It is that time of year, summer! When the students and teachers leave, and school districts across the state are systematically deep cleaning their school campuses. As custodial and maintenance staff work through your campuses here are a few things to remember.
Classroom cleaning – remember to store supplies in rubber containers.
The pests we generally see in schools during the summer months include cockroaches, mice, spiders, ants, silverfish, and occasionally crickets. These pests are animals and they like the same things we do, food, water, harborage and safety. Summertime is a great time for these pests to proliferate, or be found as your staff progresses through their cleaning routines.
Places that provide the necessities for pest survival are what we term pest vulnerable areas (PVA). Each of these areas should be thoroughly inspected and cleaned during the summer break. Areas that need special attention include the kitchen and cafeteria, faculty lounge, custodial storage areas, science classrooms, art centers, special needs classrooms, kindergarten and daycare classrooms, locker rooms, home economics classrooms and other reported pest “hot spots.” IPM coordinators this is the best time to investigate that classroom, building or other area that you have been fighting all school year.
The kitchen and cafeteria will require some deep cleaning. Floor drains should be cleaned with a microbial scum digester and all equipment and floors, especially corners
Installing a trap guard to floor drains can help reduce cockroaches and flies coming up through the floor drains
and around furniture legs should be degreased. Don’t forget that walls and light fixtures should also be cleaned. Consider installing a specialized gasket to help keep organic matter down and also aid against American cockroaches crawling out of the floor drains during the summer months. I recently saw this “Green Drain” installed at a school district; I was told that by installing these devices they saw a dramatic decrease in their American Cockroach population in the school kitchens over the summer.
In the teacher’s lounge, check refrigerator seals, clean inside and under the microwave, behind and around soda machines and under sinks. These are excellent places to harbor pests. Also, be sure to clean any pest droppings you find. Droppings are difficult to age, and the pest manager won’t be able to conclude whether the infestation is old or new, unless they know that the area has been thoroughly cleaned. If the lounge or other areas in the campus has furniture like couches and chairs, be sure to remove the cushions and clean in all the cracks and crevices, remember insects only need a crumb to be full.
How about classrooms? Clutter, candy and improper storage are a pests best hiding place and feeding station. Upholstered furniture is a pest haven. By reducing clutter, the jobs of the sanitarian and the pest manager become easier. This is a perfect time to reduce your cardboard load and make a switch to plastic storage containers. Remember your local Wal-Mart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot and other retail stores often have small grants for school districts, this a perfect way to pick up more storage containers for teachers and staff to use to store then classroom supplies.
If you come across any live pests while cleaning, be sure to record what type and where on the pest sighting log. Make sure your staff turns in the proper work orders to report areas where pests can enter the building. The time to make these improvements is now while you can install a new door sweep, fix a window leak, or remove vegetation too close to the building.
Bees in Buildings By Dr. Mike Merchant
Everyone knows bees are our friends. They pollinate flowers, increase crop yields, and make honey. But bees are definitely not our friends when they move into a school building. Don’t make the mistake of ignoring a bee colony that has taken up residence in one of your school’s buildings.
In addition to the hazard posed by bees to students and school staff, established bee nests can create unexpected problems. Large abandoned or exterminated nests will leak honey and become infested with many different types of insect and rodent scavengers. Abandoned bee nests can become a source of odors as the honey begins to ferment and leak into ceilings or wall voids.
If you are called upon to deal with a bee nest in a building, keep these points in mind:
Bees around a hive can sting without warning and with little provocation.
Bee control should be attempted only by trained and experienced professionals. A beekeeper or pest control professional are your best options when you need bees removed.
Do not simply caulk up a bee nest entrance. This makes control more difficult and may force the bees indoors.
In addition to killing or removing the bees, the nest MUST be removed. Failure to remove the nest, honey and any dead bees can result in odor and insect problems later.
The longer a bee hive is permitted to exist in a building, the larger it will get and the more difficult it will be to remove.
Bees move into a structure ready to build a nest. A nest weighing several pounds will be constructed in a matter of days.
Keep children and others at least 20 feet away from a known bee nest. A wider zone may be prudent if you live in areas known to be inhabited by Africanized honey bees.
I think saying that weather has been interesting for Central Texas as of late is a bit of an understatement. We have had so much rain that has led to flooding in multiple areas, causing much loss and devastation. While clean-up efforts are underway for various parts of the state, people need to be aware of fire ant movement. I know this is one the the last things on everyone’s mind when looking at the results of the flooding, but it can be important information for those people who are allergic to fire ants.
An individual ant’s exoskeleton repels water, as shown by the contact angle of the water drop resting on this ant. Credit: Nathan Mlot and Tim Nowack
We all know that red imported fire ants live in the soil. What happens to them when we have flooding? Many people may think that they will drown in the flood water. Unfortunately this isn’t true.
When fire ant colonies are flooded, the ants form living raft by clinging together. They float along the water surface until they hit dry ground, a tree, rock or other dry object. Once they come into contact with a dry area, they emerge from the flood waters and take shelter anywhere possible until they can re-create a colony in the soil. Living rafts of fire ants can take on different shapes from long ribbons to mats to a ball of ants.
Fire Ant Raft Photo by Sandwedge
Any floating mats of fire ants that are encountered should not be touched or disturbed. Do not touch them with sticks or other objects as the fire ants will quickly grab onto the object. If working in flooded areas, make sure to wear appropriate clothing. Long sleeves, pants and gloves will create more of a barrier against fire ants reaching skin where they will bite and sting. Be aware that fire ants could be hiding anywhere that was flooded. Wear gloves when picking up debris or other objects. You may want to spray insect repellent containing DEET on your shoes and pants.
If you encounter fire ants in debris, use a fast-acting contact pesticide labeled for ants, but make sure the products are not sprayed into water as they can be toxic to aquatic organisms. Fire ant baits should not be used after flooding because many of them are slow acting and colonies will be disorganized and not foraging for food.
Also be aware that fire ants may be showing up in areas that may have not had them previously or areas that were treated.
Fire Ant Management by Molly Keck, Extension Program Specialist II
Hidden fire ant mound. Image by Molly Keck
Rain brings fire ants… at least that’s what people say. Rain doesn’t necessarily make fire ants more abundant – they were always there, they just weren’t as noticeable. When it rains, the ground becomes saturated and the fire ants move their colonies higher. When they pop above the ground, you come across them more readily and its gives the impression that there are more and they are worse than during dry months.
Unless you have been treating regularly, I think its a pretty safe assumption that at least one mound is in your yard. I have many (way too many) mounds. I find them when I’m weeding my garden, in my veggie beds, along the sidewalk, next to my newly planted fig tree, and in the smack middle of the yard. They are huge, ugly, and ominous. Not since my graduate days studying and digging up fire ant mounds have I had as many stings on my hands and feet!
