Category: Pests & Disease

What’s New With The Florida Organo-Auxin Rule?

by Dr. Jason Ferrell and Dr. Brett Bultemeier

December 16, 2025

The Florida Organo-Auxin Rule (5E-2.033) has been in place for several decades. The purpose of this rule is to place additional restrictions and recordkeeping requirements on the use of auxin herbicides (such as 2,4-D, dicamba, and triclopyr) ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Crops, HOME LANDSCAPES, NATURAL RESOURCES, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Archived, Brett Bultemeier, FDACS, Herbicides, Jason Ferrell, Organo-auxin, Pesticide Information Office, Rules, Update

Hats and Pesticides

by Dr. Brett Bultemeier
December 11, 2025

To Hat or Not to Hat, That is the Question. It is common to see pesticide technicians in hats, particularly logoed ballcaps. They are practical for keeping the sun off while providing visibility for the company logo. The more worn in a hat ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management, Food Safety, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, NATURAL RESOURCES, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Archived, Brett Bultemeier, Chemicals, Hat, Launder, Personal Protective Equipment, Pesticide Safety, Pesticides, PPE, Protection, Safety

Pesticide Exposure: What Activities Can Lead to Exposure?

by Dr. Brett Bultemeier
October 7, 2025

In part one of this series, we discussed risk. To have risk, hazard AND exposure must both be present. Remember Risk = Hazard + Exposure. Then we discussed acute, sub-chronic and chronic exposure, and what those mean. Now it is time to dig beyond ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Activities Of Exposure, Archived, Brett Bultemeier, Pesticide Exposure, Pesticide Exposure Series, Pesticide Information Office

Pesticide Exposure: Types and Symptoms

by Dr. Brett Bultemeier
September 23, 2025

Pesticides are hazardous, they are designed to repel, kill, or otherwise disrupt the lifecycle of living organisms. Pesticides can be toxic and even poisonous. These are all true statements, but a hazard, by itself, is not necessarily a ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Blog Community, Farm Management, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Archived, Brett Bultemeier, Pesticide Exposure, Pesticide Exposure Series, Pesticide Information Office, Risk, Symptoms

Which Pesticide License Do I Need?

by Erin Harlow and Dr. Brett Bultemeier

September 9, 2025

The United States Environmental Protection Agency requires individuals wishing to purchase or use Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP) be properly licensed/certified. States then carry out those plans through approved certification and training plans. ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Farm Management, HOME LANDSCAPES, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Archived, Brett Bultemeier, Erin Harlow, Pesticide Information Office, Pesticide Licenses, Pesticides, Restricted Use Product

IPM: The Struggle in Defining a Strategy

by Bonnie Wells and Dr. Brett Bultemeier

August 11, 2025

If you are in the world of pesticides, you have likely heard of “IPM” Integrated Pest Management and probably have some sense of what it is. If you were asked to fully define it though, could you? Would your definition be outdated? Would ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Blog Community, Conservation, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, NATURAL RESOURCES, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Archived, Bonnie Wells, Brett Bultemeier, Brevard County, Chemicals, Integrated Pest Management, IPM, Management, Pesticide Information Office, Pesticides, PIO

What’s the Buzz on Bees?

by Amy Vu and Dr. Brett Bultemeier

June 24, 2025

Florida is known for many of its “Fresh from Florida” commodities such as citrus, tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, watermelons, beans, and sweet corn, but what role do honey bees play in the production of these crops? Did you know that ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Livestock, NATURAL RESOURCES, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Amy Vu, Archived, Bee, Brett Bultemeier, Honey Bee, Honey Bee Research And Extension Lab, Integrated Pest Management, Jamie Ellis, Pest Management, Pesticide Information Office, Pesticides, Pollinator Protection, Pollinator Week Cross Pollination, Pollinators, Sylvia Willis, UF Honey Bee Lab

Pesticide Resistance: Does it Really Matter?

by Dr. Jason Ferrell and Dr. Brett Bultemeier

June 3, 2025

The use of modern pesticides didn’t ramp up until the late 1940’s. This era provided a seemingly unending stream of new products that became increasingly more effective, selective, and consistent. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long until ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, NATURAL RESOURCES, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Tags: Archived, Center For Aquatic And Invasive Plants, Jason Ferrell, Pesticide Information Office, Pesticide Label, Pesticide Resistance, Pesticides

Homemade Weed and Bug Killer

by Dr. Brett Bultemeier
May 13, 2025

The internet and social media abound with “Do it yourself” “Homemade” “Natural” weed killer and bug control articles. Many will promise that these mixes are easy, safe, and very effective. This blog will not discuss efficacy, but ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, HOME LANDSCAPES, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Archived, Brett Bultemeier, Homemade Pesticide, Pesticide, Pesticide Information Office

Mosquitos as a Pesticide?

by Dr. Brett Bultemeier
May 6, 2025

A pesticide is described as any substance that is used to kill, repel, or control a “pest”. Mosquitos are a pest that Floridians know very well. Around the world there are around 1,000,000 deaths each year from mosquito borne illness, ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, HOME LANDSCAPES, NATURAL RESOURCES, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Aedes Aegypti, Archived, Brett Bultemeier, EPA, Genetically Modified Mosquito, Mosquito, Oxitec, Pesticide, Pesticide Information Office

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