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Mating Disruption for the Navel Orangeworm

The navel orangeworm (NOW), Amyelois transitella, has been in the U.S. for 100 years. Initially, it was a pest of oranges, then it developed a taste for almonds, walnuts and pistachios. It is a key pest of these crops, causing at least $75 million in damage each year. Larvae feed directly on the nutmeats, contaminating them with frass, making them unmarketable.

NOW overwinters as larvae and pupae in unharvested nuts (mummies). Climate change with warmer winters and early springs have encouraged the pest. Because damaged nuts can be contaminated with aflatoxins, processors demand almond crops with less than 2% NOW damage. Draconian sanitation measures are needed to meet the standard, and the low damage thresholds have encouraged the development of NOW mating disruption methods.

Orchards are saturated with the pheromone (11Z, 13Z)-hexadecadienal. Commercial products include meso diffusion dispensers (Cidetrak®), and aerosol cans (puffers) that periodically release the pheromone (Checkmate®, Isomate®, Semios NOW Eco®).

Addition of mating disruption to a pest management program can lead to damage reduction of up to 80%. In almonds, mating disruption can in some cases replace some or all NOW insecticide sprays, leading to good crop protection and good profits. Insecticide reduction has positive environmental effects, protecting workers from exposure and leading to fewer impacts on beneficial insects. Mating disruption is especially useful in organic production, helping growers meet the strict damage thresholds required by processors.

This issue of the IPM Practitioner also includes Pesticides and Soil, Forever Chemicals, IPM News, and ESA Conference Notes.

If you want to read this publication, please click here. Hard copies are $8 each. California residents add 10.25% sales tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

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Saving the Monarchs

Over the past 20 years U.S. overwintering populations of monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, have been steadily declining. Since 1996, eastern populations overwintering in Mexico have declined 80-84%. But western populations that overwinter along the California coast have dropped more than 99%. Western populations have plunged from about four million in the 1980s to less than 2,000 in 2020. The western migratory monarch is on the brink of extinction.

There are multiple causes, including habitat destruction, loss of milkweed due to development and herbicides, nectar plants poisoned with systemic pesticides such as neonicotinoids, and drought associated with climate change. In the west, wildfires are becoming more important. As the acres burned in California increase, overwintering populations show a corresponding decrease.

Monarchs are resilient, and survived the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But they may not recover from the accumulated environmental insults of pesticides, habitat destruction, and drought without our help. We should not such a beautiful work of nature go extinct.

To save the monarchs, we should use fewer pesticides. We should especially avoid systemics that could contaminate nectar plants. IPM methods can be used to reduce pesticide applications in agriculture. Monarchs depend solely on milkweed for caterpillar development. Planting milkweed and nectar plants in gardens can encourage them.

Saving the monarchs will require a concerted social effort. Garden clubs can establish committees to focus action on monarch conservation. Milkweed and nectar plants can be planted on public land and along roadsides. Golf courses can establish milkweed and nectar plants in areas away from putting greens. Listing Danaus plexippus as an endangered species might help.

In addition to these short term solutions, saving the monarchs may require a long term commitment to greenhouse gas reduction. Increased use of regenerative agriculture, conversion to renewable energy sources, and reduction of fossil fuel consumption could help reduce drought, fires, and extreme weather conditions associated with climate change.

By making things better for the monarchs, we will also be making things better for ourselves.

Pest of Indoor Plants

Indoor plants range from African violets above the kitchen sink to thousands of plants in large greenhouse operations. The latest issue of Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly provides effective, least-toxic solutions for the pests of indoor plants. Many of these pests are insects or mites that suck nutrients, weakening, disfiguring, or even killing plants. These plant vampires include aphids, mealybugs, scales, mites, thrips, and whiteflies.

Since these houseplant pests have similar lifestyles, they respond to similar management plans. Proper attention to monitoring, cultural, physical, biological and least-toxic chemical controls can keep plants healthy. This integrated approach can also be used to protect outdoor gardens.

Houseplant pests respond to cultural controls and least-toxic pesticides. Greenhouses often add biological controls to these components. This issue of the Quarterly evaluates least-toxic pesticides such as soaps, oils and biopesticides and lists possible suppliers.

Because land is becoming more expensive, greenhouses will become more important in the future for production of food, ornamentals, and exotic items such as Cannabis sativa. Production of hemp is now legal in the U.S. Medical marijuana is legal in 35 states and recreational marijuana in 15 states. Mites are major pests of indoor Cannabis, and the article "Managing Mites on Cannabis" provides solutions such as biocontrols and biopesticides that do not leave toxic residues.

Another major pest of indoor plants is fungus gnats. Whether the problem is seen in a few houseplants or in a large greenhouse operation, the latest Quarterly provides effective solutions without resorting to broadspectrum pesticides.

