International Pest News
Striped bodypainting protects against horseflies
A study by researchers from Sweden and Hungary has shown that white, painted stripes on the body protect skin from insect bites. Among indigenous peoples who wear body-paint, the markings thus provide a certain protection against insect-borne diseases. Most indigenous communities who paint their bodies live in areas where there is an abundance of bloodsucking […]
Hyperspectral drones the main attraction
Drones Synergies 2018, a global conference combined with capacity building workshops took place in November 2018 at the Zayed University in Dubai. The aim of the two-day event was to see application of latest drone technologies in different fields, particularly in precision agriculture, food security, environmental and natural resource management. The event, which was attended […]
Small farmer support
Bayer and the S M Sehgal Foundation (SMSF) – a non-profit organisation supporting smallholder farmers in India – have announced the “Sustainability of Agriculture and Smallholder Development” project. The aim of the project is to improve farmers’ incomes by introducing them to easy-to-learn-and-adopt best agronomic practices. The project in 25 villages in Rajasthan, a state […]
Public Health
Preliminary tests to validate the effectiveness of the Inpest pheromone dispenser patch
Monitoring traps are often used to catch certain species of stored product insect pests and in these traps a pheromone attractant is used to lure the insects. Once attracted, a sticky board or bucket captures the insect. In the case of stored product moths, the pheromones are sex attractants which attract only males of the […]
How climate change is creating a global pest problem
Rentokil Steritech have identified climate change as a factor that is accelerating the damages caused by pests, which could result in a wider spread of infectious diseases, increased crop destruction, extensive electrical damage and food safety issues. As most pests are more prevalent in warmer climates, the impact of an increasing temperature could be potentially […]
The day of the jackal and a wolf in dogs’ clothing?
French shepherds are angry about EU laws stop them from killing the wolves, which are attacking their sheep, especially since they claim to have evidence showing most of these canine predators are hybrid animals arising from cross breeding between wolves and domestic dogs. Such animals they say can be legally shot and killed without the […]
Agriculture
Celebrating 60 years – Matthews’s memoires 1 (1950’s-60’s)
The year before International Pest Control magazine was first published, I graduated from Imperial College in 1957. On the day the results came out, I was on a one-man expedition travelling to West Africa on an Elder Dempster cargo ship, the m.v. Ebani. This was the idea of Geoffrey Brett, at the Ministry of Agriculture, […]
Advances in Precision Farming Technologies for Crop Protection
Precision farming involves the collection of data by observation and measurement, and the subsequent response. Sensing is key to the collection of data; whether this is remote from space by satellites, by aircraft or drones, or by proximal sensors used on the ground, mounted on vehicles or otherwise. Responses are increasingly automated and data are […]
Integrated Management of Soybean Pests: The Example of Brazil
Soybean [Glycine max] is the most commercialized agricultural product in Brazil, which stands out in the world ranking as the second largest producer of this protein and oilseed crop. Cultivated throughout the country and with prospects of expanding into the North and Northeast, it has become the most important commodity in Brazilian agribusiness. Among the […]
Forestry-Plantation
A tale of two squirrels
The two species of squirrel resident in the United Kingdom (UK) are Sciurus vulgaris (native European Red Squirrel) and Sciurus carolinensis (North American Eastern Grey Squirrel), the latter introduced as a fashionable addition to estates in the 1870’s. Its population of 2.5 million is spread over most of the UK and dwarves the 140,000 native […]
World Pest Awareness Day
The 6th June 2017 has been declared World Pest Awareness Day to serve as a reminder of how professional pest management helps protect our quality of life. Three global pest management associations; The Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA), the Federation of Asian and Oceania Pest Managers’ Association (FAOPMA) and the @NationalPestManagementAssn (USA), have […]
Cabbage Skunk weed Lysichitum americanum in wet woodlands: biology; invasiveness and control in the UK
The invasive Cabbage Skunk weed, Lysichitum americanum, is native to swamps and along streams in woodlands in the north-west of North America. It is named due to its distinctive “skunky” odour that it emits when it blooms and attracts its pollinators – scavenging flies and beetles. The name is also used for the eastern skunk […]
Special Features
The future evolution of pest control
Organized pest control has a long history that dates to 4000 BC when the first ever pest control solution – sulphur – was used in ancient Sumer to keep insects away from crops. Since then, pest control has seen steady progress, from botanical products used as fungicides for seed treatments in China, to professional “rat-catchers” […]
Using pesticides in amenity areas
Using pesticides in amenity areas such as parks, golf courses and other areas open to the public has to conform to the EU regulations in a similar manner to protecting crops on farms. The main difference is that there are a diverse range of spray targets which frequently have to be treated using manually carried […]
