natural pest management

Natural Pest Management

Demetria Christo + Travis Cleaver 504-322-7025 [email protected]

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Copyright 2013, EcoUrban

EcoUrban is the only local full-

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Orelans. Copyright 2013, EcoUrban

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Special plug for…COMPOST!


Organic Gardening Combines:

• Cultural Controls

• Biological Controls

• Physical Controls

• Chemical Controls


NOT A Pest- Common Cultural Disorders


PEST CONTROL


Cultural Controls

– Select Healthy, Resistant Plants • Start Your Own Seedlings

– Time Plantings • Start Seedlings Early Indoors

• Monitor Insect Populations w. Sticky Traps

– Mulch • Is barrier betw. Soil-borne diseases and plant

– Clean Garden • Wash hands after handling diseased plants

– KNOW YOUR PESTS!!!


Signs of Bad Guys

• Beetles + Caterpillars – Large, ragged holes in leaves, caterpillars sometimes leave deposits of dark green excrement on leaves

• Aphids, Leafhoppers, Thrips – Suck sap from leaves

– Can cause leaf curling, distortion, and twisting

• Leaf weevils – Clip neat half circles from leaf margins

– Larvae usually feed on roots

• Leaf Rollers – Spin fine web around one or many leaves and feed inside web

• Cutworms – Crawl along soil surface at night, chew through seedling stems

• Slugs – Large, ragged holes in leaves

– Feed at night, slime trails

• Spider Mites – Fine webbing on underside of leaves.

– Leaves can develop white or yellow specs

• Flea Beetles – Many small holes in leaves like shot-holes

• Leafminers – Feed internally on leaf tissue, tunnels

– Leaves may twist


Pests: Soft-Bodied Insects

• Sucking insects with soft exoskeleton

– Aphids

– Spider Mites

– White Flies

• Control:

– Water Spray

– Organocide !!!!!!!!

– Insecticidal Soaps

– Seventh Generation Soap

– Yellow Sticky Traps Copyright 2013, EcoUrban

Pests: Thrips

• Flying insect that attacks buds and blooms of plants

• Control: – Prevention: Blue Sticky Traps

– Organocide!!!

– Insecticidal Soaps

– Alcohol Sprays

– Diatomaceous Earth

– Neem Oil

– Nicotine Spray

– Pyrethrins


Pests: Scale

• Sucking insect with disk-

like exoskeleton that

makes difficult to control

• 16 Families in LA

• Control:

– Horticultural Oils

– Organocide

– Alcohol Spray

– Lime Sulfur

– Predators

Asian cycad scale (Photo by Dale Pollet) Copyright 2013, EcoUrban

Pests: Leaf Miners

• Larvae burrow betw. leaf layers

• Creating winding trails through

plant tissues

• Not fatal

• Controls:

– Horticultural Oils

– Yellow Sticky Traps for Adults

– Neem Oil

– Nicotene Oil


Pests: Caterpillars

• Control

– BT-Bacillus thurengiensis

• Does not harm

– Adult Butterflies

– Mammals

– Birds

– Humans

– Wasps

– Handpicking

– Physical Controls, ie barriers


Pests: Hard-Bodied Insects

• Tough exoskeleton.

– Stink bugs

– Beetles

– Ants

• Controls:

– Handpick, drop into soapy

water

– Heavy infestation—

Pyrethrin

– Diatomaceous Earth


Pests: Slugs + Snails

• Controls:

– Remove litter that hide under during day

– Iron Phosphate

– Toads + Turtles—eat slugs + o/ insects

– Sluggo

– Slug and Snail Traps

• Attracted to Yeast

– Yeast + Water

– Beer

– Spoiled yogurt

• Top of container flush w. ground level


Pests: Birds + Mammals

MAMMALS

• Squirrels

• Rats, mice—eat food + fertilizers

• Cats, dogs

SOLNS + WHY WORKS:

• Capsicum-based spray.