So… what to do about them? There are many options for fire ant control, so I’m going to give you the most common situation and my suggestions for control:
Fire Ants in Veggie Gardens. You have limited options here and must be careful to read labels to make sure they are labeled for use around vegetables. Boiling water and oils will work, but depending on how close that mound is to the plants, you may kill the roots. I suggest Spinosad as either a drench or bait. Both are labeled for use in vegetable gardens.
Fire Ants without Visible Mounds. Baits are definitely the way to go here. If you can’t see the mound, you can’t drench it properly. Baits are taken back into the nest and fed to everyone, including the queen. Baits may take up to 2 weeks to work, so be patient.
Fire Ants in Yards. My suggestion for this is to treat individual mounds and follow up a couple of days later with a broadcast bait. You will eliminate or at least reduce the size of the mounds you treat individually and the bait will help keep the populations down and knock out the mounds that you didn’t see.
I’m Having a Party (Game)…. Tomorrow! In this case, you want to use either a broadcast granule or individual mound treatments…. or both. If the populations are super dense (like we are seeing right now), treat the individual mounds with a liquid drench or dust labeled for fire ants. Then do a broadcast granule to provide a barrier to prevent new mounds from popping up and treat the unseen mounds you missed.
Long Term Fire Ant Management. If you can’t stand the emergency treatments and want to get on a regimen, baits are again the way to go. If the populations are fairly low to begin with, you can treat every 6 months. Treatments in the fall may result in no ants in the spring, in which case you can eventually drop back to once every 12 months. If the mounds are pretty dense, you may need to treat once and then again in 6-8 weeks. Then get back on the every 6 month routine.
As with all pesticide use – read the label first, apply only what is recommended, wear protective clothing, and don’t overuse. One reason I like baits is that food for the fire ants and they are attracted to it. You end up applying less pesticide into the environment and usually get better and more long term results. If in doubt of what to use, see if an bait is available
What is a Pesticide Half-Life and Why Should I care? Article published by NPIC
A half-life is the time it takes for a certain amount of a pesticide to be reduced by half. This occurs as it dissipates or breaks down in the environment. In general, a pesticide will break down to 50% of the original amount after a single half-life. After two half-lives, 25% will remain. About 12% will remain after three half-lives. This continues until the amount remaining is nearly zero.
Image courtesy of NPIC http://npic.orst.edu/index.html
Each pesticide can have many half-lives depending on conditions in the environment. For example, permethrin breaks down at different speeds in soil, in water, on plants, and in homes.
In soil, the half-life of permethrin is about 40 days, ranging from 11-113 days.
In the water column, the half-life of permethrin is 19-27 hours. If it sticks to sediment, it can last over a year.
On plant surfaces, the half-life of permethrin ranges from 1-3 weeks, depending on the plant species.
Indoors, the half-life of permethrin can be highly variable. It is expected to be over, or well over, 20 days.
Why is a pesticide’s environmental half-life important?
The half-life can help estimate whether or not a pesticide tends to build up in the environment. Pesticide half-lives can be lumped into three groups in order to estimate persistence. These are low (less than 16 day half-life), moderate (16 to 59 days), and high (over 60 days). Pesticides with shorter half-lives tend to build up less because they are much less likely to persist in the environment. In contrast, pesticides with longer half-lives are more likely to build up after repeated applications. This may increase the risk of contaminating nearby surface water, ground water, plants, and animals.
However, pesticides with very short half-lives can have their drawbacks. For example, imagine that a pesticide is needed to control aphids in the garden for several weeks. One application of a pesticide with a half-life of a few hours will probably not be very effective several weeks out. This is because the product would have broken down to near-zero amounts after only a few days. This type of product would likely have to be applied multiple times over those several weeks. This could increase the risk of exposure to people, non-target animals, and plants.
Announcing EPA’s Updated Website for schools: Managing Pests in Schools
As part of EPA’s ongoing effort to build a more user-friendly website, we have transformed our Managing Pests in Schools website into a new, easy-to-use format. Information on school Integrated Pest Management (IPM) should now be easier than ever to access, regardless of the type of electronic device being used, including tablets and smartphones.
IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach that offers a wide variety of tools to reduce contact with pests and exposure to pesticides. The website focuses on providing vital information in the school setting for parents, school administrators, staff and pest management professionals. Knowledgeable, proactive stakeholders can help a community prevent or significantly reduce risks from pests as well as unnecessary pesticide use.
The website is organized into the following areas:
About Integrated Pest Management in Schools
Establishing Integrated Pest Management Programs
Pests of Concern in Schools
IPM Training and Certification
The old Web pages will redirect to the new website, and we encourage visitors to update their bookmarks with the new URLs.
I’m loving the rain we’ve been getting in Central Texas, but it has been leading to some pest problems that people haven’t really had to deal with for a while. I thought that I would touch on some of them.
The first and foremost for me are millipedes. Yesterday afternoon when it was raining, I took the opportunity to head outside to look for millipedes for photos. I could not find a single one. While disappointed, I knew that I had seen some at home so I figured I could get my photo there. When I got home I was starving so I started making dinner. In the middle of cooking bacon (it was a breakfast for dinner night), I was looking around the kitchen and spotted a millipede walking across the ceiling. Instead of climbing on the counter to take a picture, I went outside and found plenty to photograph. After that, I proceeded to pick up about 30 millipedes in various areas of the house.
Millipedes have long, worm-like bodies with a single pair of antenna. Their body is cylindrical and usually brown in color. Millipedes have two pairs of legs per body segment and often curl into a spiral for protection or when they die. They feed on decaying organic matter, though some are carnivorous.
Pillbugs are the other big one that can venture inside when we have heavy rains. Sowbugs and pillbugs are crustaceans (related to crabs, crayfish and lobsters). They require moist environments and usually die quickly when they move indoors due to lack of moisture. Sowbugs and pillbugs have oval shaped bodies, 7 pairs of legs and 2 pair of antennae (only one pair is easily visible). Sowbugs have two tail-like appendages that come off the tip of the abdomen. Pillbugs do not have a tail-like appendage and pillbugs can also roll up into a ball when disturbed (hence the name roly-poly).
Another nuisance pest I should mention is amphipods, also known as scuds. Calls that I get on these critters are when they have already died inside the home. Living amphipods are yellowish-brown in color and live in moist areas like under mulch or groundcover. When we get heavy rain, they can move indoors where they die from lack of moisture. When the amphipods die, their body turns a reddish-pink color (these are also a crustacean and closely related to shrimp). You can find more on amphipods here.
If you are having problems with these nuisance pests moving indoors, then you should focus on the outside of the structure to exclude them. Once things dry out then it should go back to normal.
turn mulch often; adjust watering schedules
remove any debris laying near structures or areas you do not want pests
allow air to flow through crawl spaces by using the proper amount of ventilation
fix any leaking faucets, AC lines, water pipes, etc.
make sure gutters and drains carry water away from the structure
make sure doors and windows have a proper seal; replace weather stripping, thresh holds, etc.
apply sealant to any cracks & crevices and to where pipes or wires penetrate the building
If you are having a mass invasion of pillbugs outside and they are eating your plants (it doesn’t happen too often, but conditions are ripe for this right now), then you can try making traps. I still need to test out what specifically works, but I’m sure you can search for ideas. If you feel you need to treat for the pillbugs, make sure that you check the product label so you choose a product with pillbugs and sowbugs on the label. There are snail & slug baits that also can work on pillbugs and sowbugs, but not ALL snail & slug baits control them. You could also treat with a contact pesticide. Unfortunately, while those products could work, they should not be applied when it is raining or there is a chance of rain, so pesticides are currently out as an option.
