Preventive Pest Control
Biological Pest Control
Pesticide Use & Environmental Impact
Thanks to the increasing awareness about environmental issues, groups and individuals have started taking various initiatives to promote more sustainable life styles.
Because of the adverse impact they have on the environment, "hard" pesticides are now being gradually sought to be phased out to make way for more environmentally friendly alternatives, "soft pesticides".
But pest control, through pesticide use, is often necessary considering the fact that without a measure of control many insects can cause huge damage to crops. Besides, insects can also affect our quality of life in many different ways. These pests, if not effectively controlled would pose grave public health risks and also create significant negative impacts to the economy. The use of pesticides, as a measure to ensure favorable outcomes, in areas related to food production, public health etc. therefore cannot be discounted.
Pest Control in Hydroponics
In hydroponic cultivation pesticide use is discouraged and often not required. This is because hydroponic crops tend to be more healthy and pest resistant as they are grown under controlled conditions under a precisely regulated nutrient regime. Hydroponics systems mostly use natural preventative measures to control pest and parasite infestations. One of these is companion planting which uses a clever strategy to repel pests by growing plants that produce smells disagreeable to the pests. These plants are grown along with the main crop which is intended to be protected.
But not all bugs are put off by the smell, and at times, other means have to be adopted such as biological insect control. Biological insect control uses predator insects to reduce or destroy infestations. The predator insects consume the harmful, crop damaging species and die out or leave the garden. This is a safe, poison free natural method of pest control. Predator insects are bred commercially for such use and have proved extremely beneficial in pest control. These mostly carnivorous insects do not attack vegetation and being extremely voracious consume bugs on a massive scale daily.
Infestation Control
The best way to keep tabs on infestation, whether in the greenhouse or the grow-room is to carry out physical inspections to check for any pests. This should be done carefully by checking all likely places where pests may be present like leaves, around stems and even the growing medium. If any bugs are detected the next step is to determine the type of insect and the number of plants affected. The strategy to eliminate the pests will depend on the number of bugs and the extent of the infestation.
Proper identification of the type of pest is important as this will determine which predator insect will best get rid of infestation. This can be done with the help of good garden microscopes and standard gardening reference books. Once an infestation is detected and the harmful bug identified, quick release of predatory insects to control the infestation should follow.
It should be noted that the environment has to be maintained to be favorable to the predator insects. Many predatory insects are susceptible to high temperatures; also there should also be an adequate source of water or shelter. The grow room environment will therefore need to be carefully monitored.
Common Predators
The following are some of the predators most commonly used:
Ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens)
Ladybugs are most effective against aphids. Ladybugs need plenty of water, so place a small dish of water in your garden. This will help keep both the ladybugs and the insects close to your plants. Adult ladybugs are orange and black and feed on aphids, mites, scales, thrips, whiteflies and beneficial insect food.
Aphidius Colemani & A. Matricariae (Aphidius colemani & A. matricariae)
These are small black wasp (2-3 mm.) with narrow waist. They have long antennae. They prey on aphids turning them into brown, mummified shells. These predators are most active at temperatures between 18-26C (65-80F).
Praying Mantis (Tenodera aridifolia sinensis)
These are large green or brown insects having fine papery wings. They are shipped as egg cases that take 2-8 weeks to hatch. These general predators prey on aphids, beetles, caterpillars, leafhoppers, hornworms, squash bugs, white flies and several other pests.
Lacewings (Chrysoperla carnea, C. comanche & C. rufilabris)
These are general predators that feast on mealybugs, scales, spider mites, thrips, white flies and insect eggs. They are green or brown in color when adults. Lacewings are most active in temperatures 24-28C (75-80F).
Phytoseiulus Persimilis, New Zealand - (Phytoseiulus persimilis)- New Zealand Strain
These are bright orange mites (0.5 mm./1/20 in.), and are very effective against spider mites. They breed twice as fast as spider mite to make short work of any spider mite infestation. They do not form webs, but move along the plant using webbing to catch spider mite. These predatory insects are most active in temperature ranges 22-35C (72-100F) and 60-80% humidity.
| By Diana Heyden Published: 12/11/2007 |
Biological Pest Control and Hydroponics
Many hydroponic gardeners and consumers are concerned with the quality, purity and safety of the food they eat. With soils becoming tainted and water sources. Read more…
Moreover, these interactions are the basis of ecosystem services such as pollination or, in this case, pest control. The work was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
This sounds like a perfect place to use one of the new kinds of remediation products designed for cleaning out drains and other hard-to-access locations where wet organic matter builds up. … The Invade products , like many other newer biological products, is composed of non-pathogenic bacteria that actually eat the organic buildup.
