Archive for July, 2012

RIVERSIDE: Bug lovers needed for competition

UC Riverside entomologist Eamonn Keogh is looking for some bug lovers. Keogh seeks volunteers to take part in a competition to identify using a computer program and special containers he has developed. He is using shoebox-size plastic …

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Pests in the NewsJuly 22, 2012

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Tips for reducing use of synthetic pesticides

Trap crops Some plants are especially attractive to ; the idea behind trap crops is to take advantage of this attraction to trap and kill pests. A crop of blue hubbard squash, for example, could be grown to draw striped cucumber and …

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Pests in the NewsJuly 22, 2012

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Swarming invasive insect found in US for 1st time

Federal authorities will take the lead role in investigating how the got to the U.S. and how they might spread. “I would image they will be able to give us some indication of the possibilities,” Juker said. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health …

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Pests in the NewsJuly 22, 2012

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FAO launching pest control programmes for tomato-eating moth in Near East – fnbnews.com


UN News Centre

FAO launching pest control programmes for tomato-eating moth in Near East
fnbnews.com
Along with partners in affected countries, FAO is emphasising "soft" pest control programmes against the tomato borer that have already succeeded in minimising damage in the Mediterranean, including North African countries. Planning is currently …
FAO takes on tomato borer mothFresh Fruit Portal
Italy: FAO steps up response to serious tomato pest in Near EastAfrique en Ligue

all 7 news articles »

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Pests in the NewsJuly 22, 2012

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J.T. Eaton Celebrates Eight Decades of Excellence – PCT Magazine


PCT Magazine

J.T. Eaton Celebrates Eight Decades of Excellence
PCT Magazine
TWINSBURG, OH — Founded in 1932 by Jasper T. Eaton, J.T. Eaton & Co., started as a mail-order house for pest control products. Stanley Z. Baker purchased the company in 1949, and put the company on the path for product innovation. Company …

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Pests in the NewsJuly 22, 2012

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Tuesday meeting talks trees, pest prevention – Dorchester Reporter

Tuesday meeting talks trees, pest prevention
Dorchester Reporter
The Boston Urban Forest Council invites members from the general public to participate in its next meeting on July 24. The meeting, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Boston Natural Areas Network headquarters at 62 Summer Street, Boston, will …

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Pests in the NewsJuly 22, 2012

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Record Heat across Country Makes for an Extra Buggy Summer – MarketWatch (press release)

Record Heat across Country Makes for an Extra Buggy Summer
MarketWatch (press release)
"Hot and dry conditions send many pests indoors, as they seek moisture and cooler temperatures, so homeowners will likely encounter more pests in their homes than usual," says Henriksen. "Even areas of the country that are receiving rain aren't in the …

and more »

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Pests in the NewsJuly 22, 2012

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DA vows to eradicate scale insect infestation in Batangas – Philippine Information Agency

DA vows to eradicate scale insect infestation in Batangas
Philippine Information Agency
The Administrator added that biological measures will thereafter be introduced as sustainable and permanent solutions citing the inadequacy or lack of natural predators of scale insects in the area. This caused the ecological imbalance that led to the …

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Pests in the NewsJuly 22, 2012

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Jul 20, 2012 – Once Gone, Back Now

QUESTION:

I have been spraying a restaurant for 6 months using Suspend SC inside and Cyper WP outside and really have had no problems until now. The establishment is getting overrun with roaches coming out of their walls and out of the thermostat. I have baited the areas with Maxforce and I have used CB-80 and dusted the wall voids with DeltaDust just in the area of the thermostat. I was wondering if there is a different approach I should be taking or maybe a different product.

ANSWER:

I still maintain that the insecticide active ingredients we currently use, and which you have been using, are effective at killing German roaches. The important key is that the roach and the active ingredient must meet and stay in contact with each other long enough to get that lethal dose into the roach, and the best way to accomplish this is to place the active ingredient directly into the places where the roaches hide during the day – cracks, crevices, holes, and voids. In a restaurant these kinds of harborage could be in a great many locations, and perhaps your focus on that thermostat where you (or your customer) have seen them emerging is causing you to overlook other important places. 