Distribution of Certain Mouse and Rat Control Products Ends
On April 1, 2015, Reckitt Benckiser ceased all distribution of 12 d-CON products that do not meet EPA’s current safety standards. EPA reached an agreement with Reckitt, the manufacturer, to cancel these products because they are sold without a protective bait station and pose risks to children and pets. Additionally, eight of the 12 products pose unacceptable risks to certain wildlife. Retailers may sell and consumers may buy these products according to the label until stocks are exhausted. Users of these d-CON products must read and follow the product label instructions.
Household rodenticide products that comply with the Agency’s safety criteria are widely available and are required to be sold and used with a bait station in most use scenarios. EPA encourages consumers to use rodenticide products with bait stations, as proper use of a bait station reduces the risk of accidental exposure to children, pets, and non-target wildlife.
From Cockroaches to Parasitic Wasps, Creepy Crawlers are for Kids
By Kathleen Phillips, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
A child calmly whispers all his life’s problems to the one who will listen. And in that moment, everything seems so much better.
Perhaps the listener understands. Some days it seems like a crushing blow is around every corner. After all, the one hearing this child’s woes is a bug.
“I’ve seen very disturbed children or autistic kids who could not sit still or focus, sit quietly telling an insect all their problems,” said Dr. Andrine Shufran, Insect Adventure coordinator at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. “The magic of cockroaches.”
Introducing what others would call “creepy crawlers” to kids is one way entomologists – people who study insects – have witnessed transforming growth both personally and academically for the children they teach.
Shufran is part of the Southwestern Branch-Entomological Society of America Youth Science Committee. Their goal is to help kids get interested in science through bugs.
Dr. Mo Way, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist in Beaumont, chairs the Southwestern Branch-Entomological Society of America Youth Science Committee. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
“Insects provide a lot of hands-on activities to spur kids’ imaginations,” said Dr. Mo Way of Beaumont, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist and committee chair. “Last year, our members in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Mexico conducted more than 1,000 youth events that reached about 40,000 kids from kindergarten to 12th grade.”
Camps, fairs, competitions, exhibits, classroom talks and even insect birthday parties have enlightened children across the region about “the most widespread and diverse group of organisms on earth: insects,” according to the committee members.
“I find that you can’t go wrong with kids and bugs,” said Molly Keck, AgriLife Extension entomologist in San Antonio. “It’s an easy way to get youth interested in science, the environment and being outdoors.”
One of the main events of the Youth Science Committee is Insect Expo, an annual activity-oriented learning experience for fifth graders, Way noted. There, hundreds of children learn how insects have adapted successfully over time, that the vast majority of insects are beneficial and how each insect has its niche in the ecosystem.
But comments from the kids themselves speak volumes for the lowly insects.
For Seth Fothergill of Friona, it was a praying mantis that got his attention.
“I’ve been interested in insects since the fourth or fifth grade,” said high schooler Fothergill, after a recent FFA entomology contest at West Texas A&M University in Canyon. “It’s interesting how each one is different. But my favorite is the praying mantis. I’ve always thought it was amazing to see how their forelegs work.”
Fothergill said he plans to continue his study of insects through high school and ultimately work in forestry where his knowledge of insects – both harmful and beneficial – will help.
Ian Kosch of San Antonio, holding a golden desert millipede, has parlayed his interest in bugs into having camps and presentations for other children. (Photo courtesy of Ian Kusch)
Kusch became intrigued with insects after attending a bug camp conducted by Keck. He began assisting her class and then decided to set up his own business, The Bug Adventure, to do presentations and host a camp of his own. He’s thinking about entomology for a career, “and basically just keep on doing what I’m doing now,” but also helping people learn how to live with them or get rid of the pests.
He also has some research in mind, based on having learned scientific tidbits such as how roaches can survive radiation, that the desert hairy scorpion can live for years with little water and that a tarantula’s lifespan may be decades.
Bugs were never considered as a way to encourage reluctant reader 8-year-old Crystal Ragains of Adair, Oklahoma, to pick up a book, but that is what happened on a field trip to the entomology lab at Oklahoma State.
Not only were the bugs fascinating, but in meeting the female scientist Shufran, Ragains realized that a world of opportunity awaited her as well. Shufran, not knowing of Ragains’ reluctance to read, told the young girl that reading was a must for having a career in science.
“I started reading about bugs, and now I read about everything,” said Ragains, now 16 and a fan of parasitic wasps and walking sticks.
Crystal Ragains of Adair, Oklahoma, got interested in reading through her fascination with insects and now enjoys encouraging other girls to “think outside the box” in exploring the world. (Photo courtesy of Dianna Ragains)
She said delving into insects has allowed her to encourage other girls to explore “outside the box,” in learning about the world.
“Girls and bugs? Girls don’t normally like bugs, but me doing insects may inspire them to do other things that are different,” said Ragains, who often does presentations for other youths.
Dr. Jane Pierce, New Mexico State University Extension entomologist in Artesia, New Mexico, admits to never having outgrown her childhood passion for insects.
“Who doesn’t love bugs when they are 7 years old? We often lose that in junior high, but I have never met a young child who didn’t think bugs were cool,” she said. “Even if they say ‘Ewwww gross!,’ they are smiling while they say it.”
Pierce believes bugs are a fun way to learn about the scientific method, which she said all people should know because it’s “a process that can be a bit messy, but over time the truth becomes clear.”
Dr. Bonnie Pendleton of Canyon, West Texas A&M University entomologist, agrees.
“I think the general public often forgets the tremendous impact, both good and bad, that insects have on humans,” she said. “Insect pests compete with people for food and other valuable resources and cause diseases to humans and livestock. But human society could not exist without the tremendous benefits provided by insects that pollinate plants, decompose wastes and fascinate young people and many of us older ones as well. These kinds of youth activities help students learn about insects and their tremendous impact on all of us.”
Though Way has spent his career battling insect pests, such as the ever-elusive rice water weevil, the use of insects to get children excited about science makes it all beneficial.
“It’s rewarding when you see their smiles and you know you’ve made an impression on that child going in the right direction,” he said.
Termite Season By Molly Keck
Termites are probably the most feared insect to humans … especially homeowners. They portray a vision of a house falling down, circus tent fumigations, a torn up yard, and major expense. Your home is usually your greatest investment; so naturally, a teeny insect that hides underground and eats wood inside your home is a scary thing!
Subterranean termite mud tube and activity.
