Invasive pests to worry about before HABs strike in late-summer Peter is the creator and editor of The Water Front Online, the region’s only news organization dedicated to environmental issues in the Finger Lakes and Upstate New York. Have a tip? Send it to peter@fingerlakes1.com. The peak season for harmful algal blooms, or HABs, is at least two months away, but the Finger Lakes have plenty of other pests and invasive species to worry about before toxic algae takes center stage. The Catharine Creek and Keuka Outlet tributaries are being treated this month with chemicals to combat sea lampreys, the blood-sucking, eel-like creatures that attach themselves to trout and kill them.