Category: Professional Development

November 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
November 10, 2025

Recap of November 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector This month’s Florida First Detector webinar took a closer look at Hymenoptera. This is an order of insects that includes wasps, bees, ants, hornets, and sawflies. Hymenopterans ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Livestock, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Bees, Biosecurity, Early Detection, Eradication, FFD25-26, FloridaFirstDetector, Honeybees, Hornet, SeminoleCountyAg, Wasp

September 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
September 8, 2025

Recap of September 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector This September, we continued our tradition of kicking off another year of First Fridays webinars with a refresher on the fundamentals of invasive species. Whether you're brand ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, AGRICULTURE, Conservation, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Biosecurity, Early Detection, Eradication, FFD25-26, FloridaFirstDetector, SeminoleCountyAg

Reclaiming Water: Reclaimed Water Usage, Part 2

by Jacob Burris
August 5, 2025

What is ‘Reclaimed Water’? According to the USEPA and UF/IFAS, reclaimed water is recycled wastewater that has been thoroughly treated, at least to the secondary level, for reuse. This treatment removes harmful organisms and substances, ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Recreation, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, , Water
Tags: Alternative Water Supply, Florida Water, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Irrigation, Irrigation Calibration, Irrigation System, Residential Irrigation, Sustainable Landscape, Wastewater, Wastewater Treatment

First Fridays with Florida First Detector, Schedule available Sept 2025-2026!

by Morgan Pinkerton
June 30, 2025

What is Florida First Detector? Florida First Detector is a multiagency educational effort focused on enhancing the early detection of invasive pests that threaten agriculture, nursery industries, and natural areas. We offer in-person and ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Biosecurity, FFD25-26, Florida First Detector, FloridaFirstDetector, Invasive Species, Plant Protection, SeminoleCountyAg

June 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
June 9, 2025

Recap of June 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector Snails and slugs are gastropods, a type of mollusk found all over the world. While snails have a prominent external shell, slugs typically lack a visible shell, making them appear ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Tags: Biosecurity, Early Detection, Eradication, FFD24-25, FloridaFirstDetector, Quarantines, SeminoleCountyAg, Slugs, Snails

March First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
March 10, 2025

Recap of March 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector This month, we talked about invasive pests on citrus. Historically, the citrus industry has a really big deal in Florida. So important that the orange is the official state fruit, ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Biosecurity, Citrus, Early Detection, FFD24-25, FloridaFirstDetector, Fruit, Fruit Flies, Pests, SeminoleCountyAg

February First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
February 10, 2025

Recap of February 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector This month, we talked about Invasive Scale Insects on Ornamental plants. We looked at a few recently detected invasive scales in Florida as well as identification of species commonly ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Biosecurity, Early Detection, FFD24-25, FloridaFirstDetector, Hemiptera, Ornamental Plants, Palm Pests, Pests, Scale Insects, SeminoleCountyAg

January 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
January 6, 2025

Recap of January 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector In this month's webinar, we covered invasive caterpillars that feed on vegetable crops. Florida's agriculture industry is home to a wide variety of high value vegetable production. ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Biosecurity, Caterpillars, FFD24-25, FloridaFirstDetector, Invasive Species, Lepidoptera, Moths, Old World Bollworm, Vegetables

December 2024 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
December 9, 2024

Recap of December 2024 First Friday with Florida First Detector We finished out the calendar year talking about stink bugs and related insects. We focused on invasive insects in the subfamily Heteroptera. The subfamily Heteroptera includes ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Bagrada, Biosecurity, FFD24-25, FloridaFirstDetector, Fruit, Hemiptera, Invasive Species, Sample Submission, Spotted Lantern Fly, Stink Bug

November 2024 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
November 4, 2024

Recap of November 2024 First Friday with Florida First Detector This month we talked all about fruit flies! We focused on true fruit flies in the family Tephritidae. Florida has quite the history with non-native fruit flies. We have a few that ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Biosecurity, Citrus, Early Detection, FFD24-25, FloridaFirstDetector, Fruit, Fruit Flies, Invasive Species, Sample Submission

Subscribe For More Great Content