Special Pheromone Issue

The latest IPM Practitioner is a Special Pheromone Issue containing three articles and a Special Pheromone Report from the 2019 ESA Conference in St. Louis, MO. The first article is “Pheromones and Attractants for Invasive Pests.” The U.S. is being overrun by invasive pests. A partial list is the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys; the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula; spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii; and the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis.

Management is either frequent pesticide sprays or a patchwork quilt of IPM methods. Pheromones and attractants are the key to IPM management and can lead to a reduction in pesticide use. This article reviews the pheromone and attractant technology necessary to manage these pests.

A Cure for Huanglongbing?

Huanglongbing or yellow dragon is one of the most serious citrus diseases worldwide. It is caused by a bacterium that produces yellow foliage and small, green, misshapen fruit with bitter juice. Within 3-5 years infected trees start to die, and up to now there is no cure.

Now, a cure may have been found. An antimicrobial peptide produced by Australian finger limes, Citrus australasica, can kill the microbe. The peptide also moves systemically when sprayed on citrus, producing induced immunity that protects treated citrus from infection.

Pyrethroids and Poverty

A landmark epidemiological study has shown that people with the highest levels of pyrethroid exposure are three times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those with lower exposure. This group is also 1.56 times more likely to die of any cause than those with low exposures.

Either pyrethroids are more toxic than we thought, or there is a confounding factor such as poverty which is contributing to the excess mortality. People who live in substandard housing, with poor access to medical care, and exposed to unhealthy air pollution levels may be more likely to show adverse health effects. These same people are often exposed to pyrethroids that treat infestations of cockroaches, ants, and bed bugs.

Coronavirus and Ecology

The same ecological disturbances that have devastated populations of wild vertebrates, monarch butterflies, bees and other beneficial insects have contributed to the emergence of the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Increasing human population has led to encroachment on wildlife areas and closer contact with animals carrying viruses and other pathogens that are able to infect humans.

Since 1980, the human population has nearly doubled, and new human pathogens have been discovered at the average rate of about three per year. Increased development is destroying wildlife habitat, pushing humans into contact with wild animals. There are also many direct interactions of humans with wild animals through hunting and wildlife trade.

The novel coronavirus that has caused the current worldwide pandemic likely originated in the horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus affinis. This bat roosts in remote Chinese mountain caves near Yunnan, and is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Bat traders likely caught infected bats and brought them to the Huanan wholesale market in Wuhan.

The horseshoe bat virus RaTG13 is 96.3% genetically identical to the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that has caused the worldwide pandemic. Mutation and recombination of RaTG13 likely led to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. Humans were either infected directly by the bats, or the bats infected another animal that then infected humans. The virus is extremely infectious, and 43 people in Wuhan have now infected the whole world.

The virus spreads mainly through aerosols, and COVID-19 cases increase exponentially. About 80% of the people infected have no symptoms, but carry the disease to others. About 20% of the infections are serious, and require hospitalization. Of those hospitalized, at least 15% will likely die. Cases serious enough to be confirmed by testing may eventually lead to a death rate of about 10%.

The best defense is good nutrition, as Chinese clinical studies show that serious cases on ventilators have lower hemoglobin levels than those in the general hospital population. Hemoglobin in red blood cells carry oxygen that help with survival from COVID-19 pneumonia.

SARS-CoV-2 is the second in a series of SARS related bat coronaviruses. The first caused SARS. The second caused COVID-19. There are a cluster of these viruses poised for emergence into the human population.

Americans can no longer ignore obscure diseases in remote areas of the world. We should invest more resources in worldwide pathogen surveillance that will prepare us for future pandemics. Cooperation, not isolation, is the way toward survival. We should also try to mitigate some of the ecological damage that led to the outbreak. Regulation of worldwide trade in wild animals would be a good start.

Least-Toxic and Non-Toxic Fungicides

Global warming has led to major problems with fungi. Human deaths each year from Aspergillus, Cryptosporidium and Candida now exceed combined deaths from malaria and tuberculosis. And fungi are killing millions of bats and amphibians.

Plants are also at risk. Fungi have attacked agricultural row crops, orchards, and backyard rose gardens. Increasing plant disease has led to large fungicide increases. For example, combined fungicide applications to U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat increased 10-15 fold from 2004 to 2009.

Fungicides are also causing environmental contamination and increased toxic exposure. Streams are contaminated with fungicides that are potentially carcinogenic or have other health effects. Environmentally relevant concentrations of fungicides are killing amphibians and may be contributing to honey bee and pollinator declines.

And overuse of fungicides is causing pest resistance. Many fungicides are specific in action and can be neutralized by simple DNA point mutations in pathogen populations. The result is increased disease with fewer effective fungicides.

There is thus a great need for fungicides with low toxicity that are less likely to cause pathogen resistance. This issue of Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly reviews least-toxic and non-toxic fungicides. Many of them have general modes of action such as desiccation, induced systemic resistance, or pH changes that are less likely to cause resistance.