Since you feel that you had effective control for several months it may be time to go in with a fresh Inspection of the entire facility, using knee pads, a flashlight, and perhaps a C&C pyrethrum aerosol to find out just where the roaches may be now. It may be that they are also hiding in equipment, floor molding, within boxes in storage, or in other wall voids where you simply are not aware of them yet. If the interior truly is “overrun” then it sounds like you have a fairly large infestation that would most likely be using many areas for their harborage. These all need to be discovered and treated in some manner, and “treated” could mean simply filling in a hole or crevice permanently so that harborage is no longer available to the roaches. 
You also need to evaluate what might have changed in the recent past. Has the sanitation effort by the customer declined so that more food resources are now available. Are their storage areas cluttered and filled with cardboard boxes. Are more things being stored on the floor. We really need to avoid complete reliance on insecticides to handle roach problems, and in particular if sanitation is poor then your bait products will not be as interesting to the roaches and your contact insecticides will be less effective. I would suggest altering bait products on a regular basis regardless, as this offers alternatives that may keep the roaches feeding on them. Dusting within wall voids is excellent, but you should try to access as many interior voids as possible and perhaps use an inorganic dust like boric acid or silica gel or diatomaceous Earth. These will last for many years, whereas synthetic actives like deltamethrin are going to degrade in a much shorter time. This is particularly so where heat and water may be contacting the treated surfaces. 
Again, nothing wrong with cypermethrin as a contact treatment but it still pays to rotate your product choices for spraying to avoid any possibility of resistance or avoidance. Try one of the newer non-pyrethroids for a few months instead, and concentrate on placing all sprays directly into cracks and crevices using a C&C tip. This not only puts the most active ingredient into the most important places, but it also removes the a.i. from human exposure and from being washed off by the next wash down. Place lots of insect glue traps around the interior, such as under and behind all equipment, and take a look at them within a week to see what is captured and where. This may reveal that the roaches are coming from places you did not suspect, and you can then treat those locations. Advise the customer that you are placing these traps and that they should not be moved or washed down or covered in any way. 
But, most important now, I believe, is to make a new and thorough inspection to find out just where all the roaches are hiding, and then attack them once more at their source. 

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Pest QuestionsJuly 22, 2012

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Jul 21, 2012 – Pyrethroid Concerns Again

QUESTION:

Can you please name some other products that are similar to EcoSmart’s lineup? I was told by one of their reps that because of the excessive moisture in western Washington he did not think their line was the best choice for my area…..suprised me. I also question the residual of these “greener” pesticides and prefer the cold, hard “facts” on this. I like independent studies that are not connected to the manufacturers. I am not sold on my kitchen spice rack as pesticides.
With respect to the new labeling of pyrethroids, labeling now calls for no spraying in the rain or if it is going to rain. Have we now stepped into forecasting? In western WA when does it not rain?



ANSWER:

We’ll address these as two separate issues, and I share some of your concerns. I am often asked “how long” a particular active ingredient or group of them will last and always sidestep the answer to the best of my ability. The length of residual of any active ingredient is just too variable depending on many environmental conditions – heat, moisture, pH, concentration when applied, kind of surface, exposure to UV light, sanitation issues, etc. When the “EcoSmart” product line was first introduced to our industry we were told by the manufacturer that the active ingredient (hexa-hydroxyl) would last as long as the synthetic pyrethroids do. Whether or not this is true I really do not know, but my feeling is that most of the tree oils and other Botanical insecticides should be considered as contact activity with a very short residual. I don’t know that I have seen any third party studies on this either, and whether it is these plant-derived products or old synthetic standbys I tend to be skeptical of some of the claims by manufacturers. 

I am not sure why your region with perpetual rainfall should be any different that any other region of the country except for the likelihood that applying the products outdoors will likely expose them to rainfall much sooner, and thus the onset of hydrolysis that degrades the molecules or simply being washed off the surface. By the way, the brand name of EcoSmart is now aimed primarily at the retail, over-the-counter market and the professional line of their products has a name change. You will now find Univar selling them as the Essentria brand and the manufacturer, formerly Prentiss, is now named Envincio. So, look for those new labels on PestWeb. 
There is no doubt that your kitchen spice active ingredients are quite toxic, and in fact hospitals admit a great many people each year suffering from clove oil toxicity due to a fad of smoking clove oil impregnated cigarettes. “Toxic” is not a quality reserved for traditional synthetic pesticides, and plants produce some pretty dangerous stuff, much of which has been formulated into insecticides. Whether the fact that they are “natural” and from plants means that, therefore, they are less hazardous to people or to the environment is a good question, but I personally believe that being natural does not change the need to use them wisely, with PPE in place, and to limit their use as much as possible by focusing on non-chemical steps in the overall management of the pest. 
Now to the pyrethroid issue. Yes, the new labeling is found in two areas of the pyrethroid labels, and this new labeling will be on ALL pyrethroid products of ALL formulations. Within the “Environmental Hazards” section of the label you will find the statement “Applying this product in calm weather when rain is not predicted for the next 24 hours will help to ensure that wind or rain does not blow or wash pesticide off the treatment area.” According to the NPMA this is a “suggestion” or guideline, not a mandatory statement that you shall not apply if rain is “predicted”. Instead, under “Directions for Use” you will find the MANDATORY statement “do not make applications during rain”. 
I think this is a very important distinction. Yes, it would be best for everyone and for the environment to avoid applying any insecticide that may get washed off the surface in the next 24 hours, but you are only mandated to avoid the treatment if a rainfall event is in progress. Of course, we need to be upstanding about this and if we really know that it is going to start raining shortly after we apply the product it would just not be right to go ahead and spray it, even though the rain is not occurring yet and technically we are legal. Even though this statement now appears on all pyrethroid labels you will also find similar wording on the labels of many alternative products. Applying the insecticide just to see it washed away is not good for the environment and is a dis-service to the customer. 

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Pest QuestionsJuly 21, 2012

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