Press Herald interviews McNerney, Dill about consequences of cold, wet spring
Kathleen McNerney and Griffin Dill talked with the Portland Press Herald about repercussions of Maine’s cool, wet spring. McNerney, home horticulture coordinator for University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Falmouth, said she doesn’t anticipate this will be a good season for tomatoes. Worried gardeners have been calling and emailing her and sending samples of fungi, beetles and ticks. She recommends mesh floating row covers to keep pests off plants and to reduce the amount of water splashing on them. McNerney forwards ticks to Dill, an integrated pest specialist at UMaine who manages the Tick Lab at the Diagnostic and Research Laboratory. Since April 1, Dill says the lab has gotten about 1,100 ticks inside envelopes in plastic bags. Tick identification — which is helpful because some tick species carry Lyme or related diseases — is free. The lab charges $15 for testing to determine if a tick carried a disease. Dill said that of the tested ticks, about half have tested positive for a disease.