Alabama Extension will continue using a modern approach to learning about bugs – good and bad – with a series of webinars in 2015.

“These Webinars are called ‘All Bugs Good and Bad,’” said Grant Lyons, Pike County Extension coordinator. “They will be held on the first Friday of every month, beginning in February and ending in December, with the exception of July.

“The sessions can be accessed by anyone with an Internet connection and will feature information from trained professionals. Each webinar will begin at 2 p.m. and last about an hour. You may also access webinars from the 2013 and 2014 series.”

Lyons said bugs, insects, critters and other creatures are all around us, regardless of the weather or time of day.

“Most of these creatures are beneficial and don’t bother us,” he said. “Others can be troublesome and even dangerous.”

The purpose of the webinars is to give everyone access to information that is helpful about good and bad insects, Lyons said. “Topics include how you can help good insects in gardens and how to control insects that of as bad, such as fire ants, termites, bed bugs, white grubs and wasps.”

“Moles, squirrels and rats aren’t insects but they are troublesome, too, so we’ll have a webinar about them, too,” Lyons said.

The webinar schedule begins Feb. 6 with “Pesticide Strategy: The Good, the Bad and they Ugly.” The March session will be “Fire Ant Management Using Baits” followed in April by “Common Termites of the Southern United States: Biology, Behavior and Management.

“In May, we’ll have Beneficial Garden Helpers and, in June, the session will be on ‘Insect-borne Disease Affecting People,’” Lyons said. Japanese beetles and other white grubs will be the subject of the August session and bees, wasps and hornets will be the topic for September.

“In October, we’ll focus on ants and roaches and how to keep them from ruining your holidays. Then, in November, the topic will be ‘New Things to Know about Bed Bugs. And, we’ll close out the series in December with ‘Wildlife in the Backyard: A Double-edged Sword.’”

For more information about the “All Bugs Good and Bad” webinars, and how to connect to them, contact the Pike County Extension Office at 334-566-0985 or visit the office at 306 South Three Notch Street in Troy. Hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Alabama Extension also provides program on topic related to family and consumer sciences, home and commercial horticulture, agriculture, 4-H and youth development.