Backyard and greenhouse rose gardens were used as the model crop. But least-toxic fungicides for roses can also be used on strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, Cannabis sativa and other high value crops.

If you want to read this publication, please click here. Hard copies are $8 each, including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

Neonic Seeds are Not Needed

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides in the world. They are found in field crops, orchards, parks, landscapes, backyard gardens, on ornamentals, lawns, pets, and in structural pest control.

Neonics can kill pollinators and biological controls. They are water soluble and persistent, polluting water, including drinking water. They can kill aquatic invertebrates, and have been implicated in insect decline, leading to reduced populations of birds, bats, and frogs.

Seed treatments are especially objectionable because they are often not needed. They do not consistently increase yields in soybeans, corn, sunflowers, sugar beets, and cotton. There is some evidence for yield increases in wheat and rice when pest challenges are high. For sporadic early season pests in some crops, they can be effective, but IPM methods provide similar protection. Neonic seeds have been banned in European field crops, and yields have not been affected.

Since benefits are not outstanding, and destructive effects on wildlife are widespread, neonic seed treatments, especially in corn and soybeans, should be reduced or banned.

Is Agriculture Killing Whales?

This publication also discusses fertilizer pollution. Application of synthetic fertilizers is excessive and increasing. This year more than 400 million pounds of U.S. fertilizer will end up in the oceans. Nutrients are causing algae blooms larger than the size of Massachusetts in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nutrients and warming oceans cause algae to increase production of neurotoxins such as saxitoxin and domoic acid. These toxins are concentrated by shellfish, anchovies, herring and other sea creatures. When whales feed on contaminated prey, they can be exposed to domoic acid, leading to loss of short term and spatial memory. This exposure may be causing the increased number of Òunusual mortality eventsÓ seen for whales this year.

Other articles in this issue include Trump’s War on Pollinators, and Highlights of the 2018 ESA meeting Vancouver.

If you want to read this publication, please click here. Hard copies are $8 each, including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

IPM for the Western Bean Cutworm

Western bean cutworm (WBC), Striacosta albicosta, is a pest created by modern agriculture, as monocultures, genetically engineered crops, and climate change encourage it. Introduction of genetically engineered corn in 1996 led to an explosive range expansion. It spread throughout the Midwest corn belt and into corn producing areas of eastern states in a period of just 10 years.

WBC is a late season pest, and larvae eat corn kernels and damage bean pods. Field damage of 30-40% has been seen. Average infestations of one larva per plant in corn leads to yield reductions of 3.7 to 15 bushels per acre.

Conventional pest management includes genetically engineered BT corn, neonicotinoid seed treatments, and pyrethroid insecticide sprays. But WBC is resistant to BT, and is becoming resistant to pyrethroids. Neonicotinoid seed treatments are not effective for late season pests, and make the problem worse by killing biocontrols.

IPM for the western bean cutworm consists of monitoring with pheromone traps, scouting fields for egg masses and damage, cultural controls, conservation biocontrol, releases of parasitoids and nematodes, host resistance, and application of least-toxic pesticides as a last resort.

IPM management can reduce or eliminate pesticide applications. New technology such as automated pheromone traps connected to the internet make real-time monitoring of areawide populations possible.
This publication is a special pheromone issue of the IPM Practitioner. It includes a Special Pheromone Report from the 2018 ESA meeting in Vancouver.

If you want to read this publication, please click here. Hard copies are $8 each, including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here

Racing Towards Silent Spring

In the last 40 years, the human population has nearly doubled, but human activity has caused catastrophic decline in other species.

Butterfly, bee, and beetle populations have seen reductions of 50% or more. Birds, bats and frogs that depend on insects for food are showing population reductions of 28-58%. Major drivers of the catastrophic collapse are habitat destruction, agricultural intensification, pesticide use, and climate change.

One study shows that numbers of freshwater vertebrates such as fish and frogs have dropped by more than 80%. Declines are being driven by water pollution, pesticides, and destruction of aquatic insects.

The degradation of wild populations was not necessary. We should try to mitigate some of this damage, or there will be consequences such as loss of pollinators, loss of aquatic food, and a highly restricted food supply.

This publication briefly reviews insect decline and makes suggestions to mitigate the damage. For example, we should increase regenerative and organic agriculture. Away from crop areas, farmscaping can be used to increase resources for beneficial insects. IPM should be used to control pests. Backyard gardens and roadside plantings can compensate for some of the habitat loss.

Life on earth is being reconfigured from diverse populations in ecological balance to a simplified ecosystem of humans, human food, and human pests. Unless we reverse the wholesale destruction of wildlife, reduce pesticide applications, and mitigate global warming, we are headed toward the Silent Spring pictured by Rachel Carson.