February and March are considered termite swarming season in Texas. Although the weather has been up and down and it’s hard to predict when they may actually swarm, we have gone a few years without a good swarming season, and I imagine if not this year, at least next, will have some good swarms.
A termite swarm is when there is usually extreme humidity (often associated with rain) and the winged termites emerge from the nest to mate and start a new nest. The females will become queens and start a new colony.
Termites are still active at all times of the year, not just during swarming season. In fact, with the extra moisture and warmer weather, they are probably doing just great. Cellulose material from stumps, buried logs, lumber, landscaping timber and firewood are all examples of food sources for termites that most of us have somewhere in the landscape. The closer that is to your house, the more likely they are to start feeding on cellulose in the house.
The good news is that finding termites or termite damage should be mean that you need to take immediate action. Take some time to get some BIDs and figure out the best management options for your situation. You will know if the house is in danger of collapse!
For much more information about termites and management options, a fantastic webinar was provided by Dr. Robert Puckett, an urban entomologist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension on April 3rd, 2015. He has extensive experience in termite field and lab research.
Follow the link to watch the webinar: https://learn.extension.org/events/1853#.VRQza8Zx0ag
Termites
By Wizzie Brown
There are three main types of termites that can cause problems for homeowners in Central Texas- native subterranean termites, formosan subterranean termites and drywood termites. To identify termites you will need to obtain soldiers (ones with a hard head with large mandibles) or reproductives with wings.
Native subterranean termite soldier
Native subterranean termites have nests in the soil and must maintain contact with soil or an above-ground moisture source to survive. If native subterranean termites move to areas above ground they make shelter (mud) tubes of fecal material, saliva and soil to protect themselves.
Formosan termites are a more voracious type of subterranean termite. These termites have been spread throughout Texas through transport of infested material or soil. Formosan termites build carton nests that allow them to survive above ground without contact with the soil. Nests are often located in hollow spaces, such as wall voids.
Formosan subterranean termite soldiers
Formosan termites feed on a wider variety of cellulose than other subterranean termites, including live plants, consuming both spring and summer growth wood whereas native subterranean termites feed only on spring growth. Formosan termites have also been known to chew through non-cellulose materials such as soft metals, plaster or plastic.
Drywood termite pellets (fecal material).
Drywood termites do not need contact with soil and reside in sound, dry wood. These termites obtain moisture from the wood they digest. Drywood termites create a dry fecal pellet that can be used as an identifying characteristic. They have smaller colonies- around 1,000 termites- than subterranean termites; they also do not build shelter tubes.
If you are concerned that you may have termites, call a pest management professional to inspect your home or business for termites.
Fire ants are polymorphic and can be controlled using baits labeled for fire ants.
Learn how to make the biology of fire ants work for you not against you. This webinar presented by Dr. Lawrence “Fudd” Graham from Auburn University will discuss fire ant baits and other control methods. It will also provide the latest information on the Pseudacteon phorid flies, natural enemies of fire ants. Moderated by Dani Carroll and Bethany O’Rear, Regional Extension Agents, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and Vicky Bertagnolli-Heller, Extension Agent and Master Gardener Coordinator, Clemson University. Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event. Note: on March 6, the link to the live webinar opens about 15 minutes before the webinar. If you log in earlier, you will get an error message.
If you missed the previous webinar on Pesticide strategy- the good, the bad the ugly, you can still view it from the link below by clicking Watch recording in the top right corner. https://learn.extension.org/events/1864#.VOdGJCzcBNg
Emerald ash borer adult on a penny for scale. Image: Harold Russell, Michigan State University
What’s shiny and Godzilla green, easily fits on a penny, and has resulted in the death of tens of millions of trees over the past dozen years? If you’ve been paying attention to this blog, you might guess the emerald ash borer (EAB). Over the past few years my colleagues and I have been involved with a monitoring project designed to detect the first EAB entering north Texas. During this time I’ve watched the beetles inch closer to Texas–moving from its initial point of invasion in Michigan throughout the Ohio River valley and eventually into Missouri, Kansas and Colorado, and, last summer, in six counties in southern Arkansas.
Earlier this month, on a hunch, some zealous U.S. Forest Service employees examined a likely ash stand of 12-15 trees outside of Pineville, LA. On Feb 10, entomologist James Zablotny, emerald ash borer identification specialist for USDA, APHIS, PPQ in Romulus, Michigan, confirmed that three larvae collected from the trees were indeed EAB. The collection site was just inside the Louisiana border, about 9 miles east of Springhill, LA, in Webster Parish.
These latest finds put the EAB within 40 miles of Texas, and suggest that we in Texas may be next, if the beetle isn’t here already.
So how is this beetle with stubby wings getting so close so fast? With the help of man, no doubt. Experts believe that the most common way that this beetle finds its way across state lines is in firewood. Campers, sportsmen, or firewood vendors cut up borer-infested trees and put them on a vehicle and give the hitchhiking insects a lift.
What does this mean to owners of ash trees? Since the nearest infestations are approximately 40 miles away
Emerald ash borer larva and damage under the bark of white fringetree, a new host of this pest. Image from D. Cipollini, J of Economic Entomology, Feb 2015
from our state, nothing yet. However, experience from other states suggests that owners of valuable ash trees within 15 miles of a known infestation should consider proactive treatment of their trees with a labeled insecticide.
In a few weeks our office, along with entomologists from the Texas Forest Service and Sam Houston State University, will start the 2015 Texas EAB survey. This is something we’ve been doing for over five years, but this year takes on extra meaning with the threat known so close to our border.
More bad news
As if we needed more bad news, in addition to ash (trees in the genus Fraxinus), the EAB has now been found to attack white fringe tree, Chionanthus virginicus, a native tree species that is also used sometimes as an ornamental plant. In an article published in the Journal of Economic Entomology this month, Dr. Don Cipollini of Wright State University in Ohio presented the first evidence that EAB might attack other plants in addition to ash. Although fringetree is a relative of ash, the possibility exists that a few other, native plant genera closely related to Chionanthus might be susceptible to this pest.
While maybe not as destructive as Godzilla, I have no doubt we will learn to respect this pest. More on symptoms and different management options in later posts.
AgriLife Extension modules help students learn about nature
By Paul Schattenberg
If your child’s response to the old joke, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” is “What’s a chicken?” then he or she would benefit from educational modules available from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, according to Nora Tapia, the agency’s youth outreach coordinator for Bexar County.
The City Critters learning module introduces urban kids to some of the needs and habits of wildlife they may encounter. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
Tapia said the modules are available through the Wildlife Module Curriculum Enrichment Program of the agency’s 4-H Youth Development program.
“Data collected by AgriLife Extension from elementary school teachers throughout Texas show children in this grade have limited knowledge of wildlife and resource conservation,” Tapia said.
Currently about 80 percent of Texans live in urban areas such as San Antonio, she said, and while young people support protecting the environment, they have a poor understanding of environmental issues and how ecosystems work.
“To help urban youth better understand the natural environment, AgriLife Extension has developed museum-quality educational modules and made them available to elementary and middle schools,” Tapia said.
