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 […]
International Pest Control – May/June 2013 – Vol.55, Nr.3
Gradually over the last few weeks, announcers on radio and television have shown considerable improvement in their ability to pronounce the word ‘neonicotinoid’. Sadly it appears to be yet another occasion when our industry gets into the public consciousness with negative connotations. It takes little more to raise the general populace’s emotions, than concerns over […]
Biocontrol industry gathers at annual Lucerne event
The Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting was held at the KKL Culture and Convention Center Lucerne, Switzerland on October 22th-24th 2012. The meeting is organised jointly by the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (ABIM/IBMA) and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). ABIM provides an annual meeting place specifically adapted to the needs of the biocontrol industry. […]
Hypovirulence hope for management of sweet chestnut blight
In 2012 sweet chestnut blight, caused by the fungus Cryphonectria parasitica, was found for the first time in the United Kingdom (UK) on trees imported from France in 2007 and planted at two sites, one in Warwickshire in the West Midlands and the other in East Sussex in southern England. If the UK plant health […]
40 years of rat control in Budapest: The importance of sewer treatments for effective rat control in urban areas
Rats proliferating in urban areas may spread infectious diseases, cause considerable economical damages or through the reaction they provoke, may annoy inhabitants; therefore, their control is indispensable. The question remains: where exactly should control be carried out to obtain appropriate results? ‘Deratization’* of Budapest city Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, is the only metropolis […]
US first nanopesticide registration challenged
A landmark decision by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2011 to grant conditional registration for a nanopesticide product is being challenged by environmental groups. The four-year limited registration for the pesticide, which contains nanosilver as a new active ingredient, marked the first nanopesticide registration authorized in the country. In summer 2012, environmental groups filed […]