Alternatives to Glyphosate

About 280 million pounds of the herbicide glyphosate are applied each year. There is widespread contamination of breakfast cereal, wine, and other commodities. Glyphosate has been found in 93% of people tested in the U.S.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against Monsanto and Bayer. Applicators are most at risk, and a jury trial in California resulted in a $289 million dollar award to a landscape professional dying of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Glyphosate alternatives are needed in GMO crops because of weed resistance. Alternatives are also needed for roadside weed control, for municipal landscapes, for golf courses, playing fields, and weed control in homes and gardens. Cities are concerned about potential liability and are actively seeking alternatives.

IPM methods can provide a comprehensive solution to weed management. These include weed mapping, cultural controls, mulching, microbials, mechanical controls, steaming, flaming, solarization, allelopathy, and application of least-toxic herbicides. This issue includes a review of IPM weed management methods and an update on the efficacy of least-toxic herbicides.

If you want to read this publication, please click here. Hard copies are $8 each, including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

IPM for Cannabis Pests

About 35 million people in the U.S. use marijuana on a regular basis. It is the fourth most popular recreational drug after caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco. Marijuana is legal for medical use in 31 states, and it has been decriminalized in 13 other states. Recreational marijuana is legal for adults in nine states. But Cannabis is still illegal under federal law.

Marijuana is the largest cash crop in the U.S. with an estimated value of $35.8 billion each year. Nearly $700 million in imported hemp products are sold in the U.S. each year. Hemp has been grown for thousands of years. It is a renewable source of fibers for ropes, bags, paper, building materials, and other products. In blighted rural areas where coal mine and tobacco jobs have been lost, hemp could provide economic revitalization. A federal law legalizing hemp production was introduced this year.

Because federal law prohibits Cannabis production, there is a pest management problem in the states where it is legal. The EPA will not register a pesticide with marijuana or Cannabis listed on the label. Thus, most EPA registered pesticides cannot be applied. Yet many states allow marijuana to be grown, sold, and consumed. To make the best of a bad situation, cooperation between state and federal agencies has led to lists of approved pesticides, mostly soaps, oils, and biopesticides.

Because pesticides allowed are somewhat limited, the situation provides an ideal opportunity for IPM methods. IPM management should result in less environmental pollution, fewer pesticide exposures, and less pesticide contamination of the product. Less pesticide contamination is important because the California law requires that commercial marijuana be tested for pesticide residues.
Nearly 300 insect pests have been associated with Cannabis. Flower and leaf pests outdoors are hemp borers, budworms, leafminers, and green stink bugs. Stalks and stems are attacked by borers and beetle grubs. Frequent and sometimes serious pests include aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, mites, and chewing bugs. Among the worst pests are hemp borers, budworms, aphids, and mites. IPM methods include biological controls, least-toxic pesticides, and cultural methods.

Illegal Cannabis operations outside are often marked by pesticide and fertilizer pollution. State licensed legally grown Cannabis provides an opportunity to reduce environmental pollution. Because it is still illegal under federal law, USDA organically certified Cannabis cannot be produced. But an Eco or IPM label for Cannabis grown with organic methods and low environmental impact is possible.

Also in this issue is the article Global Warming and Water Pollution and highlights of the 2017 ESA Meeting in Denver, CO.

If you want to read this publication, please click here. Hard copies are $8 each, including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

Bringing Back the Monarchs, Birds, and Bees

The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is one of the best known environmental icons. But the migrating monarch is in trouble. Over the last 20 years, overwintering populations have dropped by 90%. Glyphosate applications to GMO crops in the Midwest have killed the milkweed it needs to survive. Other causes are herbicide applications to roadsides, overuse of insecticides, destruction of flowering plants and nectar, and extreme weather conditions caused by global warming.

This Quarterly reviews monarch biology, and outlines a strategy that will result in Bringing Back the Monarchs. The strategy includes establishing milkweed and nectar plants, converting lawns to Monarch Way Stations by sheet mulching, planting milkweed along highways, and raising awareness of laws designed to help the monarchs. Lists of the best milkweed and nectar plants are provided.

Monarch butterflies have survived the dinosaurs and have probably been migrating for one million years. We should not let pesticide pollution and human activity destroy them. Working together, we can bring back the monarchs.

Not just monarchs, but bees and birds are also threatened. Honey bee colony losses are currently about 44% a year, and wild bees have also been impacted. Many bird species are in decline, both rare species and common ones. The Audubon Society has found that the 10 most common bird species have seen a 70% decline.

Causes for the decline are similar: pesticide pollution, development, and loss of habitat. Bees can be encouraged by providing nesting sites and floral resources. Birds will respond to plantings that provide seeds and nectar. Lists of flowering plants that will encourage birds and bees are provided.

Overall, this issue provides a pathway to a balanced garden with increased pollination, increased biocontrol, and enhanced habitat for birds, bees, and monarchs.

