Natural Methods of Pest Control
Pesticides often come to mind when we want to control pest population. From the name itself, pesticides connote death to what the uninitiated widely regards as crop nuisance. But to the trained professionals in the field of crop production and agriculture, pesticides need not cause anybody – even the bad bugs – any harm.
Practitioners of organic or natural farming call it biological pest control. The idea is not to kill pests (which is the philosophy behind poisonous pesticides), but to utilize the food chain; namely, the predator and prey relationship. Organic and natural farmers believe that when "pests" are directed towards their staple, they are less likely to wreak havoc on human staple, which are our crops. On the reverse end of the food chain, pests have natural enemies. Pest population can be effectively controlled by introducing the latter that only feed on the former. By exploiting the established relationship between predator and prey, "pests" no longer become nuisance, but food.
For this program to be successful, preservation of the natural enemy population is crucial. This is both simple and cost-effective, and requires minimal human intervention (compared to other pest control methods).
The following insects can be utilized as agents of pest control. They are not only non-toxic, but their proper management (a field of specialization known as integrated pest management or IPM) could lead to bountiful harvests without chemicals:
- Common lacewings (a large family of Chrysopidae of the order Neuroptera) are naturally interested with succulents – mites, aphids and other arthropods included. Apart from nectar, pollen and honeydew, these insects appear to favor the same set of diet, which means that they could be applied on a large-scale IPM project;
- Ladybugs and their larvae are active between May and July. They consume aphids like greenfly and blackfly in large quantities, as well as mites, scale insects and small caterpillars. To support their population boom, nettles can be cultivated beside plants they usually attack. Plant debris can be strewn on the ground so they can find habitat in winter;
- Hoverflies (adult) get sustenance from nectar and pollen so they could produce eggs. Hoverfly larvae largely feed on greenfly, up to 50 a day. This insect is a voracious eater of spider mites as well as small caterpillars. To encourage their population, poached eggplant, marigold or phacelia can be cultivated as attractant flowers;
- Dragonflies principally feed on mosquitoes, both on air and in the water. Naiads (immature dragonfly) feed on mosquito larvae. Commercial anti-mosquito sprays not only kill mosquitoes, but also their predators. This widespread practice removes the biocontrol component in an IPM, which could result to mosquitoes breeding exponentially;
- Pirate bugs are natural predators of smaller insects like spider mites, thrips and insect eggs, like the eggs of corn earworm. Pirate bugs bore holes into unsuspecting prays and drink their body fluids.
Other insects normally thought of as annoying by humans are in fact friends of the farmers and foes of the crop-destroyers. Ground beetles, aphid midge, centipedes, spiders and predatory mites, all confer biocontrol benefits.
Convenience in pest control spells disaster, not only to the pests themselves, but also to other chains in the food web. Spraying a can of poison may eliminate undesirable insects, but it leaves other beneficial insects dead in its wake.
About the Author
Find out more about pest control vancouver, visit: http://www.greenvalleypestcontrolltd.ca
Ms. Ladybug-a sings the Bed Bug Bop
[simpleaffiliate source="amazon" results="10"]ladybug pest control[/simpleaffiliate]
[simpleaffiliate source="cj" results="10"]ladybug pest control[/simpleaffiliate]
No comments:
Post a Comment