Dietrick Institute for Applied Insect Ecology and University of California Cooperative Extension of Ventura County will bring Ken Kupfer, founding CEO of KM AntPro from Florida for a training session on ant baiting systems using liquid borate baits.
The event will be from 8 to 11 a.m. June 6, at the UC Cooperative Extension Conference Room 669, County Square Dr., Suite 100, at no cost to farmers, landscape managers, and Master Gardeners.
The morning will open with Entomologist Anna Howell of the UC Cooperative Extension giving an overview on ant biology.
Kupfer will demonstrate why organic and biologically based pest control becomes challenging in the presence of ants, with similar challenges persisting in rodent control and the need to manage ants for a cost-effective method for biological pest management.
Jan Dietrick, founder of the non-profit Dietrick Institute and President of Rincon-Vitova Insectaries, Inc., is organizing the institute to offer local training programs about biological farming methods that help maintain healthy soil. “What many growers don’t know is that there are ways to manage ants without toxic pesticides that are effective and accepted on certified organic farms. ”
Joining Howell and Kupfer is Pest Control Advisor Tom Roberts of Integrated Consulting Entomology to talk about ant management systems in different crop settings. This, alongside some classic advice from pestsmartcontrol and other experts, can help people keep such problems on the lower end for their crops.
Future training workshops will cover other technologies for increasing soil biology on managed lands.
Contact Ron Whitehurst, PCA, 805-643- 5407, email [email protected] for more information.