• Capsicum=chem. In hot peppers

BIRDS:

SOLNS + WHY WORKS:

• Scarecrows

• Bird Tape + Sticky Gel on roosting surfaces

• Netting


Chicken Wire Garden


Biological Controls:

Encourage Natural Predators

• Permanent Protection/Shelter

– Hedgerows or perennial border excellent

– Organic Mulches

– Cover crops

• Orchards have less infestations and greater number and variety of predatory soil-dwelling beneficials

• Food, Water

• Can buy at Barber Labs


Beneficial Insect Run-Down • Flies

– Pollinators, Predators, Parasites

• True Bugs

– Sharp Needle-Like Beaks for Sucking Food

– General Predators of soft-bodied insects

– Ex: Assassin Bugs, Ambush Bugs

• Beetles

– Chewing Mouthparts, Hard Forewings

– Ex: Lady Beetle, Ground Beetles, Fireflies

• Wasps

– Parasitic—inject eggs in host

• Lacewings

– Brown or green alligator-like larvae

– Eat small, soft insects: aphids, moth eggs, leafhoppers, scale insects, thrips, small caterpillars

• Predatory Mites (Arachnids)

– Sucking mouthparts

– Eat smaller mites, fungi, fly larvae, thrips, fungus gnats

• Spiders (Arachnids)



Companion Plants

• Rich in Pollen and Nectar

– Beneficial adults seek nectar; meanwhile search for hosts for their larvae

– Most attracted to small-flowered species

• Carrot Family: dill, caraway, fennel, lovage, parsley, Queen-Anne’s-Lace

• Weeds: Nettles and wild mustard

• Mint Family: catnip, hyssop, lemon balm, rosemary, thyme

• Daisy Family: cone-flowers, daisies, yarrow, goldenrod

• Plant clover around the garden to provide food for beneficials


Companion Plants



Microbial Insecticides

• Bacillus thuriengiensis (BT)

• Milky Disease Spores

• Viral Diseases

• Fungal Diseases

• Protozoan Diseases

• Insect Parasitic Nematodes

• Rarely kill immediately

– Key: monitor for weeks and months

• Check for sick or peculiar-acting insects

• Diseased insects may have opaque pink or chalky white blood

– Normal insect blood is green or yellowish

• Look for cottony or fuzzy growths on their bodies

• May move slowly or act strangely

– Ie sitting exposed on top of plants

– Hanging upside-down from twigs


Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) • Nearly 1% of global pesticide trade

• Most widely used bio control agent in world

• How it Works:

– Spore-forming bacteria specific to caterpillars, certain flies, and certain beetles

– Death from starvation, poisoning and bacterial infection

– Spores also multiply in insect’s blood

• How to Use:

– Sold as powder or liquid concentrate

– Do not store diluted spray mixture

– Can mix w. o/ insecticides, soap sprays + horticultural oils

– Short lifespan in environment

– Thoroughly cover leaf undersides—last longest

– When:

• Spray in the evening to prolong spore life

• Spray BT when caterpillars just big enough to eat holes in leaves

• NOW!!!!!


Kills BUCKMOTH

CATERPILLARS!!!

WARNING: May Kill Butterfly Larve!


Milky Disease Spores • Protection Offered:

– Bacteria Specific to Grub Stages of:

• Japanese Beetles

• June Beetles

• May Beetles

• How it Works:

– Grubs eat, spread to new areas as move though soil

– Diseased larvae have appeared 45 years after application

• How to Use

– Spores sold as a Dust or Grain

– Treat new and diseased sod once

– No safety concerns for non-target organisms

– When:

• NOLA Temp fine for any-time application

• Apply just before rain or water in

• Best results if applied on community-wide basis

– Migrant beetles can come from 1/8 mi. away


Viral Diseases

Virus-Killed

Looper

• Viruses specific to insects, not any other animal

– Protection Offered:

• Caterpillars

• Flies

– How it Works:

• Insect eats infected leaf

• From stomach, spreads to o/ organs

• Host stops eating immediately, lives 3-9 days

• Virus spread from dead insect

• Studies show that predatory + parasitic insects of host not harmed by the viruses that killed their prey


