As spring continues to warm up and weeds and insects increase in abundance, demand for management of these populations will continue to grow. Along with pest insects and flowering weeds, bees, wasps, butterflies, and flies will also begin to emerge as essential pollinators in many systems. While...

There are several pesticide related bills being considered in the Illinois Senate and House currently. We’ve been told that action will need to be taken on many of these in the next couple of weeks if they are to become laws. Some have previous versions that were introduced in past years and will...

The Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera) is often considered the most damaging pest to U.S. corn. While the adults can cause issues in pollination through clipping silks, the most destructive life stage is the larvae, who live below ground and feed on corn roots. Larval...

Do your pesticide applications fall under the scope of the EPA’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS)? If so, you should take a few minutes to review recent changes to the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) requirements. Let’s start by reviewing what the AEZ is and its purpose. The EPA introduced...

On January 1, 2025, a new law went into effect that could affect Illinois’ pesticide applicators working in rights-of-way areas. The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) has been tasked with writing the rules and has recently created a...

The University of Illinois Pesticide Safety Education Program has released their upcoming clinic schedule with locations that span the state. Offerings will be similar to that of recent years although quite limited compared to when in-person was the only option. If you are interested in attending...

Are you preparing to take your Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) pesticide licensing exams? If so, you should check to see if you have the most recent editions of the study publications. The University of Illinois Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) recently revised several manuals...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the final biological evaluation (BE), and associated response to comments, for 11 rodenticide active ingredients. The mitigation measures described in this final BE will also serve as the agency’s Rodenticide Strategy as outlined in EPA’s...

Here at the Pesticide Safety Education Program, we discuss pesticide resistance topics, such as rotating pesticide chemistries, utilizing thresholds, and using non-chemical control practices such as biological or cultural control. These topics are essential in preventing pest resistance issues, but...