International Pest News
International pest news in brief – September/October 2013 issue
UK: UAV spotted over Shropshire A flight demonstration of several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has taken place at Shropshire’s Harper Adams University. UAVs, which can be remote controlled or can fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans, collect large amounts of imagery data and video in a short period of time which has the potential […]
International pest news in brief – July/August 2013 issue
USA: New Jersey man sets fire to home trying to remove bedbugs After reading that high temperatures can kill bed bugs, a New Jersey resident tried to use a space heater, hair dryer and heat gun to eliminate the pests. Unfortunately, trying to apply this solution not only caused a fire but also destroyed his […]
CEPA announce release of first draft of the CEN Standard for Pest Management Services
The CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) Standard for Pest Management Services is a voluntary industry initiative that specifies the requirements, recommendations and basic competences under which pest management servicing companies must operate to guarantee a professional service to their customers and ensure that the industry is recognized for responsibly protecting European citizens, animals and the […]
Better prospect for black-grass control
Scientists at the Universities of York and Durham have discovered a gene called AmGSTF1 that plays a key role in controlling multi-herbicide resistance (MHR) in black-grass and rye-grass. Chemicals that inhibit this gene can be used to make weed killers effective against resistant weeds. Black-grass and rye-grass are both widespread and serious weed problems in […]
Another major step in better disease management in the global banana sector
PromoBanana, a new public-private partnership coordinated by Wageningen UR (University & Research centre), will provide banana farmers in the Philippines with better tools for detecting and managing the devastating infectious diseases Panama disease and Black Sigatoka. The Philippines are among the world’s top five banana exporters. Bananas are a staple food for more than 400 […]
Asian fly threat to fruit industry
It is just two millimetres long but scientists fear the suzukii fly has the potential to damage the UK’s multimillion-pound soft fruit industry. Drosophila suzukii has been advancing out of its native south-east Asia for the past five years and is now known to be in England and Scandinavia. The pest has the capacity to […]
UN conference takes historic strides to strengthen chemical safety globally
The three conventions that govern chemicals and hazardous waste safety at the global level, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions, concluded their first ever jointly held meetings of the parties late Friday 10th May 2013, in Geneva. The historic meeting, attended by nearly two thousand participants from 170 countries, as well as 80 Ministers, adopted […]
Eat insects? Two billion people can’t be wrong
Insects are often considered a nuisance to human beings and mere pests for crops and animals. Yet this is far from the truth. It is estimated that insects form part of the traditional diets of at least 2 billion people. More than 1,900 species have reportedly been used as food. Insects deliver a host of […]