Genetic Engineering and Pest Control

The lead article in our latest issue, is Genetic Engineering and Pest Control. About 20 years ago, the first transgenic crops engineered for pest control were commercialized. These transgenic crops have been controversial, and about 90% of the U.S. population would like to see these crops labeled as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

These crops have led to unexpected problems, such as destruction of monarch butterfly habitat, contamination of soil and water with pesticides, reduction of amphibian populations, and in some cases increased soil pathogens.

Another consequence is systemic exposure to glyphosate, neonicotinoid, and Bacillus thuringiensis pesticides in our food supply. There are questions about safety that have not been fully answered with rat toxicology experiments.

Overuse of these crops has led to resistant insects, resistant weeds and other problems. To fix the problems that genetic engineering has caused, new crops have been created that will lead to increased pesticide use, and again to loss of efficacy—truly a genetic treadmill.

Insects are also being engineered for pest control applications. Releases planned are either self limiting or sustaining. Self limiting transgenics will die out after a few generations. Sustaining releases will use CRISPR gene drives to transform or eliminate entire species. An example is the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

GE crops brought unexpected problems, and engineered insects represent an escalation of risks. Engineered insects also pose ethical questions. Should we transform or eliminate a wild species just to solve a pest or pesticide problem? Should corporations be allowed to produce the corporate bee, a transgenic resistant to neonicotinoids and other proprietary pesticides?

Mass releases of transgenic organisms to solve a pest or pesticide problem is a subject too important to be left to corporations and regulators. Transformation or elimination of a wild species should be a topic debated by the entire society. Once the transgene genie is released, it may be impossible to put it back into the bottle.

This issue also contains an update on Zika Virus and Birth Defects. About 11,000 women who gave birth in Brazil in 2015 were likely infected with Zika. About 4,000 babies were born with birth defects. Zika may be interacting with agrochemicals or other factors to cause the problem.

IPM for Spotted Wing Drosophila

Spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is a tiny fruit fly causing big trouble. Its quick reproduction time, lack of competition or natural enemies, increased survival due to global warming, and dispersal in infested fruit shipments has allowed it to spread with astonishing speed. In five years, this invasive insect has spread completely through the U.S. It is now an established pest in many fruit production areas.

It lays its eggs in ripe fruit just before harvest, targeting raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, stone fruit such as cherries and peaches, and even grapes and figs. Fruit full of maggots cannot be sold, and 20% crop loss is typical. Economic damage in just California, Oregon, and Washington can be $500 million each year.

The pest attacks both commercial crops and backyard fruit. It has a wide host range, switching to an alternate host when preferred food is not available. When it overwinters, it may choose non-host plants for shelter.

This article outlines an IPM approach that can manage the pest, while sparing bees and beneficial insects. IPM methods include monitoring, early cultivars, sanitation, mass trapping, repellents, netting, biological controls, and biopesticide sprays.

An online version is available if you click here.

Those who want to buy a hard copy of this 48-page resource can order it from the Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC), PO Box 7414, Berkeley, CA 94707. Cost is $15 including mailing and handling. California residents add 9% sales tax. A convenient order form is available here.

Hard copies of the Directory are excellent assets for IPM Training Programs and Conferences. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. Call BIRC at 510-524-2567 or email us at birc@igc.org for a price quote.

Acknowledgement The 2015 Directory of Least-Toxic Pest Control Products was supported, in part, through a grant from StopWaste.Org. BIRC is extremely grateful to StopWaste.Org for its assistance in producing the Directory.

Bees Attracted to Neonicotinoids

The lead article of our new publication reviews the latest information on neonicotinoids and bees. The USDA has just released a beekeeper survey showing that more than 40% of U.S. commercial honey colonies were lost last year. Pesticides are one of the problems, and bees are actually attracted to neonicotinoids at concentrations seen in nectar and pollen.

Neonicotinoid concentrations in pollen and nectar from canola seed treatments are large enough to reduce field densities of wild bees. Seed treatments may not even be needed, as no yield increases are generally seen in seed-treated soybeans. As a precaution, the EPA has stopped approving new outdoor uses of neonicotinoids.

In another article, we discuss the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) study showing glyphosate is a probable human carcinogen. We briefly review glyphosate toxicology. Exposure to glyphosate is widespread. Millions of pounds are used each year, and there is evidence that applicators absorb and excrete it. Amounts found on soybeans in the marketplace can exceed the EPA standards for glyphosate in drinking water.

Finally, we review cutting edge research on pheromone technology from 16 presentations given at the Entomological Society of America’s 2014 Conference. Plant volatiles are being used to enhance pheromone attraction. Pheromone mass trapping has become more practical. Pheromone dispersal technology is being applied to attract pollinating bees. Pheromone sources such as puffers reduce labor costs, and structural pest control is benefitting from an Argentine ant trail pheromone.

