The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) at the University of Illinois has recently filled a much needed, vacant position. We are excited to announce that Jonathan Jackson is PSEP’s new program assistant. Jonathan will be responsible for...
Jean Miles never liked any attention being placed on her, but she deserves some. She quietly retired this past March just as our busy clinic season was winding down. Jean first joined the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) as extra help in 1997...
As the spray season is winding down for many Illinois pesticide applicators, the training and testing season has also slowed way down for the University of Illinois Pesticide Safety Education Program and the Illinois Department of Agriculture. The month of September is the perfect time for us in...
How well are you protecting your eyes while applying pesticides? Unprotected or inadequately protected eyes are at high risk of pesticide exposure, which can result in mild to severe irritation, eye injury, vision loss, or even permanent disability. Eye exposure also provides a route for the...
The University of Illinois recently hosted the Youth Crop Scouting Competition at the Urbana-Champaign South Farm. Student teams of two to five high-school-aged youth with an adult coach rotated through 10 outdoor...
Now is the time to get rid of any old or unwanted pesticides in your chemical storage area. The Illinois EPA one-day household hazardous waste collection schedule for this fall has been released to the public. Please note, all one-day collections require pre-registration. More information can be...
The following is adapted slightly from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) press release dated July 23, 2025. There are currently no registered dicamba products for over-the-top (OTT) applications to soybeans and/or cotton. In recent years, Illinois had additional state restrictions on...
On April 29, 2025, the EPA published its final Insecticide Strategy, following the release of the draft version in July 2024. The insecticide strategy is part of a broader suite of regulatory efforts,...
The USDA recently rescinded a rule that required all private applicators (those who apply pesticides to their own land) to keep records of their restricted-use applications. The rescinded requirement appeared in the ...
The elm zigzag sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda) is an invasive pest of elm trees (Ulmus spp.) that was first detected in Illinois in July 2024 in Busse Woods, Cook County. Native to parts of China and Japan, this species became established in Europe in 2003 and was first detected in the United...
The Illinois Department of Agriculture has announced the single-day collection sites and dates for the 2025 Pesticide Container Recycling Program. Dates and locations are available on the Illinois Department of Agriculture website. ...
Illinois pesticide applicators and operators, if you have previously taken an Illinois Department of Agriculture online exam, you may already be familiar with ProctorU. All pesticide online exams are proctored by ProctorU (also known as Meazure Learning). You would have created a login and spoken...
Private applicators have a novel way to handle spray tank residues when cleaning agricultural machinery and spraying equipment that was presented at the 2025 Pesticide Stewardship Alliance annual conference recently. The following information was provided by Lee Huber, SR. Residue Manager with...
Recently, I participated in The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance’s 25th annual conference. The Ag Container Recycling Council (ACRC) had an exhibitor booth and explained what the ACRC does. In their 33 years of service to U.S. growers and custom applicators, they have collected over 257,000,000...
For many, spring is an opportunity to deep clean and organize homes, offices and other areas that have become cluttered over the winter and previous year. Your pesticide storage areas shouldn’t be overlooked. A well-organized and maintained pesticide storage area will help to save time and money...
In 2024, 241 pesticide misuse complaints were filed with the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Of those, 202 cases have been completed (reviewed and closed or an enforcement action taken) as of early April 2025. Of those completed cases, 103 were closed and no evidence of misuse was found....
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...
Do you still need to obtain your Illinois pesticide applicator or operator license? Now that the in-person pesticide safety education clinics have concluded, you may be wondering what your options are for training and testing. See below to get you well on your way to becoming certified.Training...
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...