The modules, which target mainly third through seventh-grade students, are comprised of hands-on displays, interactive computer programs, videos, lesson plans and printed information on renewable natural resources, urban-dwelling wildlife, aquatic ecology and water issues.
The modules are:
City Critters — A multimedia module consisting of an 8-by-10-foot pop-up and static animal display. This module addresses the role of wildlife conservation and importance of natural resources management, along with increasing awareness of urban wildlife species.
Something’s Fishy — A multimedia module with information on aquatic science, aquaculture, sport fishing, water quality and water conservation. The module consists of a 3-by-8-foot 3D display with full-size fish replicas, interactive CD, lesson activities, videos and water test kits.
Wildlife Success Stories and Endangered Species — A multimedia module focusing on wildlife species recovered through proper environmental management and the status and recovery efforts toward currently endangered species. It consists of an 8-by-8-foot display, interactive CD, videos and lessons.
Predators in the Classroom – This module addresses the biological and social impact of animal predators, such as coyotes and mountain lions, found in Texas.
Modules can be requested by educators for two-week periods throughout the year. Host
The Wildlife Success Stories and Endangered Species educational module focuses on positive outcomes in wildlife preservation and the need for people to give some animal species a helping hand toward survival. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
teachers give instruction for the module curriculum and are provided with an instructional binder. A description of each module is given, along with a response form that may be printed and submitted to schedule the units.
Tapia said Wildlife Success Stories and Endangered Species, City Critters and Something’s Fishy modules were sponsored jointly by AgriLife Extension and by the Texas Wildlife Association. City Critters received initial funding through the International Paper Foundation, the Renewable Resources Extension Act of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“We’ve used the endangered species and City Critters modules and currently have the City Critters module on display in the science lab,” said Lisa Rollins, science specialist for kindergarten through fifth grade at Ed Cody Elementary School in San Antonio. “The kids like to see the representative animals in the display and they like the flexibility of watching videos, reading the guide and having other ways to learn using the module components.”
She said teachers from several second-grade classes with a total of about 120 students allowed their students to interact with the Wildlife Success Stories and Endangered Species module as part of their science instruction. About 125 fifth-grade students have already interacted with the City Critters module so far.
Pre- and post-test methodology is used to measure the educational impact of these modules, which provide curriculum enrichment in the areas of math, science, language, reading and other subjects in keeping with state-mandated requirements, Tapia said.
“Currently, there are more than 2,000 students from Bexar County elementary and middle schools who benefit annually from using these educational modules,” she said. “We would like to get even more schools, teachers and students involved in this curriculum enrichment program, so we’re looking for additional funding to update the modules and expand our reach.”
School IPM, Staff Member Receive Excellence Awards for 2015 By Rob Williams
The Texas School Integrated Pest Management Program received the AgriLife Extension Service’s Superior Service Award in the Team category during the Texas A&M AgriLife Conference on January 6.
The team consists of Dr. Blake Bennett, AgriLife Extension economist-management, Dallas; Wizzie Brown, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Travis County; Janet Hurley, AgriLife Extension program specialist, entomology, Dallas; Molly Keck, AgriLife Extension program specialist, entomology, San Antonio; Dr. Mike Merchant, AgriLife Extension urban entomologist, Dallas; Dr. Paul Nester, AgriLife Extension program specialist, entomology, Houston; and Dr. Don Renchie, AgriLife Extension program leader, agricultural and environmental safety, College Station.
Other members joining the main team are Alva “AJ” Clinton, Springtown Independent School District maintenance director and school IPM coordinator; Paul Duerre, Killeen ISD environmental specialist and school IPM coordinator; and Tom Ohm, Frisco ISD IPM coordinator.
The AgriLife team members are responsible for conducting training for all IPM coordinators for each school district, which is required by the State of Texas. Whereas the school members recognized have been instrumental in establishing the professional association TIPMAPS for school IPM coordinators.
Members of the School IPM Team receiving their plaques during the 2015 Texas A&M AgriLife Conference on January 6. From left to right are: Wizzie Brown, Molly Keck, Janet Hurley, Paul Duerre, IPM Coordinator, Killeen ISD; Dr. Blake Bennett, Associate Professor & Extension Economist/Management; AJ Clinton, IPM Coordinator, Springtown ISD, Dr. Mike Merchant, Paul Nester, Dr. Don Renchie, and Dr. Douglas Steele – Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Photo by Rob Williams
Since 2001, according to the nomination, the team has provided training or direct assistance to more than 600 school districts and nearly 1,000 school employees. The team also hosts a website, publishes a monthly newsletter and creates other materials to educate schools about pest management.
“The IPM training’s are very informative. I attend almost every year because every time I come I learn something new,” said Harry Magness, a retired IPM Coordinator from Tyler ISD. “The school IPM team has always been there to help me with pest ID, control solutions and as a sounding board on how to maintain my IPM program. Without them we [the school districts] would be lost.”
According to the nomination, the team also created a database of more than 1,500 school IPM coordinators, pest management professionals, and key stakeholders to facilitate communications and created the IPM Calculator tool for pest management in school facilities.
“She has gone over and above the call of duty to help us in every way. She has come down to Houston on many occasions to meet with our leadership team to discuss the best plans moving forward, to show our team what IPM truly is, and has helped us implement our program in every way,” one nominator said in the nomination “Janet is the true picture of ‘Customer First Service’.”
According to the nomination packet, the website (schoolipm.tamu.edu) receives more than 13,000 unique visitors annually and the newsletter has more than 1,560 email subscribers monthly. The team also has received more than $1.3 million in competitive grants to fund its programs.
“The award signifies the commitment our group has to school IPM,” Hurley said. “Just like IPM is about teamwork, the school IPM team works together to assist schools with their IPM programs.”
Garden of Greatness 4-H club plants seeds for teens’ future By: Paul Schattenberg
Jeremy Mann, 16, said teamwork and coordinating with other teenagers in the Garden of Greatness 4-H special interest, or SPIN, club in San Antonio were among the things he enjoyed most about participating in the youth development program that uses gardening to teach practical skills and life lessons.
Mann, who attends Kipp University Prep charter high school, said he also enjoyed learning how to use the vegetables he and other participants grew to make healthful, nutritious dishes.
“It was nice to do something for the community too,” he said. “This was my first time to do any gardening, and it was fun to plant and grow these vegetables.”
Mann was one of about 30 youth who recently “graduated” from the four-month, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-led program at the San Antonio Boys and Girls Club Teen Center on the city’s west side.
Club members, along with AgriLife Extension personnel, Bexar County Master Gardeners and others, planted 15 raised beds built by program partners and youth participants. In early September, they planted tomatoes, broccoli, red lettuce, cabbage, onions, carrots, peppers and other vegetables, as well as various herbs.
Teen participants and adult volunteers built the Garden of Greatness in back of the San Antonio Boys and Girls Club Teen Center. The raised garden beds were used to grow cold-weather vegetables during the recently completed fall program. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
Teen program participants weeded, fertilized, watered and otherwise took care of the garden in accordance with the curricula from the Texas Go! Eat! Grow! Program of AgriLife Extension.