If you want to read this publication, please click here. Hard copies are $8 each including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

Protecting Amphibians from Pesticides

Our latest publication reviews the connection between pesticides and amphibian decline. In some cases, amphibians are killed directly upon exposure. There are also sublethal effects such as delayed metamorphosis, increased predation, reduced size, reproductive problems, deformities, and depressed immune systems that lead to destruction. We identify which pesticides are causing the worst damage.

Amphibians are exposed through direct overspray, pesticide drift, rainfall, and runoff into water bodies. About 83% of urban streams and 57% of agricultural streams are contaminated with enough pesticide to be hazardous to aquatic life. Windblown pesticides from aerial applications are killing amphibians in remote mountain areas.

We also provide solutions to the problem. Some pesticides such as glyphosate, atrazine, endosulfan, chlorpyrifos, and chlorthalonil should be used much less or restricted. Glyphosate and atrazine together represent 30% of all conventional pesticides used in the U.S.

We can also protect amphibians by using IPM methods in agriculture, homes, gardens, and professional landscapes. A combination of cultural methods, resistant plants, conservation biocontrol, and reduced risk pesticides can be effective.

Buying organic food, replacing lawns with native plants, creating backyard water gardens, helping with wetland restoration, and using mechanical methods, mulches, and competitive plantings for weed control can help protect amphibians from pesticides.

Backyard gardens with resources for amphibians, birds, butterflies, bees and beneficial insects are aesthetically pleasing and can help prevent the relentless slide of amphibians toward extinction.

New IPM Methods for Bed Bugs

If you have bed bugs, do not panic. Our latest publication reviews new IPM methods for bed bug control. Because bed bugs are resistant to many pesticides, pesticide applications alone are generally not effective. Pest management professionals are using IPM methods such as prevention, monitoring, vacuuming, mattress encasements, traps, repellents, heat and steam, cold, fumigation and reduced risk pesticides.

Heat, carbon dioxide fumigation, and treatments with amphorous silica such as diatomaceous earth or silica gel can be very effective. New traps and pheromones are making detection easier. Reduced risk pesticides such as neem and essential oils can provide relief.
IPM methods reviewed in this publication can reduce pesticide applications by 96%, and in some cases, bed bugs can be controlled entirely by non-chemical methods.

Can Bed Bugs Carry Ebola?

The second article in this publication reviews the relationship between bed bugs and pathogens. Bed bug bites can cause extreme irritation, psychological problems, allergic reactions and asthma. But bed bugs also can carry pathogens on, and inside their bodies, and can excrete pathogens in their feces.

Bed bug vector competence for human diseases has never been proven, but mechanical transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease, has been shown in the laboratory. There are strong suspicions that hepatitis B can be transmitted in this way.

Ebola is spread by touching infected humans and their belongings, and the Ebola virus can persist in the environment from 14 to 50 days. Since bed bugs can pick up pathogens from human skin and carry them on their bodies, they may be able to passively carry Ebola in this way. Bed bugs have been shown to ingest and excrete pathogens such as Q fever, caused by Coxiella burnetii, and HIV. If other pathogens can be carried in this way, they can probably carry Ebola. Whether or not they can actually transmit the disease depends on amount of virus needed to initiate human infection.

What Are You Eating? Labeling Genetically Engineered Food (GMOs)

Our latest publication reviews labeling of genetically engineered food. These products are not labeled despite the fact that 90% of Americans support labeling. GMOs are labeled in Europe, but the political process in the U.S. has been paralyzed due to vigorous lobbying by major corporations.

GMOs should be labeled because they are novel foods, containing genes and proteins not found in nature. Some GMOs contain systemic pesticides, and the effects of longterm exposure to these products have not been fully investigated. Short term toxicity tests have given conflicting results, and longterm tests in rodents are few, flawed and hard to interpret. One by one comparison of known nutrients in substantial equivalence tests cannot identify all possible sources of toxicity. New allergens created by the transformation process may escape detection.

A flood of new products is headed toward the market, including fresh produce and engineered animals. Overwhelmed regulators may make mistakes. Labeling is needed because knowledge of genetics is incomplete, research is still active on recently commercialized technology, and regulatory failures could occur. Industry is lobbying for no regulation at all.

Some GMOs are associated with environmental disasters such as destruction of monarch butterfly habitat and production of superweeds. A pesticide treadmill of new crops resistant to 2,4-D and other toxic herbicides will cause increased environmental pollution and more concentrated herbicide residues in food.

GMOs should be labeled because consumers are being deprived of their right to make choices. The courts have ruled that the way money is spent can be speech, and some legal scholars believe that food choice is a form of protected speech.

GMOs should also be labeled because America is in the midst of an epidemic of food related diseases. Those afflicted with food allergies, asthma, clinical gastric upset, diabetes, fatty liver and other diseases should have all the information they need to make changes in their diet.

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Hard copies are $8 each including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

IPM for the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

The invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, has spread to 41 states in the 13 years since its introduction to the U.S. It is a threat to commercial agriculture, landscape ornamentals, and backyard gardens. It is also a structural pest, as large populations invade houses, trying to overwinter.