Managing the problem of leatherjacket at UK airports
UK airports recently faced an issue due to the removal of a chemical, or to be precise the lack of knowledge regarding its avail- ability. The application of European EC Regulation 2009/128/EC, applied by the UK, led to the nationwide withdrawal of Chlorpyrifos. However, since the 1960’s chlorpyrifos had helped in the control of larvae […]
Horticulture-Amenity
Development of fruit fly control strategies
The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) constitutes one of the key pests of citrus, being the target of many IPM programs around the Mediterranean Sea. This species has a great ability to disperse, to use alternative hosts and displays a great developmental plasticity allowing it to survive most of the year, contributing […]
Managing SWD – a fly of mass destruction
There are approximately 1,500 known species in the genus Drosophila. Although sometimes called fruit flies, true fruit flies belong to the family Tephritidae and are larger in size. The majority of Drosophila flies are associated with rotten or over-ripened fruits and are nuisance pests. However, a few species such as the Spotted-Wing Drosophila (SWD), Drosophila […]
World Pest Awareness Day
The 6th June 2017 has been declared World Pest Awareness Day to serve as a reminder of how professional pest management helps protect our quality of life. Three global pest management associations; The Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA), the Federation of Asian and Oceania Pest Managers’ Association (FAOPMA) and the @NationalPestManagementAssn (USA), have […]
Latest Posts
Striped bodypainting protects against horseflies
A study by researchers from Sweden and Hungary has shown that white, painted stripes on the body protect skin from insect bites. Among indigenous peoples who wear body-paint, the markings thus provide a certain protection against insect-borne diseases. Most indigenous communities who paint their bodies live in areas where there is an abundance of bloodsucking […]
Hyperspectral drones the main attraction
Drones Synergies 2018, a global conference combined with capacity building workshops took place in November 2018 at the Zayed University in Dubai. The aim of the two-day event was to see application of latest drone technologies in different fields, particularly in precision agriculture, food security, environmental and natural resource management. The event, which was attended […]
Small farmer support
Bayer and the S M Sehgal Foundation (SMSF) – a non-profit organisation supporting smallholder farmers in India – have announced the “Sustainability of Agriculture and Smallholder Development” project. The aim of the project is to improve farmers’ incomes by introducing them to easy-to-learn-and-adopt best agronomic practices. The project in 25 villages in Rajasthan, a state […]
Uzbekistan declared malaria free
When Uzbekistan earned WHO certification as malaria free, it was a major achievement in global health that demonstrates what is possible when partners coordinate preventive efforts, the Global Fund said today. “It’s an extraordinary outcome,” said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “We applaud Uzbekistan’s success, and we are delighted that the Global […]
MEPs propose blueprint to improve Eu approval procedure
An insect capable of parasitising the Asian stink bug has been identified by Bioplanet. It is not an exotic antagonist but is already present in Europe and therefore it does not need to go through all the processes required before an exotic species can be introduced. Plans to boost trust in the EU approval procedure […]
First international berry seminar
In October 2018 Biobest Mexico was proud to stage the first International Berry Seminar in the state of Jalisco – right at the heart of this rapidly growing sector in Mexican horticulture. In this region, berry cultivation takes place on more than 6,000ha. Major international companies – including Driscoll´s and Hortifrut – are focusing their […]
France says no to metam-sodium
Plant protection products containing metam-sodium are used in market gardening and horticulture to disinfect the soil. Following the substance’s approval at European level, ANSES (the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety) reassessed the dossiers and notified the companies concerned of its intention to withdraw all marketing authorisations for metam-sodium products. ANSES […]
The persistence of pesticides threatens European soils
A study by researchers from the Diverfarming project has found pesticide residues in the soils of eleven European countries in six different cropping systems. The use of phytosanitary projects to combat weeds and other pests that affect the crops has led to an increase in the productivity of European agricultural crops in the last 50 […]
Sustainable bananas in greenhouses: first ‘Dutch bananas’ harvested
Researchers from Wageningen University & Research harvested the first ever Dutch bananas in December 2018. Boerenhart, a supplier of fresh and local products offered the bananas as ‘regional produce’ to restaurants and hospitals in the area around Wageningen. The cultivation took place on two types of synthetic soil substrate: coco peat and rock wool. These […]
WHO pre-qualification for Fludora™ Fusion to combat malaria
The recent WHO Malaria Report 2018 flagged another stalling in the progress towards elimination of the disease, in part due to development of insecticide resistance in vector mosquitoes to current preventative solutions. There is therefore an urgent need to maintain investment into innovation for malaria vector control; to develop new modes of action but also […]
