On this page the following entries were made in the “IPM Savvy” category. Check out other categories in our Archives.
Bug Blog Archives for “IPM Savvy”
Apple Maggot Control Bags
About a month ago one of our site’s visitors, Brook G., asked if we had heard of a product referred to as “apple maggot control bags.” Admittedly we hadn’t, but we were intrigued. She recommended them and because of that we decided to seek more information. After all, any non-chemical option to control apple maggots, or any pest for that matter, is always welcome and is probably something we should be clued in about.
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Greenhouse “Bake-Out” to Control Fungus Gnats
If you are going to do a bake-out anyway for sanitation of the greenhouse, there may be some benefit in putting your new pots of soil in the greenhouse at the time of the bake-out.
At our research greenhouses in the Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, we often observe fungus gnat adults as quickly as 10-14 days following potting into fresh, bagged commercial soilless media. Since the life cycle from egg to adult takes 20-26 days, this observation suggests that the immature forms were present in the bagged media when purchased. Anecdotal reports from other research institutions agreed with our observations, and it was documented by at the University of Illinois in a report published in 2004. Another explanation for the infestation at our greenhouses, in cases where the plantings were rooted cuttings rather than seed, was that the fungus gnats were on the roots of plants prior to transplanting into the fresh soil mix.
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Top Ten Biocontrol and IPM Mistakes
Our 2008 catalog is at the printers as this is being written (look for an official announcement soon). In creating the new booklet a content page in the 2007 catalog caught our eye. It was called “Top Ten Biocontrol and IPM Mistakes” and we had forgotten all about it. We decided that would be a good thing to post here.
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Biocontrols and Pesticides… and Fungicides
David Goudreault, greenhouse manager of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Research Greenhouses, sent me a link in an email as a follow up to a conversation we were having couple of weeks ago about the use of chemicals, fungicides, and sprays in general, and the consequences of using such products as it concerns biological pest control agents and their sustainability.
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Sucking Up Plant Pests, Revisited
On this site using a there is a helpful hint instructing you to use a shop-vac to suck up whiteflies. It is followed by note of caution about the possibility of sucking up plants and plant parts. I liked the shop-vac idea, it worked well, but I put my own twist on it so I could better protect my plants if there was an unexpected encounter with the business end of the shop-vac’s hose. With a little preparation, you can actually vacuum your plants, allowing for removal of such pests as whiteflies, spider mites, and others, without causing extensive damage. Here’s what you do…
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Should We Fix Organix?
Nature makes available to us some pretty powerful and completely natural tools to use against insect pests. Some of these products are naturally safe to use, yet, in our infinite wisdom as masters of the universe, we taint some of these natural wonders, adding to them a cocktail component in an effort to improve upon nature, gain an edge in the marketplace, and/or to remove the thought process and understanding of the pest from the equation. To make the products work even when we forget the laws of nature — to make them idiot proof, so to speak.
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