Friday, January 24, 2014

All Bugs Good & Bad Webinar Series- begins Febraury 7, 2014!

The eXtension All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar series is set to begin February 7, 2014. Dr. Kathy Flanders, an entomologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, says the series is a continuation of the Don’t Bug Me Webinar series with an emphasis on good and bad insects that affect people every day.

“This webinar series will feature insects that affect homeowners and gardeners,” says Flanders. “These insects fall into two categories and we hope to provide information that is beneficial when treating your gardens or crops and pest-proofing your home, yard, family and pets.”

Webinars will be held the first Friday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The first webinar in the 2014 series will highlight pollinators, which are good bugs.  "If flowers are restaurants to bees, then what are bees to flowers?"  will be Friday, February 7th at 2 p.m.

Dani Carroll, a region Extension home grounds agent, will be moderating the February 7th webinar. She says it is imperative to know the importance of the role pollinators play in the world around us.

“Bees and other pollinators are essential in production of more than two-thirds of the world’s food crop species,” Carroll says. “The necessity extends beyond things we grow in our back yard, like squash and apples. Alfalfa is instrumental in the meat and dairy industries and its growth depends on pollination.”

Upcoming webinar topics include pollinators, termites, ticks, spiders and fire ants.

Flanders says The All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar series is designed to provide useful tips for those interested in solid, research-based information.

More information can be found at All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series  including how to connect to the webinars.  On Feb. 7, participants can use this link to connect to the webinar. Webinars will be archived and can be found on the All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series page.

All Bugs Good and Bad webinars are an extension of the seven webinars in The Don’t Bug Me Webinar Series, which spanned most of 2013, and included five webinars discussing fire ants, tramp ants, bed bugs and insects that invade homes.  Links to view these archived webinars can be found here.

The webinars are sponsored by eXtension, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.  They are coordinated by the Imported Fire Ant eXtension Community of Practice, Urban IPM, Bee Health, Invasive Species, Gardens, Lawns and Landscapes, and Disasters.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Continuing Education Classes for Private Applicator License Holders

Our Ag agent is still working to get all of the credits worked out with TDA, but Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will be holding two days with a total of 15 hours of credit.  Yes, they will be long days, but they will be filled with exciting speakers!

Both classes will be held with limited registration at the:

Travis County AgriLife Extension Office
1600 B. Smith Rd.
Austin, TX 78721

February 5th - 8 hours - $70 - Beef & Brush Focus
(pre-registered & pre-paid by check or money)
Lunch & Snacks Included!!!
Registration at 8:15 AM, program starts at 8:45 AM
Program scheduled to end around 6:30 PM
1 Laws & Regs, 1 IPM, 1 Drift, 5 General
Topics will include:
Feral Hog & Predator Control
External Parasites in Beef Cattle
Brush Control 
Special guests: Dr. Bob Lyons, Dr. Rick Machen & Dr. Sonja Swiger, Jacob Hetzel & Stefan Hunt

February 13 - 7 hours - $65
(pre-registered & pre-paid by check or money order)
Dinner & Snacks Included!!!
Registration at 11:30 AM, program starts at Noon
Program scheduled to end around 8:30 PM - Class is great for those that can't get away in the mornings!
1 Laws & Regs, 2 IPM, 4 General
Topics will include:
Pests in our Pecan Orchards
Plant Selection
Best practices for Integrated Pest Management
Special Guests: Dr. Bill Ree, Wizzie Brown, Daphne Richards, & Beau Whisenant

If you register for both classes, the total will only be $120!  Just think how good it will be to get those hours done!

A detailed class schedule will be posted soon, but I wanted to get this out to you all ASAP!  Since it is limited registration, I encourage you to email Sue: sacarrasco@ag.tamu.edu or call 512-854-9610 to reserve your seat NOW!  Both classes are currently pending TDA approval on hours.