Fungal Diseases

• CAUTION: NOT Recommended

• Protection Offered:

– Many fungal diseases w. have broad range

of hosts– including beneficials

How They Work:

• Fungi produce strands of mycelium that

gradually penetrate the insect’s

protective cuticle by:

– Mechanical force

– Chemical secretions that dissolve the

cuticle Copyright 2013, EcoUrban

Insect Parasitic Nematodes • Nematodes = narrow, hollow worms w. tails

• Fastest-acting biological control

• Some are beneficial and break down compost

• Protection Offered:

– Best for controlling soil pests or those in hidden environments, ie under tree bark

– Infect wide range of hosts

– HH Nematodes • Black vine weevils

• Corn Root-Worm Larvae

• Cucumber Beetle Larvae

• Fungus Gnat Larvae

• Mole Crickets

• How They Work:

– Seek host’s breathing and body heat

– Nematodes release bacteria, which multiply in host; nematodes eat

– Host dies 1-2 days

• How to Use:

– Need moist soil conditions

– Small enough to spray

NC Nematodes

Carpenterworms

Currantb borers

Earwigs

Navel Orangeworms

Onion Maggots

Pillbugs

Seed Corn Maggots

Sod Webworms

Sowbugs

Strawberry Root Weevils


Physical Controls

• Handpicking/Shaking/Vacuuming

• Water sprays

– Good for soft-bodied aphids + spider mites

– Spray leaf undersides!!!

– Spray in morning or dusk

– Caution—water is disease vector

• Barriers

• Traps

• Soil Solarization


Physical Controls:

Barriers

• Floating Row Covers

– Polypropylene or Extruded plastic

• Allow more than 80% sun

– Can use good-quality cheese cloth, fine nylon mesh, sheer curtain material on bamboo hoops

• Good for seedlings

• Copper Barriers

– Extremely toxic to slugs and snails (electric shock)

– Use as a Tree Band or as edging around a bed


Physical Controls: Barriers • Cutworm Collars

– Cardboard, paper, plastic cylinder that surrounds base of seedling stem

• Tree Bands


• Prevents non-flying insects from daily migration

• Gypsy moths

• Buckmoth caterpillars

• Codling moth larvae

• Use on citrus for snails, ants, beetles

– How to Make:

• Use 12 inch wide cotton or burlap cloth, fold over string

• Or Cardboard, silicone tape

• Place as soon as trees leaf out

• Remove bands weekly, destroy larvae


Chemical Controls:

Diatomaceous Earth

• From diatoms—one-celled algae

– How It Works:

• Scratches waxy cuticle

• death by dehydration


• Stored seeds

• Flea/Louse control on animals

• Cabbage root flies

• Thrips, Ants

• Root + Rust Flies

– How to Use:

• CAUTION: Not specific, danger to beneficials

– Keep local to target plant

• Dust does not break down in environment until rain or tilled into soil

• Natural Grades Non-Toxic to humans

– Pool-filter grade is a respiratory hazard to mammals

• Mix ¼ pound diatomaceous earth w. 1tsp. Of pure soap, enough water to make thick slurry; apply to lower trunk

• Other Dehydrating Dusts:

– Spread circle of dry wood ashes, talc, lime around plants

– When:

• Most effective when dry

• Apply after rain


Physical Controls: Traps • Good for Monitoring

• Yellow Sticky Traps

– Protection Offered: • Onion flies

• Cabbage Root Flies

• Carrot Rust Flies

• Aphids

• Imported Cabbage Worms

• Thrips

– How to Use: • Hang around the garden at

average plant height, among or close to the foliage

• Blue Sticky Traps

– Protection Offered: • Thrips (in some light conditions)


Physical Controls: Traps • Pheromone Traps

– Pros:

• Species-specific, so don’t trap beneficials

• Great for monitoring pops. To time pesticide applications

– Cons:

• Same species from different geographical regions may not respond

• Light Traps (UV/Blacklight Rays— “Bug Zappers”)

– DO NOT USE!

