day one of the event featured an overview of the NYSIPM Program provided by Director Alejandro Calixto, a panel discussion on invasive species in agricultural systems, a pest identification workshop and tours of on-campus research facilities. The second day included presentations from IPM staff on a variety of topics, including alternatives to neonicotinoid pesticide treatments, digital tools like the Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) and the Network for Environmental Weather Applications (NEWA), using biocontrol agents against bed bugs, and potential emerging invasive species threats. Day three offered an opportunity for NYSIPM’s Community and PSEP teams to discuss rodents in environmental systems, longhorned ticks and pesticide safety during inspections.
Perhaps more importantly than the educational sessions, however, was the opportunity the Conference provided for NYSIPM and Ag and Markets team members to network, share insights and ideas and build relationships, which will undoubtedly help both agencies meet the evolving pest challenges throughout the state.
Emerging IPM issues, strategies shared during NYS Ag and Markets Conference
Putting Biocontrol to Work, Enhanced Website Offers Strategies, Resources
Newly developed NYSIPM resources will help farmers, and the general public, implement biological control as part of their integrated pest management plans.
Amara Dunn-Silver, biocontrol specialist for NYSIPM, in collaboration with the Program’s Digital Systems Specialist, Jody Benedict, has significantly enhanced access to biocontrol resources through NYSIPM’s dedicated biocontrol website, including the addition of articles on biocontrol agents, updated biopesticide efficacy summaries, biopesticide profiles and step-by-step instructions for creating a habitat for beneficial insects.
Biocontrol leverages living organisms to reduce or maintain pests at low levels, while reducing risks to people and the environment.
New additions to the website introduce and explore biocontrol agents, including predators, parasitoids, and biopesticides; offer a look at how effective biopesticides are in pest management in berries, field crops, grapes, greenhouse and ornamental crops, and tree fruit; and provide insight on how to use biopesticides effectively including guidance on mode of action, compatibility with other pesticides, best storage conditions and shelf life.
Dunn-Silver is committed to helping people create habitats that attract beneficial insects, including offering annual tours and demonstrations of the beneficial habitat area she developed on the Cornell AgriTech campus and sharing resources through the website. Her most recent open house drew more than 100 people.
Petra Page-Mann from Fruition Seeds in Naples, NY, leading guided explorations of established plots of perennial wildflowers and grasses at the August Beneficial Insect Habitat Open House.
Rapid Response, Collaboration Key to Invasive Species IPM
New York State Integrated Pest Management continues to distinguish itself as a leader in invasive species research, outreach and management through comprehensive efforts to build awareness and prevent the spread of spotted lanternfly (SLF) and box tree moth (BTM).
The April 2023 Spotted Lanternfly Workshop brought nationally recognized researchers and regulatory officials from across the United States and Canada to Cornell AgriTech’s Geneva campus.
The April 2023 Spotted Lanternfly Workshop brought nationally recognized researchers and regulatory officials from across the United States and Canada to Cornell AgriTech’s Geneva campus.
Boxwood alternatives demonstration garden at Cornell AgriTech.
Box tree moth caterpillar eating boxwood.
Spotted Lanternfly
The hallmark of the Program’s work on invasives was a first-of-its-kind, April 2023 Spotted Lanternfly Workshop, which brought nationally recognized researchers and regulatory officials from across the United States and Canada to Cornell AgriTech’s Geneva campus to facilitate collaboration, determine research priorities and broaden advocacy efforts related to SLF.
Coordinated by NYSIPM Invasive Species Expert Brian Eshenaur and Extension Aide Jacob Leeser, the three-day workshop included panel discussions, a “State of the States” presentation, a research poster session and candid discussions about which approaches have been successful (and which ones haven’t) in controlling the spread of SLF. Attendees also explored opportunities to collaborate on future research, funding and advocacy efforts.
‘We were in the same room having important conversations, comparing observations and starting to determine where gaps are in the understanding of this pest and the damage it may cause,” Eshenaur said.
Spotted lanternfly serves as a significant economic and nuisance pest for homeowners, businesses, tourism, forestry and agriculture. Adult lanternfly often feed in swarms and excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, which results in sooty mold growth and attracts other insects. Vineyards are particularly attractive to SLF and its feeding damage to grapevines has the potential to devastate the wine and juice grape industries.
In addition to the workshop and ongoing research, NYSIPM continued to spread awareness of SLF through its online distribution map, which tracks confirmed infestations, and an expansive social media campaign that reached more than 125,000 users and generated hundreds of opportunities for engagement and education.
Box Tree Moth
Boxwoods are a perennial feature in landscapes due to their evergreen nature, ease of maintenance and deer resistance. But these nursery favorites are also responsible for bringing a new invasive to New York homes and businesses.
Box tree moth, (Cydalima perspectalis) first appeared in New York in 2021. The pest, thought to be carried across the border from Canada following a storm, threatens heritage sites, landscapes and a boxwood nursery trade valued at more than $140 million.
In collaboration with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, NYSIPM worked to build awareness and stop the spread of BTM through the development of dedicated web pages, which offer visitors detailed photos of BTM in each life stage, techniques for monitoring for and reporting infestations, proven strategies for controlling the pest and a gallery of nursery alternatives to boxwoods to help fill the niche of boxwoods for nursery producers, retailers and landscape managers who do not want to take on the spray regimes now required to grow and maintain boxwoods. State agencies and the Horticulture Research Institute’s national boxwood pest clearinghouse link to the site as a primary source for BTM information, and in its first weeks, the page had more than 2200 views, thanks in part to a social media campaign designed to inform New Yorkers about the threat of BTM.
Eshenaur and Leeser also established a new demonstration garden on the grounds of the NYSIPM building at the Cornell AgriTech campus. The garden features one of each of the shrubs recommended on the list of alternatives and offers staff an opportunity to gain first-hand experience with the featured shrubs. The demonstration garden was on display for a November regional training of Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners and Master Gardener Coordinators. Additional plans are in the works to highlight the planting.
Visual Guide Highlights Dung Beetles of New York
They’ve been around for more than 100 million years, use the Milky Way as a navigational tool, can lift more than 50 times their own weight and were commonly featured in Ancient Egyptian artwork and jewelry, all while contributing to soil health, increasing livestock weight and dairy production and minimizing populations of horn and face flies by more than 95%. So, while dung beetles might not have the most glamorous job in the insect world, they are undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and important.
In recognition of the essential role these incredible insects play in New York’s agricultural ecosystem, Digital Systems Analyst Jody Benedict, Research Technician Hannah Tolz, Extension Aide Jacob Leeser and Livestock IPM Specialist Ken Wise developed a comprehensive visual guide to dung beetles for the NYSIPM website.
The Guide groups dung beetle species by their feeding and nesting habits: rollers; who roll lay their eggs in brood balls they have rolled away from the pat; dwellers, who lay their eggs in brood balls they’ve constructed on or just below the surface of the pat; and tunnelers, who lay their eggs in tunnels they’ve built below the pat, and includes detailed photos and facts about each species. To date, it has been viewed nearly 1300 times.
Research Technician Hannah Tolz photographing dung beetles for the guide.
Dung beetle life cycle illustration by Research Technician Hannah Tolz.
Some of the species included in the guide.
About the 2023-2024 Annual Report
Published by New York State Integrated Pest Management August 2024.
Design/Layout: Jody Benedict
Content/Editing: Carrie Carmenatty