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How quickly we forget. After the publication of “Silent Spring,” 50 years ago, we (scientists, environmental and health advocates, birdwatchers, citizens) managed to curb the use of pesticides[1] and our exposure to them — only to see their application grow and grow to the point where American agriculture uses more of them than ever before.
The Peterson Farm Brothers present “Farmer Style,” a parody of PSY’s “Gangnam Style.” Please enjoy, share with your friends, and remember to thank a farmer for your food!
In the rain forests of Costa Rica lives Anelosimus octavius, a species of spider that sometimes displays a strange and ghoulish habit. From time to time these spiders abandon their own web and build a radically different one, a home not for the spider but for a parasitic wasp that has been living inside it.
In the following video, Ohio State University's Susan Jones discusses recent research findings relating to the use of 'bug bombs' to control bed bugs.
AAPS new "Policy Statement on Pesticide Exposure in Children" calls for national action to address "inadequacies in medical training, public health tracking and regulatory action on pesticides."
An unsuspecting worker ant in Brazil's rainforest leaves its nest one morning. But instead of following the well-worn treetop paths of its nest mates, this ant stumbles along clumsily, walking in aimless circles, convulsing from time to time.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are alerting the public to an emerging national concern regarding misuse of pesticides to treat infestations of bed bugs and other insects indoors.
As bedbugs have made a comeback, aided by resistance to pesticides and spread by worldwide travel, scientists have found that panic over the blood-sucking pests may be more dangerous than their bite. Some people are misusing poisonous chemicals in a desperate bid to eradicate the pests, federal officials said Thursday.
"And don't let the bed bugs bite" is no longer a harmless adage. In reality today, these bloodthirsty bugs infest thousands of homes. According to a team of Penn State entomologists, biopesticides -- naturally occurring microorganisms -- might provide an answer to this pest problem.
Penn State researchers recently discovered the African Fig Fly in Pennsylvania for the first time, giving fruit growers across the state another invasive pest to be on the look out for.
As those affected by the destructive damage and widespread power outages caused by Hurricane Sandy begin the rebuilding process, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) is focusing on the impact the super storm will have on pest populations in affected areas of New York and New Jersey, specifically in hard-hit communities.
Want to avoid pesticides and antibiotics in your produce, meat, and dairy foods? Prefer to pay more to make sure farm animals were treated humanely, farmworkers got their lunch breaks, bees or birds were protected by the farmer and that ranchers didn't kill predators?
A new publication offered by the Pesticide Education Program in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences provides recommendations for preventing and controlling infestations of wood-destroying insects.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced more than $21 million US in new grants through its Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE) initiative.GCE is a tiered granting mechanism that funds innovative ideas to tackle key global health and development problems, and provides additional resources for projects that demonstrate initial promise.
The PA IPM News Fall 2012 edition is now available as a downloadable PDF file. In this issue: Agrochemicals Impair Learning in Honey Bees; Uninvited Guests – Lady Beetles; Educational Tools for Safer Pest Control in Childcare Centers; New IPM Manual for Growers; Back to School Means a Return for Head Lice; Journal of IPM Now Accepting Submissions.
Penn State University professor weighs in on what can be done to salvage your crop and the fields after inclement weather.
It's becoming clear that we can grow all the food we need, and profitably, with far fewer chemicals. And I’m not talking about imposing some utopian vision of small organic farms on the world. Conventional agriculture can shed much of its chemical use — if it wants to.
Two Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences students have been awarded fellowships from the U.S. Borlaug Global Food Security Program. Ariel Rivers, a dual-degree doctoral student in Entomology and International Agriculture and Development, and Daniel Tobin, a dual-degree doctoral student in Agricultural and Extension Education, and International Agriculture and Development, received the fellowships to support their international research projects.
A monitoring system set up in the early 1980s to track common vegetable pests in New Jersey has led to a treasure trove of maps about a new invader, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB). Scientists are analyzing the maps to stop BMSB from pirating a wide range of fruit and vegetables in North America.
Beginning farmers who need to enhance their knowledge about organic vegetable production, ecological plant-disease management and soil basics will find useful information in a new series of fact sheets offered by Penn State Extension.
