How about all this winter weather?  I don’t know about everyone else but I am ready for spring.  Not only has this been a winter with unusual frequencies of precipitation, it has been an exceptionally long winter as well.  It seems like as soon as we start getting back up to the normal temperatures we get hit with some more snow or ice or freezing temperatures.
Throughout all of this weather I have been using a number of different sources for weather data.  I have noticed the drama continuously added to winter weather on the local news stations in the Kansas City Area.  I have come to rely mostly on FOX 4 here in Kansas City for the most accurate and least dramatized weather forecasts.  I also rely on a number of different internet weather sites to gather data and make my own opinion about forecasting the weather.
The sites I find most helpful are: accuweather.com, weather.com, noaa.gov, and intellicast.com.  They all have some features that are better than others – which is the reason I use them all when looking at weather.  Accuweather.com always has forecasted accumulation totals which can be helpful.  Weather.com and Intellicast.com have great radar links.  Weather.com has a great interactive radar map that can be really helpful to see how much snow, sleet or rain is headed our way.  NOAA.gov is a government site that has pretty accurate long range forecasts.
I would suggest using all the resources you have when trying to make an accurate prediction of the weather to come.  Each site and weather station gathers data differently and from different sources, which can lead to different forecasts.

What is IPM and how does it affect my home?

Integrated pest management is a process that we use here at Highland Outdoor that is the most environmentally friendly way of taking care of your, turf, trees, and landscape.  This process allows us to take care of every aspect of your outdoors with the least impact on the environment.    Here at Highland Outdoor we want to be the best steward of our environment without compromising its beauty.

A good IPM definition comes from Dr. Vic Gibeault and others from the University of California, Riverside. They defined IPM as “multiple tactics used in a compatible manner in order to maintain pest populations below levels that cause economic or unacceptable aesthetic injury without posing a hazard to humans, domestic animals, or other non-target life forms.”

IPM combines all available pest management methods to produce the healthiest lawn possible. It does not aim to totally eliminate pests, but to maintain pest populations at tolerable levels. Pesticides are often part of an IPM program, but are selected and applied responsibly to avoid health risks to other living organisms than those targeted.
Pest management control practices in an Integrated Pest Management program include:

• •    soil management
• •    turfgrass selection
• •    appropriate cultural practices
• •    biological and genetic controls
• •    physical or mechanical removal
• •    exclusion through prevention and sanitation
• •    pesticides.

Here at Highland Outdoor we have the knowledge it takes to understand the turf, the tree and the shrubs and the pests that affect them.  We monitor your property to make sure you understand what is going on in your landscape.  Then we diagnosis what is going on in the landscape and treat the problem at the correct time with the least amount of environmental impact as possible.

Highland Outdoor CEO Jason Cupp, CLP, was interviewed for an article for the January/February 2008 Kansas City Homes and Gardens on creating curb appeal. Read the entire article here.

There are also several photos of Highland Outdoor projects in the article.

Stop by our office and pick up an actual FREE copy of the magazine - available every month at our office in Olathe near 119th and Blackbob.