Bugs are Guaranteed
Do we guarantee there will be no bugs?
NO.
We get this question a lot. The easy answer is, “no.” We do not guarantee the plants we ship will be bug-free. You will likely have some predator bugs in your shipment.
WHY?
The only way to guarantee that our plants are 100% bug-free would be to spray them continuously with all sorts of chemicals. This is not good for the plants, the people, the environment, or good IPM. If we were to spray insecticides continuously, the bugs would eventually develop a resistance to those chemicals and be impossible to kill.
What is IPM?
Integrated Pest Management means using a balance of biological control, cultural practices, and (lastly) chemicals to control pest populations.
How does it work?
Each week we are releasing tens of thousands of predator bugs in our greenhouses. Those predator bugs are our first level of defense in combating pest insects. When everything is in balance, they are able to keep us reasonably free of bugs and suppress the pest population, and in most cases, wipe them out better than chemicals.
If the pest population is able to grow and multiply, then it is time for the next step, which is usually a biological spray. These sprays take a little longer to work than pesticides. However, they are safest for the environment and other beneficial insects due to their MOA (Mode Of Action).
Almost all of our control is done with these two steps. If the predator bugs and biological sprays are unable to clean up a pest problem, we would have to rely on a true insecticide.
How do I tell the difference between beneficial and pest insects?
It is very important to be able to identify all insects that may appear in your setting. This would include both pests and beneficial insects.
Mites are especially important to research. The most common type of pest mites are two spotted, broad, and russet mites. These can often be confused with the predators who eat them if you are not aware they could be in the area. We release Amblyseius swirskii and cucumeris for whitefly and thrip control, Stratiolaelaps for fungus gnat control, Neoseiulus californicus as a generalist control, and Phytoseiulus persimilis as two spotted spider mite control.
As you can see, the list of “good” mites is longer than the list of “bad” mites.
The same goes for flying insects that look like a fungus gnat. You could also be looking at a shore fly (nuisance bug) or any of the many predator wasps that we use.
So now I have to be a bug expert?
No, but if you are going to be growing plants that will at some point have an insect problem, it is best to have a plan upfront on how to deal with them. This is a multistep process.
1. Know what pests most commonly attack the plants that you plan on growing.
2. Research those pests and know the symptoms they cause and what they look like.
3. Know their life cycle and how to treat them.
- What predator bugs work on them
- What chemicals work on them
- How will those chemicals affect your predator bug program.
- What chemicals will cause damage to these plants and should be avoided
4. Have resources available for identifying and treating the problem.
- Don’t wait until you think you have spider mite damage to order a microscope to look for them.
- Just because you see a mite in a hand lens doesn’t mean that it is easily identifiable. We need to be able to zoom in and know what kind of mite it is in order to determine if it needs to be treated and, if so, how to treat it.
5. Finally, know what other issues could cause what appears to be bug damage.
- Is it viral, spray damage, nutrient problems?
- We need to be sure that we are correctly identifying the cause of the problem. Otherwise, the treatment is not likely to work.
To see the complete list of predator bugs that we use, please visit this blog on our website:
https://articles.ncfarmsinc.com/top-ten-beneficial-insects-for-commercial-greenhouse-production/