– May make bug problem worse—indiscriminate, kill beneficials


Physical Controls: Solarization

• Black or clear plastic film over soil

• Heat pasteurize top 6-12 in. soil

• Kills

– Disease organisms

– Weeds and Weed seeds

– Soil stages of insects and mites

– Detrimental Nematodes

• DO NOT solarize annually—many

beneficials need stable environment


Chemical Control:

Why Are These Sprays OK?

• Unlike Petrochemical Sprays:

– Less likely to poison non-target organisms

– Spray residues undetectable shortly after spraying

– Toxic compounds quickly break down into harmless

compounds

– Don’t accumulate in the soil or groundwater

– Don’t become more concentrated in the food chain

• Caution—resistance can develop when any

pesticide is overused


Chemical Controls

LAST RESORT!

• Horticultural Oils

• Insecticidal Soaps

• Homemade

Repellents

• Botanical Poisons—

NOT

RECOMMENDED


Chemical Controls:

Horticultural Oils • Oil/Water/Emulsifier

• Are Contact-Insecticides

• Dormant + Summer Oils

– How They Work:

• Suffocation

• Disturbing insect’s water balance

• Dissolving egg coverings


• Mealy bugs

• Thrips

• Aphid + Mite eggs

• Leafrollers

• Rust Mites

• Scale

– On citrus—use from petal fall in Spring through September to control Scale

• Spider Mites

• Most exposed insects


Chemical Controls:

Insecticidal Soaps • Soaps are salts of fatty acids

• Not toxic to humans, birds

– How They Work:

• Kill on contact by paralyzing, disrupting membranes, effecting growth and development

– Protection Offered

• Soft-bodied insects:

• Aphids (every 2 weeks, when pops. Rebound)

• Mealybugs

• Scales

• Thrips

• Whiteflies

• Mites


Chemical Controls:

Home Preparation • Garlic/Onion/Cayenne Spray.

– For Leaf-Eating Pests

– Liquify:

• 1 onion

• 1 garlic

• 1tsp cayenne pepper

• 1quart water

• 1 tbsp non-detergent liquid

• Repelling Herbal Sprays

– For Leaf-Eating Pests

– Effective Herbs:

• Sage and thyme essential oils

• Hyssop, Rosemary, White Clover


Chemical Controls:

Botanical Pesticides • From Plant Material

• Pyrethrin

– From Chrysanthemum

– Deterrent + Lethal Toxin to All Stages Egg to Adult

• Rotenone

• Citrus Oil

• Neem Oil

– Not Harmful to:

• mammals, birds

• some beneficial insects such as honeybees + ladybugs.


Product Highlights: Organocide


DISEASE

CONTROL


LSU Ag Center

Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic

• $10 per sample.

• Diagnose plant samples with problems caused by

– fungi,

– bacteria

– viruses

– nematodes

– non-pathogenic agents

• Mailing address:

302 Life Sciences Building

Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Phone: (225) 578-4562

Fax: (225) 578-1415 Copyright 2013, EcoUrban

Powdery Mildew

• Cause:

– Fungal disease

• Symptoms:

– Grayish/Whitish powdery growth

– On the surface of plant tissues

– Frequently on plants in shade when moderate humidity and high temps

• Controls:

– Choose resistant plants

– Plant in sunny locations with good air movement

– Protect the foliage with sprays of

• Horticultural oils

• Organocide!

• Neem Oil Copyright 2013, EcoUrban

Leaf Spots + Blights • Cause:

– Fungi

• Overhead watering is a vector

• Fungi need extended periods of leaf wetness to gain entry into the plant.

• Choose resistant plants + varieties.

• Controls:

– Use Drip Irrigation

– Protect Foliage with

• Organocide

• Neem Oil

• Fixed-copper

• Fungicide from Organic Labs

• Apply prior to the onset of rainy periods


Anthracnose • Cause:

– Group of fungal diseases

– Survive from year to year in cankers on infected branches

– Occur on leaves, shoots and twigs

– Develop in the spring during prolonged rainy periods

– Splashing water disperses the spores

• Mulch!!!

