Agriculture and Natural Resources Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Purdue Extension - Whitley County
524 Branch Ct
Columbia City, IN 46725
244-7615
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 | Green Slime Along Drive | 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
- How do I control ants in and around my home? Answer
- How do I control bagworms? Answer
- I have bats in the house. What do I do? Answer
- How do I avoid/control bed bugs? Answer
- I have a bee swarm that I need to be removed. Who does that in this area? Answer
- I can't grow some plants under or near a black walnut. Which plants seem susceptible to black walnut toxicity? Answer
- Do you have examples of a cash farm lease I can use as a guide to making my own? Answer
- Where can I find examples of farmland leases of all kinds - cash rent, share rent, flex rent, etc.? Answer
- What are the average cash rent rates and land values for my geographical area? 2024 Purdue Survey (PAER) USDA Ave Land Values USDA Ave Cash Rents (see bottom table on the page)
- How do I enroll land into the Indiana Classified Forest and Wildlands program for savings on property taxes? Answer Indiana District Foresters can help
- How do I control cockroaches? Answer
- How do you make a compost pile? Answer
- For budgeting purposes, what are average crop costs and returns? Answer
- 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
- What are the average custom rates for field operations? Answer
- Where can I find information about the management of diseases of field crops? Answer
- Where can I go to get answers to various questions on farm business management? Answer
- What are the provisions of the Indiana farm fence law? Answer
- What is the fly-free date for planting wheat in my area? Answer
- I have what looks like fly specks on the side of my home. What are they? Answer
- Frost dates: when is the probable average last spring frost and first fall frost in Indiana? Answer
- 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
- I have this green slimy-looking stuff along my driveway - what is it? Answer
- How can I control groundhogs (woodchucks)? Answer
- 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
- How can I assess daily risk for head scab of wheat? Answer
- Where can I go to learn about Indiana's invasive species? Answer (Purdue Extension) Answer (Indiana DNR)
- How do I control Japanese beetles in the home landscape? Answer
- I have ladybugs (lady beetles) entering my house and driving me crazy. What can I do? Answer
- Where can I find answers to questions about issues in my home landscape? Answer
- How do I control moles in my yard? Answer
- How do I control mosquitoes in and around my home? Answer West Nile Virus info
- I have something growing in my mulch that looks gross - like dog vomit. What is it? Answer
- I want to seed a new pasture. How do I select the types of forages I need and when should they be seeded? Answer
- How do I go about providing the best pasture for horses? Answer
- How do I accomplish pasture renovation effectively? Answer
- I am a licensed private applicator. How many of the three required pesticide meetings (Private Applicator Recertification Programs, or PARPs) have I attended? Answer
- Where can I buy pesticide training manuals? Answer
- How do I use integrated pest management on pests of field crops? Answer
- How do I manage pests of fruit trees in backyard orchards? Answer
- How do I identify and control pests of landscape plants? Answer (University of Minnesota)
- How do I manage pests of turf (lawns)? Answer
- How do I manage pests of vegetables? Answer
- Where are Private Applicator Recertification Programs (PARPs) happening, and when? Answer
- 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
- How do I identify and control pond weeds? Answer
- How do I properly prune my trees and shrubs? Answer 1 Answer 2 Answer 3 (if corrective pruning is needed)
- Where can I get a soil test done? Answer
- How do I control unwanted spiders, and what do the really bad spiders (black widow, brown recluse) look like? Answer
- What do spotted lanternflies look like, and how can I manage them? Answer (Purdue Extension) Answer (Penn State University Extension)
- What are acceptable ways to control termites? Answer
- How do I conduct a timber sale? Answer
- I want to grow tomatoes. What are the basics of growing good tomatoes? Answer
- What's wrong with topping trees? Answer
- Is there information on toxic (poisonous) plants in Indiana? Answer - livestock and other animals (Cornell University) Answer - in forage crops (Purdue Extension)
- How do I do plant trees properly? Answer
- How can I order bundles of tree seedlings from the state nurseries? Answer
- How do I plant and care for a vegetable garden? Answer
- Where do I find information on weed control in field crops? Answer (Resource involves purchase)
- How do I control weeds in my home lawn? Answer
- Where do I find information on nuisance wildlife? Answer- Is a permit needed? Answer - Principles for selecting a professionall Answer - finding a licensed professional to deal with the problem (Indiana DNR)
- If I want to prevent wildlife damage or use lethal controls - do I need a permit? Answer
- Where can I find current information about the current state of West Nile Virus in Indiana? Answer
Updated 7/11/24