“The kids harvested the garden, then at graduation received their certificate for completing the program and competed as teams in preparing healthful dishes made from the vegetables and herbs they grew and harvested,” said Rosemary Fuentes, AgriLife Extension health and wellness program specialist for Bexar County, who coordinates the program.
Fuentes said club efforts are part of a five-year U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded community-based project to address the issue of urban food deserts, while providing youth with new experiences and opportunities.
“An urban food desert is an area where affordable and nutritious food is difficult to obtain,” she said. “These are typically in low-income areas where there are few or no supermarkets and limited access to transportation.”
Fuentes said youth gain practical service-learning experiences and engage in developing useful life skills while learning about professional career opportunities in health, nutrition, horticulture, agriculture, science and more. They also learn about proper nutrition and food preparation by making healthy snacks in the club kitchen, using recipes provided by nutrition experts who help them prepare the snacks.
“The experience helped these young people become a little more college-ready and gave them some good insights into career opportunities in nutrition, horticulture, agriculture and associated fields,” she said.
The last program was a 16-week program, but starting in February we are going to make it a 10-week program,” she said. “This way, we hope we will be able to get even more youth to participate.”
Fuentes said one of the project’s main goals is to address the lack of experience which, along with a lack of education, exacerbates poverty among at-risk youth.
“We want to help encourage these teens to grow and to give back to their community,” she said. “We show them the value of gardening and horticulture and of eating nutritious, healthful food. They also learn important life skills like personal responsibility, teamwork and cooperation, which will serve them throughout their adult lives and in their careers.”
Dr. Manuel Piña Jr., an associate professor in the agricultural leadership, education and communication department ofTexas A&M University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in College Station, spoke to program participant at the graduation. Piña related the importance of education and of the need for persistence and teamwork in reaching personal goals.
“We hope youth participation in this program will lead to the more long-term goal of inspiring them to go to college and become professionals in one of these agriculture-related career fields,” he said.
Dr. Melinda Garcia, an Our Lady of the Lake University graduate who has participated in the program
Recent Garden of Greatness 4-H SPIN club program participants prepare recipes made with vegetables and herbs they grew and harvested. (Courtesy photo)
since its inception, also attended.
“It was great to see these young people participate in the program and devote their time and attention to it,” Garcia said. “I’m part of it because I want to serve the community and can help by serving as a role model. I grew up in a low-income area and had a lot of the same challenges these young people do, but was able to apply myself and get my PhD.”
Fuentes said she likes to think of the program not only as a way to help teenagers plant seeds in a garden, but also to help them plant seeds for their future.
“This project provides an innovative and engaging approach to not only help improve access to healthful, nutritious foods, but also to provide youth in those communities with the knowledge, hands-on experiential learning and life skills they need.”
Fall pest has many South Central Texans seeing spots before their eyes: Experts say insect ‘invasion’ will continue as temperatures drop
By: Paul Schattenberg
said South Central Texans can expect to see more outdoor insects, such as the psyllid shown here, trying to get indoors as exterior temperatures drop. (Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service photo by Mike Merchant)
If you think you’re seeing spots before your eyes around the holidays, it may just be a tiny gnat-like insect “getting up in your grill,” according to entomologists with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.
“If you’ve seen some tiny insects flying around and possibly gathering on cars, windows or the sides of buildings around South and Central Texas, what you may be looking at is the hackberry psyllid,” said Wizzie Brown, AgriLife Extension entomologist for Travis County. “We typically get them each fall when the weather grows cooler and they try to move indoors where it is nice and cozy.”
The pest, more accurately called the hackberry nipple-gall maker insect, emerges from galls, nipple-like swellings the insects chemically induce into the leaves of hackberry trees. Like other gall makers, the adults lay their eggs on leaves, which then start to swell around the egg or developing larva, forming a gall. After feeding on the gall tissue throughout the summer, adults emerge in the fall seeking shelter.
“During the fall, it’s not unusual for someone to see dozens or hundreds of these tiny insects flying or poised for an opportunity to come into a home or office,” Brown said. “They are more of a nuisance than anything else.”
Molly Keck, AgriLife Extension entomologist for Bexar County, said psyllid activity in South Central Texas usually increases as temperatures drop significantly.
“I recently had a pest control professional bring insect samples into my office for identification,” she said. “He was pretty sure they were gnats because they were found near a window on an upper floor of a building, but hackberry psyllids are also found near windows, looking for an opportunity to get indoors where it’s warmer.”
Keck noted that another reason people often confuse these insects with gnats or fruit flies are that they are often found near kitchen sinks or counters.
“The psyllids aren’t actually coming from the sinks or from any fruit that might be on the counter,” she said. “They most likely are there because there’s a door or window near the kitchen and they’ve come in from that opening.”
“It’s not like you can really blame them; they are just temporarily homeless critters looking for a warm place to spend the winter,” said Dr. Mike Merchant, AgriLife Extension urban entomologist in Dallas.
Merchant said he recently stayed at a hotel in Austin and on his 23rd floor window, he saw dozens of hackberry psyllids outside.
“They are small enough to get around windows and doors, or to get through any of the myriad tiny exterior openings every house or building contains,” he said.
Keck added that typically insecticides have a limited impact on these insects and it’s not usually “economically feasible” to treat for them.
“They often come in swarms and can be a nuisance at first,” she said, “but they go almost as fast as they come and are there seeking shelter, not food, though they will eat something left out on a table or counter. You can spray around sills and that will have some impact, but it’s usually not worth the time and trouble it takes to try and control them.”
The entomologists said hackberry psyllids are not the only insects seeking shelter during colder weather.
“Paper wasps commonly seek shelter in homes following the first freeze,” Merchant said. “Other insects that enter homes in the fall include box elder and red shouldered bugs, and a host of little seed bugs.”
Keck added that scorpions and ants also frequently come indoors during colder months.
“When it got colder a few weeks ago, I started getting lots of calls about small dark ants that started to show up inside homes and businesses in the area,” she said.
Keck said these ants were identified as black crazy ants, similar to the tawny crazy ant, formerly known in Texas as the Rasberry crazy ant.
She said during colder weather businesses in particular are often invaded by these ants.
“In warmer weather, they find shelter around flagstone or concrete structures, such as those in walkways or parking lots, and then look for opportunities to come indoors when outside temperatures drop,” Keck explained.
Merchant said one of the best ways to prepare for this fall insect invasion is some general house repair and maintenance.
“These little bugs might even save you money if you use them as an excuse to get that energy audit you’ve been putting off. An energy audit will help you locate poorly sealed windows and doors, and can tell you where some of those outdoor, energy-wasting leaks are. Plugging those interior and exterior cracks and leaks makes it very difficult for pests to enter your home.”