The pest is exploding in the U.S. due to lack of specific natural enemies, prolific reproduction, wide host range, and effective overwintering strategies. It is cold tolerant and is reaping the benefits of global warming.

Growers have responded to stink bug proliferation through increased pesticide applications that are disrupting IPM programs, causing outbursts of secondary pests such as mites, aphids, and scales.

This article reviews monitoring, pheromone trapping, barriers, repellents, biological controls, biopesticides and other IPM methods that will manage H. halys populations, while sparing beneficial insects and bees.

Also included in this Special Pheromone Issue is a Pheromone Report from the ESA 2013 Meeting in Austin, TX and the latest IPM News.

Protecting Bees, Birds, and Beneficial Insects from Neonicotinoids

About one-third of the managed honey bee colonies in the U.S. are dying each year. Part of the problem is exposure to systemic insecticides called neonicotinoids. Neonics are applied in field crops, orchards, parks, landscapes, backyard gardens, on ornamentals, lawns, pets, and in structural pest control. Some of them are extremely persistent, providing a large window of exposure. At least 45% of U.S. cropland is treated.

This new issue of Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly reviews effects of neonicotinoids on bees, birds, and beneficial insects. Bees and beneficials are exposed to toxic residues from sprays, and to poisonous nectar and pollen from systemic treatments. Predatory insects are killed through secondary poisoning from consuming pest insects that contain neonics. The largest impact on birds is through neonic seed treatments. One treated seed is enough to kill some birds. There are also sublethal effects on bird reproduction.

This issue also suggests alternatives to neonicotinoid applications. In almost every case, cultural and ecological changes can be combined with IPM methods, biological control, biopesticides, and other low impact pesticides to correct the pest problem.

Avoiding pesticides, choosing native plants, breaking up monocultures, hedgerow plantings, growing organic gardens, and buying organic food are some of the choices that we can make to protect bees, birds, and beneficial insects from neonicotinoids. Specific plantings are recommended to encourage bees, birds, butterflies and other pollinators. IPM methods are suggested to manage pest problems.

IPM for Asian Citrus Psyllid and Huanglongbing Disease

Citrus trees in the U.S., Brazil, Mexico and elsewhere are being killed by an aphid-like insect called the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. The insect feeds on the phloem of Citrus trees. In the U.S., psyllids transmit the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, causing a disease called citrus greening or huanglongbing (yellow dragon).

The first signs of infection are yellow shoots and leaves with asymmetric yellow blotches. As the disease develops, small, green, misshapen fruit with bitter juice drop prematurely, dramatically reducing yield. After about 3-5 years, infected trees die, and currently there is no cure.

Both the disease and the psyllid have been found in California, Texas, and Florida. About 18% of the 60 million sweet orange trees, Citrus sinensis, in Florida have been infected. The disease has caused the death of about 40 million citrus trees worldwide.

Huanglongbing is leading to grower panic and the overuse of pesticides in a desperate attempt to stop the disease. As many as 6-15 foliar and 1 to 2 systemic pesticides are applied each year from five different chemical classes. This barrage is leading to pesticide resistance and damage to bees and beneficial insects.

This article reviews IPM methods that can manage the psyllid and the disease without destroying bees, beneficial insects and other elements of the environment.

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Hard copies are $8 each including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

Baits or Barriers? Field Efficacy of Subterranean Termite Treatments

If you have subterranean termites and cannot decide whether to use chemical barriers or termite baits, this classic publication can help you with the problem. Once you decide between bait or barrier, the article can help you choose the most effective product and minimize effects on the environment.

The publication draws on field tests conducted by the USDA, termite research specialists, and the experience of pest control operators to identify the most effective and least toxic treatments for subterranean termites.

The publication also has new information about the biology of termites. New technology has revealed the genetic structure of termite colonies. Colonies containing thousands of termites may be produced by one queen. An average property may have 6 genetically independent termite colonies capable of attacking your home. When your home is attacked, it is usually only one of these colonies.

The efficacy of termite baits is sometimes questioned. Although effects are complex, published studies show an expected efficacy of 85-100%.

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Hard copies are $8 each including postage. California residents add 8.75% tax? Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out.
BIRC is a non-profit that depends on the support of the public. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to help us continue our work, become a BIRC member, or order a publication, use the BIRC order form here.

Bats, Pesticides and White Nose Syndrome

Millions of bats in the U.S. have been killed by a mysterious new disease. Death is associated with a fungus, Geomyces destructans, that attacks their skin. White fungal lesions appear on their bodies and on their noses, which has led to the name "white nose syndrome." G. destructans has attacked at least nine different bat species, and according to biologists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than 5.5 million bats in 20 states have died since 2006.