• Controls. – Neem Oil

– Choose resistant plants and varieties. Fungicide sprays applied prior to the onset of rainy periods in the spring may provide some protection.


• Cause:

– Bacterial disease

• Enters plants through the flowers, moves into the new shoots, kills.

– Rose family Plants

• Flowering pears, loquats

– Splashing water and honeybees are vectors

• Symptoms

– Burnt, blackened appearance of leaves and bark

– Dead branch tips to which the leaves are still attached

• Controls:

– Prune out infected branches 6- 8” below the dead portion

– Copper Sulfate

– Lime Sulfur

Fire Blight


Root + Crown Rots

• Cause:

– Fungus

– Poor Drainage

• Symptoms

– Stunting of the plants

– Leaf wilting, death of lower leaves

– Later, defoliation + branch dieback over the entire plant

– Root symptoms: black necrosis

• Controls:

– Well-drained site

– Avoid overwatering

– Mulch

– Currently no effective pesticides that can get to the roots or that last long enough on crown Copyright 2013, EcoUrban

• Cause:

– Rust fungi are obligate parasites

– Seldom kill plants but drastically reduce health

– Spores easily spread via air or splashing water

• Symptoms:

– Each type of Rust has its own distinctive symptoms + specific hosts

– Usually starts as yellowing of leaves on the upper surfaces

– All powdery masses of spores in pustules

• Typically on leaf undersides, some on surface

• Yellow, orange, purple, black or brown.

– Large areas of necrosis develop; leaf distortion and defoliation often follow

• Controls:

– Organic Labs Fungicide

– Copper-Based Spray

Rusts


Viruses • Cause:

– Various viruses

– Insect Transmission • aphids, whiteflies, thrips are common vectors

– Mechanical Transmission • in sap on pruning shears

• hands.

– Once infected with a virus, a plant cannot be cured.

• Symptoms Can Include: – mosaic

– mottle

– ring spot or

– line patterns on the foliage or flowers.

• Controls – Do not introduce virus-infected plants into the

landscape.

– Prevent their spread by controlling insects and regularly cleaning pruning shears.


RESOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE

PEST AND DISEASE CONTROL

WEBSITES:

• Pest I.D. Flash Cards

• Jeffords, Michael R., et al. “Garden Pests: The Bad Guys Set 1, The Bad Guys Set 2, The Good Guys.” DNR Illinois Natural History Survey and The Univ. of Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. <http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach/eduresources/bad1/guysframes.>

• Pest I.D. Image Database

• Nature’s Control. “Garden Pest ID.” 2006. <http://www.naturescontrol.com/pests.html>

• Sustainable Products

• Organic Laboratories. Home Page. 2008. <http://www.organiclabs.com/>

• Common Landscape Diseases of Louisiana Overview

• LSU AgCenter. “Common Landscape Diseases.” 10/22/2007. http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/lawn_garden/home_gardening/landscaping/louisiana_yards_neighborhoods/Section+2+Landscaping+Principles/Manage+Yard+Pests/Common+Landscape+Diseases.htm

BOOKS:

• Carr, Anna. Roldale’s Color Handbook of Garden Insects. Rodale Press, Inc. 1955.

• Anna Carr…[et al.]. Rodale’s Chemical-Free Yard and Garden: The Ultimate Authority On Successful Organic Gardening. Rodale Press, Inc. 1991.

LSU AG CENTER PLANT DISEASE DIAGNOSITIC CLINIC:

• Mailing address:

• 302 Life Sciences Building

• Baton Rouge, LA 70803

• Phone: (225) 578-4562

• Fax: (225) 578-1415


http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach/eduresources/bad1/guysframes.

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/lawn_garden/home_gardening/landscaping/louisiana_yards_neighborhoods/Section+2+Landscaping+Principles/Manage+Yard+Pests/Common+Landscape+Diseases.htm



For pest and disease questions, please contact the LSU

AgCenter.

For EcoUrban Maintenance & Installation RFQs, please

contact us at:

[email protected]; 504-322-7025

www.ecourbanllc.com

mailto:[email protected]

natural pest management

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