School IPM Training for Coordinators and School Staff
In my experience, cost is one of the biggest constraints to IPM education in schools and municipalities. School districts and municipalities are reluctant to invest time and travel for employee training especially for unfunded mandates or non-essential programs. School IPM training often involves travel to out-of-district sites, and has limited reach for the majority of school district employees. Last month I wrote about the importance of educating your staff. This month I would like to introduce you to our online web portal for IPM courses. https://txn.esslearning.com/catalogs/agrilife/
Last year, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension was awarded a grant to develop some online courses, this request grew from animal control officers, and IPM coordinators who wanted to train themselves or their staff on a variety of pests and IPM topics. Earlier this year we launched our School IPM Training courses. If you are an animal control officer, licensed applicator with TDA and hold a 3A license, a school IPM coordinator who needs to train school staff, then you can use these courses to fulfill those needs. AgriLife Extension is working with TDA to determine a way to offer these courses for SPCS licensee holders, but for now, that is not an option. However, this does not mean these courses can’t help you out. Knowledge is power, and knowing what type of pests you have can help you more than just fulfill a CEU obligation, it can help you do your job better.
For School IPM Coordinators who need to develop an education program, use ours. Have a teacher (s) who want to have gardens; I suggest the IPM For School Gardens 101 course. It help explains the school IPM rules, but more importantly what teachers should consider for their gardens when it comes to pests. How about a course on pollinators, they are in the news, but do you know what pollinators are, and where they live? And my favorite course, Bats 101, learn the basics about bats, bat biology and some of the species that live in TX. Learn how IPM can help you keep bats from moving into your campus.
Your 2015 New Year’s resolution – learn more about IPM, become familiar with pollinators and know how IPM can help you with drought restrictions as well. We will have more to come on those topics in the new year.
The Importance of Educating Staff about Your IPM Program
By: Janet A. Hurley, Extension Program Specialist II
Integrated pest management (IPM) is a process that requires cooperation among all school staff members, faculty and students and pest management professionals within a school district. IPM is a strategy of managing pests using multiple control tactics that provide the best control with the least cost and environmental impact. IPM is based on thorough knowledge of the pests and the technologies used to control them and can be performed by anyone with proper training. A good IPM program attempts to make schools less hospitable to pests by modifying the environment and by using the lowest impact pesticides necessary. Managing risks from pests and risks from the pesticides used to control them are top priorities under an IPM program.
Having a sustainable IPM program takes time, effort, and people. Simply adopting IPM tenets and practices is part of the solution, but having a well thought out program takes some effort. Each school or district should have a designated IPM coordinator (“The Bug Stops Here” person). All reports and complaints should be directed to the coordinator’s office. The IPM coordinator should be viewed as an important part of the overall environmental quality team for the school or district. When it comes to IPM, cooperation is the key to successful operation. The IPM Coordinator for the school system needs to be an individual who can work with upper administration, principals, teachers, custodians, food service, and maintenance. The IPM Coordinator needs to have the ability to request work orders and have some input regarding how repairs are made. This individual also needs to be able to request that custodial crews undertake special deep cleaning projects when necessary. The coordinator also needs to be able to work with food service staff on continual maintenance and implementation of IPM practices in order to make these areas less pest friendly. The coordinator must also have the ability to work with campus teachers and principals to change practices that cause conditions conducive for pests.
IPM is information intensive; the coordinator should have time to attend conferences and other educational programs so that he/she can keep up with all the trends on pests and pest treatments. The coordinator must also be able to communicate well with others; this includes composing emails and newsletters to district staff during certain periods of the school year when specific pest problems are common.
Training for staff: Everyone within the school district has a role in IPM. All custodialstaff, food service personnel, and maintenance personnel should be trained to look for hidden problems. Teachers, principals, and coaches should be educated on when a pest problem is significant enough to warrant a pesticide treatment versus when a pest problem needs exclusion or sanitation remediation. Within the IPM program it is
Educating teachers and staff about food sources, especially during the holiday will keep unwanted visitors at bay.
everyone’s responsibility to help maintain the “health and well-being” of the school building. An IPM program will be received favorably when everyone is trained (especially teachers) as to why pests favor school buildings and what steps can be taken to keep ants and roaches out of classrooms. Most people do not understand that everyone has a role in the IPM program: teachers and staff can properly store food in their classrooms; custodians can utilize effective cleaning practices; maintenance staff can seal up holes, which allow pests into the building; and anyone can report broken door sweeps. If everyone in the district understands the need to report properly, then pest complaints will decrease while the use of pesticides also decreases.
Roles of other staff in the IPM Program:
School Administrators: Administrators should be aware of state laws about IPM in schools, pesticide use in schools, and any other regulations addressing pest management. Administrators should be familiar with the district’s IPM policy. The IPM program needs administrative support for sustainability and effectiveness. The IPM Coordinator should communicate with school administrators on a regular basis. The most important responsibilities of administrators are to:
Adopt and maintain an IPM policy.
Include IPM as part of your health and/or safety committee(s).
SHAC (School Health Advisory Councils)
Designate and train a competent IPM Coordinator.
Support priorities for maintenance and sanitation, as identified by the IPM Coordinator.
Encourage faculty and staff understanding and full participation in the IPM program.
School Nurses: School nurses should be aware of the IPM Policy, IPM Plan, and pesticides on school property. Be familiar with the signs and symptoms of pesticide poisoning. Be aware of signs of pest exposure including head lice, fire ants, bed bugs, asthma, rabies and mosquito and tick-borne diseases present in the region. The nurse should be able to communicate with the IPM Coordinator about such concerns. A nurse should:
Be aware of any children or staff with asthma, chemical sensitivities, or allergies to stinging insects.
Have information on IPM strategies for pests that can affect student health.
Keep a list of students who have serious reactions to stinging insects and communicate this information to the IPM Coordinator
Students and Teachers: Students and teachers need to be trained on how to report pest sightings. Using pest sighting logs and/or a work order system allows teachers report their concerns to the IPM coordinator. The teacher can act as the liaison from the student to the IPM coordinator. Students and teachers must also understand the necessity of keeping facilities clean:
Leaving NO food in lockers, classrooms, and common areas
NO eating or drinking in areas not designated for food consumption.
NO clutter, which can provide shelter and makes inspection and cleaning difficult
The National Pesticide Information Center’s mobile web app “MAPL” = Mobile Access to Pesticides and Labels
By: Kaci Buhl, Project Coordinator, National Pesticide Information Center, Oregon State University
Did you know that there is a Pesticide Product Search from NPIC – Available now!
How many permethrin products are used on dogs?
Are there any products available for grub control in mint?
I just need to peek at the label for Clorox Bleach.
The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) at Oregon State University created a tool that can help. It’s available online and has been used by hundreds of professionals already. It’s optimized for tablets and smart phones, so you can use it on the go. http://npic.orst.edu/mapl
This is a mobile web app, rather than a native app. It operates within a browser, does not have to be downloaded, and is updated automatically without bothering the user. Mobile web apps are ideal for tools that require frequent updates and are used weekly, rather than daily. You can create an icon for the desktop of your device by bookmarking the app.