The same fungus is present in Europe, but mass die-off of bats is not happening there. The immune system of U.S. bats cannot deal with the disease. This article reviews the possible causes of immune suppression in bats. Pesticide exposure is one possible cause. Due to their long lifetime and voracious appetites, bats are vulnerable to accumulation of pesticides and environmental contaminants. One possible solution to white nose syndrome is conversion to IPM methods or increased organic production, especially near areas of bat hibernation.

Bats eat tons of pest insects each year. Loss of bat biological control worth an estimated $22 billion annually could mean increased costs for crop production and increased use of pesticides. Considerable environmental damage from pesticides is already occurring. Overuse of glyphosate is leading to habitat destruction for wildlife. Pests are growing resistant to genetically engineered crops, and application of neonicotinoid seed treatments are contributing to honey bee death and decline. Mass die-off of bats could make honey bee problems worse, due to increased pesticide applications.

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New Biopesticides for IPM and Organic Production.

March 2013: This IPM Practitioner publication reviews the latest biopesticide products. Biopesticides are either living organisms or have their origins in living organisms. They are often target specific, benign to beneficial insects, do not pose air or water quality problems, and risks to human health are low. Insects are not resistant to them, and some formulations are certified for organic production. The publication includes a list of EPA registered products and suppliers.

Biopesticides include herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and nematicides. A new bioinsecticide called Grandevo™ should be useful in management of the destructive Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. Another bioinsecticide called MET52™ has potential as a non-chemical treatment for tick control. This product should be good news in areas overrun by Lyme disease.

Phaseout of the soil fumigant methyl bromide has led to registration of toxic and carcinogenic materials such as 1,3-dichloropropene for nematode control. New biopesticides such as Econem™, Melocon™, and DiTera™ are now available that provide a non-chemical alternative for nematodes.

Biofungicides such as Rootshield™, Mycostop™, and Soilgard™ provide non-chemical alternatives for soilborne pathogens. Products such as Regalia™, Serenade™, and Sonata™ provide treatment for plant diseases. Regalia and many of the other products are certified for organic production.

New bioherbicides have been developed that can help control weeds without the environmental pollution seen with some chemical herbicides. Some of these are commercially available, others are in the last stages of EPA and California registration.

Protecting Raptors from Rodenticides, a new publication from BIRC

January 2013: About 13,000 to 20,000 people each year are poisoned by rodenticides, and most of these are children. About 80% of the hospitalizations are due to second generation anticoagulants, mostly brodifacoum. Of the 95,000 pets poisoned each year, about 74% is due to brodifacoum. This type of rat poison is also causing widespread poisoning of wildlife, including raptors.

Brodifacoum is a longlasting poison, and rats can accumulate 30 to 40 times a lethal dose before they die. Raptors that eat these rats die of secondary poisoning. The problem is widespread, and may kill 10-20% of raptor populations in areas where the baits are used. Sublethal effects include bleeding and disorientation leading to accidents. Poisoned raptors are also more susceptible to disease.

BIRC’s new publication reviews the problem and proposes effective, practical alternatives that will provide effective rat management without killing raptors.

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Hard copies are $8 each including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. If you would like to order the publication, click here.

August 2012: BIRC’s latest publication reviews the problems resulting from the extensive use of genetically engineered (GE) crops and systemic pesticides. Production of GE crops (Roundup Ready™) resistant to the herbicide glyphosate has resulted in a number of environmental problems, including an 81% reduction of Midwest monarch butterfly populations.

Excessive glyphosate applications may be impacting amphibian populations and increasing populations of soil pathogens. Soil pathogens are making systemic seed treatments with fungicides necessary.

Extensive reliance on GE crops with systemic insecticides from Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) is leading to insect resistance. The resulting seed treatments with systemic neonicotinoid insecticides are causing deaths of honey bees.

Dependence on glyphosate for weed management in GE crops has led to creation of superweeds. The agribusiness solution is a repeat of the pesticide treadmill—crops engineered for resistance to multiple herbicides. Planting of these new crops will at least triple the amount of 2,4-D and other controversial herbicides being used in agriculture.
A better solution is a return to IPM principles that allow both sustainable crop production and environmental protection.

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Hard copies are $8 each including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. If you would like to order the publication, click here.

June 2012: BIRC’s latest publication reviews honey bee death and decline due to extensive use of pesticides. Chemical analysis of hives in 23 states show bees, pollen, and wax combs are extensively contaminated with pesticides.

Contributing to the problem is the use of systemics in field crops, especially corn. Use of systemics means that pesticides are always present in the plant and mitigation strategies are impossible. About 45% of U.S. cropland is treated with systemics and use is increasing each year. In many cases, systemics are not needed because IPM alternatives are available that manage pests without killing bees.

This issue also includes an update on urban farming, the EcoWise IPM Certification Program for pest control professionals, and the latest information on bed bug pheromones and traps.

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Hard copies are $8 each including postage. California residents add 9% tax. Quantity discounts are available until supplies run out. If you would like to order the publication, click here.