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Archived Bug Blog Entries

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.

Continue reading “Should We Fix Organix?” »

Two-legged and four-legged creatures have something in common with many of the six and eight legged creatures out there: The cold months are not well-tolerated. Some insects and mites curl up and die having completed their life’s reproductive mission. They’ve laid their eggs, but will never see their offspring. Others enter a quiescent state similar to hibernation — in other words they shut down until the warmer months return. (I know some two-legged creatures that look upon this practice with a certain fondness.) Some bugs, however, seek warmth where it is available and try to make a go of it during the colder months. If you’re a grower, some of these critters may be a cause for concern.

Continue reading “Coming in Out of the Cold” »

I was recently interviewed for an up-and-coming print article in Newsweek magazine. The interviewer/author of the article found me by way of talking to growers near New York City who referred her to me. The reason she was on the trail in the first place stemmed directly from her experience at a local eatery in the city that serves organic foods. She ordered a salad and found a little green bug in it. An aphid I suspect. I must acknowledge that she handled the situation in the most exemplary way: She picked out the bug and ate her salad. She didn’t freak out, she wasn’t outraged, and didn’t complain to the staff, or cause a ruckus. She put it in perspective, took it all in stride, and was mature and reasonable about the whole matter. People in some countries eat insects by choice on a regular basis so while she didn’t eat the critter (I wouldn’t either for that matter), she wasn’t put off by it. What’s good for some should perhaps be at least acceptable to others — in many cases anyway.

Continue reading “Bugs in Your Salad” »

One of the biggest disadvantages to using biological pest control is the cost of getting product shipped to you. Because the good bugs you’ll use in your garden or greenhouse are living organisms, it’s imperative that they are shipped via an expedited means. The reason is simple: If shipped via another means it can be at the expense of the bugs’ lives or general well-being. Moreover, slo-mo shipping can significantly eat into the usable life-span of the good guys. Say, for instance, you order some mites that live for ten days. Overnight shipping equates to a ten percent loss — not in numbers, but in the amount of time they are usable as effective predators. Second day freight is twenty percent in this example. Based on the usable life of most biocontrols, this example is exaggerated, but you hopefully get the idea. Time in transit has its own cost.

Continue reading “Killer Freight” »

Will a procrastinator succeed with biological pest control? Probably not. The reason is a simple one: Reaction time. Reaction, as defined, is a response to a stimulus. The stimulus in this case is the presence of pests. The reaction time being how long the person discovering said pests takes action. The response type isn’t that important, not at first. The choices are basically manual eradication (pinching, trapping, etc.), chemical (spray ‘em to death), or biocontrol (good bugs, yeah). What’s of the most importance is the reaction time. If one waits too long, the control choices become more limited and the pest population gets larger and more difficult to control. Waiting too long can lead to one having to use a fast-acting, omnipotent broad-spectrum insecticide as the only viable response. This may be all fine and good for the regular pesticide user, but if you are into biocontrol, waiting may be akin to shoot oneself in the foot. If you’re serious about biocontrol, waiting can kill your program.

Continue reading “Reaction Time” »

We were surprised by how many questions were going to be generated by readers of our last article, “Buying Nematodes” but it’s good to know we have readers. Nobody wrote, even though we are always open to getting feedback (comments now closed), but many people called. They wanted to know the facts behind the differences in commercially-produced nematodes. The fact there were differences was well received and many realize shopping for nematodes doesn’t have to be as confusing as it seems, but people are inquisitive and really wanted to know why.

Continue reading “Nematode Differences” »