Webinar series will help distinguish insect pests from welcome guests

AUSTIN – What bug is that – and should I leave it alone? It’s a question people often ask themselves when they see a tiny, crawling creature wandering around their lawn, garden or walkway.

To help people identify and understand insects and their impact on the environment, the eXtension Communities of Practice will present the 2016 All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series.

Webinars will take place the first Friday of each month at 1 p.m. To participate, go to http://bit.ly/1KHMETw and click on the title of the webinar for information on how to connect.

“This webinar series provides information about good and bad insects. The seminars are free and open to everyone,” said Wizzie Brown, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialist – integrated pest management, Travis County.

Brown said the seminars are recorded so they can also be watched at a later date.

“The entomologists and other experts presenting these webinars will discuss how people can help pollinators and other good insects by using pesticides properly, as well as how to control insects thought of as bad, such as fire ants, vegetable bugs, a new invasive fruit fly and cockroaches,” she said.

“We’ll even have a webinar about snakes, although they’re not insects but can be a pest or a beneficial, depending on how you look at them.”

The next webinar will be March 4 and titled “Kill That Queen the First Time: Tips for Making Fire Ant Mound Treatments.” It will be presented by Dr. Jason Oliver, research associate professor in the agricultural and environmental sciences department of Tennessee State University.

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