It’s called “Mobile Access to Pesticides and Labels” or MAPL. It was designed for professionals with basic training in pesticide registration. You can search for pesticide products by name, registrant, or EPA Registration number. You can also search by any combination of active ingredients, pests, and (use) sites. Site-pest combinations are popular with NPIC staff. For example, what can be used for (this) pest in (that) place?
When results are returned, and the user selects a product, that screen provides quick details about the product. It also includes a link to the most recent version of the EPA Stamped-Accepted-Label (SAL) in pdf. Links are provided leading to state-level searches and other tools. A product detail screen can also be bookmarked.
For more information about NPIC apps visit their website at http://npic.orst.edu/webapps.html To learn more about NPIC http://npic.orst.edu/ NPIC is operated through a cooperative agreement between Oregon State University and the Office of Pesticide Programs (#X8-83560101). You can call them with questions Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm Pacific Time.
Attention Administrators, Faculty, and Nurses!
Bonny Mayes, MA, Epidemiologist, Zoonosis Control Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services
The Texas Department of State Health Services would like to invite the kids at your school to participate in a Rabies Awareness & Prevention Poster Contest. Rabies is a viral disease that kills over 50,000 people every year around the world. Human deaths from rabies in the United States are very rare (approximately one death per year, almost exclusively due to rabies associated with bats). This is due to strict animal control laws, widespread pet vaccinations, and public health intervention in identified rabies-exposure cases. Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis is 100% effective when administered properly. However, the treatment is very expensive and requires multiple shots over a period of time.
Skunks and bats are the most commonly affected species in Texas. Private residences and school grounds are
Image from DSHS 2013 First place winner from Grade 3-5
the most common locations in Texas for exposure to rabid bats. Bat bites are not always noticeable and many people are unaware that exposure to bats poses a risk. Most of these rabies exposures are preventable through education. This is why we are encouraging school kids throughout Texas to become more aware about rabies and respecting bats and other wildlife from a distance. Children at your school can participate by entering a contest to design a poster promoting rabies awareness & prevention. There are prizes for students in Kindergarten through 8th grade, and artwork from top-ranking posters may be used for future state sponsored public health educational projects. Prizes are provided by the Zach Jones Memorial Fund www.zachjonesmemorial.org .
Please forward this information to the teachers in your school and encourage them to involve their students. This would be a perfect activity for schools participating in C-Scope as an informational text or procedural text assignment or as an excellent extra-credit project for an art or science class. Provided online is an information sheet for students and a teacher instruction sheet with details and an entry form www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/disease/rabies/information/contest . The deadline for poster submission is April 6, 2015. To see all the winners check out this link http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/disease/rabies/information/contest/winners/
Global Handwashing Day — practice safe handwashing practices this fall
Clean hands saves lives and prevents the transmission of many common diseases.
The 7th annual Global Handwashing Day will be observed October 15, 2014. This observance increases awareness and understanding of handwashing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent disease around the world.
Handwashing with soap has an important role to play in child survival and health. Approximately 2.2 million children aged <5 years die each year from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, the top two causes of death among young children globally (1). Handwashing with soap can reduce the incidence of diarrhea among children aged <5 years by 30% (2) and the incidence of respiratory infections by 21% (3).
Although persons around the world clean their hands with water, few use soap to wash their hands. Washing hands with soap removes bacteria much more effectively (4).
Liu L, Johnson HL, et al.; Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group of WHO and UNICEF. Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality: an updated systematic analysis for 2010 with time trends since 2000. Lancet 2012;379:2151–61.
Ejemot RI, Ehiri JE, Meremikwu MM, Critchley JA. Hand washing for preventing diarrhoea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2008;(1):CD004265.
Aiello AE, Coulborn RM, Perez V, Larson EL. Effect of hand hygiene on infectious disease risk in the community setting: a meta-analysis. Am J Public Health 2008;98:1372–81.
Burton M, Cobb E, Donachie P, Judah G, Curtis V, Schmidt WP. The effect of handwashing with water or soap on bacterial contamination of hands. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2011;8:97–104.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of the date of publication.
Fall Weed Control for Schools
Matt Elmore, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist
Control of grassy weeds, particularly perennial weeds like dallisgrass, has changed for landscape and athletic field managers in the wake of the MSMA ban. There is no longer one product that will control crabgrass, goosegrass, and dallisgrass, so we are forced to buy several different products and make separate applications to control these weeds. On top of that, these products are more expensive. Will there be a new product introduced that will ever truly replace MSMA? What options are available right now?
Image of Dallisgrass from the top
While there will be new turf herbicides introduced in the next 5-10 years, I don’t expect any game-changers. The drought in new herbicides is caused by the success of technology that engineered glyphosate tolerance in corn, soybean, and several other crops. Weed control with glyphosate was so cheap and easy that most other herbicides were rendered irrelevant. Declining sales meant declining revenues for agrochemical companies, and most major chemical companies drastically reduced their efforts to discover new herbicides. Fast-forward to the present, and glyphosate-resistant weeds are making old herbicides new again. Farmers now have to rely on several different herbicides and other weed control strategies (sound familiar?). Interest in herbicides besides glyphosate has reinvigorated the efforts of many agrochemical companies to discover new herbicides. However, if scientists are so lucky to discover a new herbicide molecule worthy of commercialization (only about 1 in 100,000 molecules screened are), the approval process is longer and more arduous than ever before. Much like the herbicides that have replaced MSMA, current experimental herbicides control a narrow spectrum of weeds. In short, do not expect a single new herbicide to replace MSMA and solve our weed control problems.
Effective weed control for the present and future should rely on combinations of herbicides, cultural practices,
Crabgrass from top
and Mother Nature. To control perennial warm-season weeds like dallisgrass, fall herbicide applications are more effective than spring or summer applications. But fall is a long season; so when is the best time to make herbicide applications? In my previous job at the University of Tennessee, we found applications of Tribute Total (labeled in zoysiagrass and bermudagrass) or Celsius (labeled in St. Augustinegrass) provided good dallisgrass control when the first application was made when the average of the high and low daily air temperatures dropped below 70 °F for several days (probably mid to late September in North Texas) and another application was made 4-6 weeks later. We also observed control was improved further when a third application was made after spring greenup. So even though it is October and you have missed the window to make your first application for dallisgrass control, you can still a single application now before we hit winter and another in the spring.
Exactly why these fall herbicide applications work best is debatable. It could be that more herbicide is translocated to the roots during a fall application. But a common theme I have observed in successful fall application programs is that the dallisgrass or bermudagrass enters the winter before it recovers from herbicide applications. The timing of the last herbicide application is important. The last herbicide application should be made early enough in the fall that target weed is still growing, but late enough that it doesn’t recover before winter. These herbicide applications might leave dallisgrass in a weakened state, making it more likely to succumb to wintertime stresses. This might be analogous to a squirrel that cannot find enough acorns before the winter. Especially in a tough winter, will they survive?
.