Calling all WBC Trap Participants! The WBC Trap Network website is now up and running and ready for you to add your trap sites and join our trapping network. Anyone wishing to join must login and create a new user account at www.cornpest.ca. Click on the “Login” menu from the top left of the page (on a computer) or from…

Soil temperatures are at 10 degrees C which means that wireworms and grubs are active near the soil surface. So it is also a great time to set up wireworm baits or dig for grubs. For the 2017 planting season, growers wanting to purchase and plant neonic treated corn and soybean seed require a pest assessment report (PAR) through an…
**UPDATE APRIL 27, 2017: Corrections have been made to these tables. Specifically, the Agrisure Products 3110, 3111 and 3122 are now approved in the EU. See links provided below. Many of you have been asking for the 2017 Bt Traits tables for Canada so here they are. Bt Corn Products/Traits Currently Available in Canada – As of April 27, 2017…
Learn, participate and have your say The proposed Plant and Animal Health Strategy for Canada was drafted together by governments, industry and others who play a role in safeguarding plant and animal health. The strategy will protect plants and animals from new and emerging risks by focusing efforts more on prevention and increasing partner collaboration and coordination. You are invited…

The 2016-2017 version of OMAFRA Publication 812, Field Crop Protection Guide, and can be downloaded here or by clicking on the the book cover thumbnail below. Publication 812 is the source of pest control information for field crops. The easy to read tables provide information and comments on insect and disease control products for the major field crops including best control options for…
An infosheet has been created that contains information on the swede midge life cycle, scouting for the pest in canola, and control options relevant to Ontario producers. Please click the link below to view the PDF. Swede Midge Infosheet Final 2016

Cereal leaf beetle is starting to show up in some fields in Ontario. A few locations tend to experience a higher frequency of infestations including fields near Dresden, Bolton, Stayner, Seaforth, and Clinton. But this does not mean that other fields in Ontario are not at risk. Cereal leaf beetle (CLB) adults are beetles with metallic blue-green wings and a…

Once corn and soybeans emerge, keep an eye out for crop injury. If you experience stand loss from wireworms, grubs, seedcorn maggot, bean leaf beetle (in soybeans only) or corn rootworm (in corn only), then you can choose to have an Inspection of Crop Pest Assessment done this spring. If the stand loss thresholds are reached (see below), then a…

Now is a great time to scout for wireworms and grubs. With the recent warm weather, soil temperatures have reached 10oC, which means that wireworm baits will be most effective right now and grubs will also be feeding close the soil surface. How much time there is to scout for these pests depends on how quickly the soil warms up…

Before this brief cold wet weather some planting got started over the last week in some areas. The warmer weather had brought spring on into full bloom including dandelions, coltsfoot and some trees including maples, willows, popular and even fruit trees. With the flowers come the bees to forage, setting up the potential for the interaction of bees and neonicotinoids…
I’m big on “To Do Lists”. Some may even say I am obsessed with them. But they help me get things done. With the 2016 growing season approaching, it is a good time to review what the requirements are for using Class 12 pesticides (neonic treated corn and soybean seeds) in Ontario. Here is a “To Do” list for anyone…
As of July 1, 2015, new requirements for buying and using neonicotinoid-treated corn and/or soybean seed are being phased in to allow growers to adapt to new requirements. This fall (2015) – to prepare for the 2016 growing season Required for Seed Order To purchase and plant 50% or less of your total grain corn or total soybean crop for a farm operation with a neonicotinoid…

Trap counts are still quite high this week in Ontario which indicates that peak flight hasn’t plateaued yet. So there is likely still lots of egg laying happening. Moths will prefer to lay eggs in later planted corn that is still in pre to early tassel stages or will find dry bean fields nearby. Just because a trap is catching…

Lots of people have been sending in pics of eggs, nymphs or adult stink bugs and asking which stink bug it is. So I thought I’d try to help sort them out for you. There are predatory stink bugs and then there are plant feeding stink bugs. It is important to make sure you can ID the good ones from…