Agriculture and Natural Resources Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Over time, we tend to hear some questions over and over. If you have a question that you feel may be one of these common questions relating to agriculture, natural resources, pest control, lawn, garden, or another similar field, you are on the right page. Maybe you can find the answers you need below. Navigate from keyword (under FAQ Topics) to Q&A below. Note that some answers navigate to Adobe pdf documents. 

FAQ Topics:

Ants | Bagworms | Bats | Bed Bugs | Bee Swarm | Black Walnut Toxicity | Cash Rent Contract Construction | Cash Rent Contracts | Cash Rent Rates | Classified Forest and Wildlands | Cockroaches | Composting | Crop Costs & Returns | Crop Maturity and Harvest Issues | Crop-Share Leases | Custom Rates | Diseases of Field Crops | Farm Business Management | Farm Fence Law | Farmland Leases | Flex-Rent Leases | "Fly-Free" Date for Wheat | "Fly Specks" on Home | Frost Dates | "Fungus" on Tree Trunks | Gardening - Vegetables | Groundhogs | Hay Crop - Seeding | Head Scab of Wheat | Invasive Species | Japanese Beetles | Ladybugs | Land Values | Landscape Issues | Lichens | Moles | Mosquitoes | Mulch | Mycotoxins | Pasture - Seeding | Pasture for Horses | Pasture Renovation | Pesticide meetings attended? | Pesticide Training Manuals | Pests of Field Crops | Pests of Fruit Trees | Pests of Landscape Plants | Pests of Turf (lawns) | Pests of Vegetables | Pesticide Programs (where, when) | Planting Trees | Private Applicator License | Pond Weed Control | Poisonous Pasture Plants | Pruning | Soil Tests | Spiders | Spotted Lanternfly | Termites | Timber Sale | Tomatoes | Topping Trees | Toxic Plants | Tree Planting | Tree Seedling Orders | Vegetable Garden | Weed Control - Crops | Weed Control - Lawns | Wheat "Fly-Free" Date | Wildlife (Nuisance Wildlife Management) | Wildlife prevention/control - permit needed? | West Nile Virus

Q&A

1. How do I control ants in and around my home?  Answer    
2. How do I control bagworms?  Answer  
3. I have bats in the house. What do I do?  Answer 
4. How do I avoid/control bed bugs?  Answer
5. I have a bee swarm that I need to be removed. Who does that in this area?  Answer
6. I can't grow some plants under or near a black walnut. Which plants seem susceptible to black walnut toxicity?  Answer
7. Do you have examples of a cash farm lease I can use as a guide to making my own?  Answer
8. Where can I find examples of farmland leases of all kinds - cash rent, share rent, flex rent, etc.?  Answer
9. What are the average cash rent rates and land values for my geographical area?  2023 Purdue Survey (PAER)   USDA Ave Land Values   USDA Ave Cash Rents (see bottom table on the page)
10. How do I enroll land into the Indiana Classified Forest and Wildlands program for savings on property taxes?  Answer   Indiana District Foresters can help  
11. How do I control cockroaches?  Answer  
12. How do you make a compost pile?  Answer
13. For budgeting purposes, what are average crop costs and returns?  Answer
14. Where can I find a one-stop-shop of reliable information relating to crop maturity and harvest issues, including corn ear rots and mycotoxins?  Answer
15. What are the average custom rates for field operations?  Answer
16. Where can I find information about the management of diseases of field crops?  Answer
17. Where can I go to get answers to various questions on farm business management?  Answer
18. What are the provisions of the Indiana farm fence law?  Answer 
19. What is the fly-free date for planting wheat in my area?  Answer  
20. I have what looks like fly specks on the side of my home. What are they?  Answer      
21. Frost dates: when is the probable average last spring frost and first fall frost in Indiana?  Answer  
22. I have some kind of fungus growing on the trunks and limbs of my trees that look "scaly" or like little pasty blue-green to gray doilies. What are they?  Answer
23. How can I control groundhogs (woodchucks)?  Answer    
24. I want to seed a new hay crop. How do I select the types of forages I need and when should they be seeded?  Answer
25. How can I assess daily risk for head scab of wheat?  Answer
26. Where can I go to learn about Indiana's invasive species? Answer (Purdue Extension)   Answer (Indiana DNR)
27. How do I control Japanese beetles in the home landscape?  Answer  
28. I have ladybugs (lady beetles) entering my house and driving me crazy. What can I do?  Answer 
29. Where can I find answers to questions about issues in my home landscape?  Answer
30. How do I control moles in my yard?  Answer    
31. How do I control mosquitoes in and around my home?  Answer   West Nile Virus info
32. I have something growing in my mulch that looks gross - like dog vomit. What is it?  Answer   
33. I want to seed a new pasture. How do I select the types of forages I need and when should they be seeded?  Answer  
34. How do I go about providing the best pasture for horses?  Answer  
35. How do I accomplish pasture renovation effectively?  Answer    
36. I am a licensed private applicator. How many of the three required pesticide meetings (Private Applicator Recertification Programs, or PARPs) have I attended?  Answer
37. Where can I buy pesticide training manuals?  Answer
38. How do I use integrated pest management on pests of field crops?  Answer   
39. How do I manage pests of fruit trees in backyard orchards?  Answer
40. How do I identify and control pests of landscape plants?  Answer (University of Minnesota)
41. How do I manage pests of turf (lawns)?  Answer
42. How do I manage pests of vegetables?  Answer
43. Where are Private Applicator Recertification Programs (PARPs) happening, and when?  Answer
44. How do I get a Private Applicator's Permit (license) to spray restricted-use pesticides or apply manure from a CFO (private Category 14 permit) to my own land?  Answer 
45. How do I identify and control pond weeds?  Answer
46. How do I properly prune my trees and shrubs?  Answer 1   Answer 2   Answer 3 (if corrective pruning is needed)
47. Where can I get a soil test done? Answer
48. How do I control unwanted spiders, and what do the really bad spiders (black widow, brown recluse) look like?  Answer
49. What do spotted lanternflies look like, and how can I manage them? Answer (Purdue Extension)   Answer (Penn State University Extension)
50. What are acceptable ways to control termites?  Answer
51. How do I conduct a timber sale?  Answer
52. I want to grow tomatoes. What are the basics of growing good tomatoes?  Answer
53. What's wrong with topping trees?  Answer
54. Is there information on toxic (poisonous) plants in Indiana?  Answer - livestock and other animals (Cornell University)   Answer - in forage crops (Purdue Extension)
55. How do I do plant trees properly?  Answer   
56. How can I order bundles of tree seedlings from the state nurseries?  Answer
57. How do I plant and care for a vegetable garden?  Answer
58. Where do I find information on weed control in field crops?  Answer (Resource involves purchase)
59. How do I control weeds in my home lawn?  Answer
60. Where do I find information on nuisance wildlife?  Answer- Is a permit needed? Answer - Principles for selecting a professional  Answer - finding a licensed professional to deal with the problem (Indiana DNR)
61. If I want to prevent wildlife damage or use lethal controls - do I need a permit?  Answer 
62. Where can I find current information about the current state of West Nile Virus in Indiana?  Answer

Updated 1/12/24