An unusual helper in biological pest control
An unusual helper in biological pest control. By odinruz. coati. The white-nosed coati (Nasua narica) is a common site all around Playa Viva.
There are 5 basic ways to treat anthills and other bugs; chemical insecticides, biological insecticides, botanical insecticides, insecticide soaps, neem insecticide and predatory bugs. There are also some designed for certain types of bugs and … Of course we all know that mother nature has a mind all its own.
Using Biological Control to Control Pests
Biological control is an appealing choice to control pests, since there is no persistence of insecticides in the environment or the development of pesticide resistance.
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Electronic Pest Control Review
Electronic Pest Control
Electronic pest control devices use sound waves at certain frequencies, which pests dislike, as a method of controlling pests.
The concept of electronic pest control is relatively new; however, these products have many useful applications. Prior to these new devices, pest control mainly involved using poisons. While the minute amounts of poisons used in pest control may not kill you, they do have the potential of affecting your health adversely on a long-term basis.
The Advantages of using Electronic Pest Control
There are several advantages of using electronic pest control methods compared to the conventional means of pest control using poisons. In the first place, electronic pest control devices are safe and nontoxic for human beings. Hence, there is no necessity of spraying poisonous stuff in the kitchen and other areas of the house when a simple device, which can just be plugged in, will do the same job quite effectively.
Electronic pest control devices are designed in such a way that the sound wavelengths are only heard by certain insects and do not affect humans at all. Pets are also usually not affected by them. Some of them are designed to affect rodents, hence, if that is the kind you want, you need to check for that.
Electronic pest control devices do not kill any insects or animals. The sound waves they produce drive them away without killing them. Hence, you can rest assured of not having to deal with dead bugs all over your home.
One of the best reasons for using an electronic pest control device is that it functions 24/7. Therefore, once it is turned on, you do not need to keep applying any substances every few weeks in order to keep away pests. These systems work day and night without requiring intervention any further.
Each of these devices is effective over a large area, hence, it is recommended to place these units at all entry points of your home. If insects are stopped from coming inside, the problem can be stopped right at the door. While this may be an effective strategy on the ground floor, however, it is advisable to use a device on each floor of the house, since there is no point in allowing pests to hide in some other part of the house.
Various Kinds of Electronic Pest Control Devices
Electromagnetic Pest Control This electronic pest control device is the most interesting and complex. It makes modifications to the wavelengths of the frequency signals that already exist in the wiring of homes, thus agitating rodents and insects. Thus, your entire house is turned into a pest-repelling device by the electromagnetic pest control device, which is the most effective way to keep pests away.
Ultrasonic Pest Control: These are useful for repelling large pests such as rodents from coming into your home. A specific wavelength of sound is used by these which agitate the pests. Humans cannot detect these sound waves, hence this electronic pest control device does not disrupt sleep or any other activity carried out daily. Another plus is that it does not need to be monitored.
Ionic Pest Control: These devices create negative ions which suck out bacteria and fungi from the air. Insects and rodents are also warded off by the negative ions. Although the idea may sound alarming, negative ions occur naturally when there is a storm, hence this device is absolutely safe and will cause no harm to anything but the pests it is intended for.
You can find several pest control calculators on the Internet, which you can use for computing the variables that you input like the amount you want to spend, the kind of pest, the square foot area in order to get the best value for your money. While the ultrasonic pest control device is the most inexpensive type, however, it does not have the air-cleaning feature that the ionic pest control device has. Each of these types of devices has its pros and cons, but all of them are effective for controlling pests.
Using Electronic Pest Control in Your Home
Because some pest control can be dangerous to humans and household pets, electronic pest control and even ultrasonic pest control have become very popular.
Ultrasonic Pest Control
What is good about ultrasonic pest control? Face it, the nuisances of pests is something that we all can do without.
Organic Garden Pest Control
There so many different chemical pest control products out there that you can purchase, ther… Electronic Pest Control Product.
Shopping for an Electronic Pest Control Product Online
If you are interested in finding an electronic pest control product, you should know that there are many available for you to choose from.
Finding the Right Electronic Pest Control Device
If you want the best pest control measures that you can get, getting an electronic pest control device is something that you are really going to want to consider.
| By Rita Putatunda Published: 12/22/2007 |
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