International Pest Control – January/February 2021 – Vol 63, Nr.1

IPCadmin | February 13, 2021

Cover image: Aedes aegypti populations benefited from COVID.
Picture by WHO, CDC/Pablo Carera, Muhammad Mahdi Karim

2021, whatever happened to 2020? A quick look at our events calendar suggests that this year will be another year of virtual events with few chances to get together until autumn at the earliest. This issue kicks off with a look at the highly rated CABI compendium of Invasive Species before moving on to consider developments at another UK institution, Rothamsted, and its refurbishment of the iconic Russell Building. CABI has also been spreading its knowledge through the pages of Wikipedia and has been updating the pages relating to crops pests and diseases.

Citrus greening – Huanglongbing – makes its first of two appearances as the EPA has announced the licencing of new treatments in Florida in an attempt to control a disease that has led to losses of $1.75 billion over ten years. A new solitary bee species has been discovered in Brazil on one of Bayer’s “ForwardFarms”. It is one of several insect species that are important pollinators on the farm. And we round off the news section with the discovery that Aspirin along with other painkillers in humans interrupt the developmental process in plants.

We return to practicality with a report on the annual BCPC Conference – a virtual meeting with over 100 registered participants. Our technical consultant Professor Graham Matthews, together with compliance specialist Robin Blake, have provided comprehensive cover of the three days of the event.

PestExtra will be another virtual event this year, BCPC has relaunched its on-line guide and CEPA has announced its priorities for 2021. In Company News we can read about collaboration, new team members, partnerships, acquisitions, and funding.

Environmental Heath is our special topic for this issue and Technical Consultant Fabio Castello investigates the interaction between COVID and dengue, both viruses but with very different methods of transmission and which seem to be interacting in the Americas. Partho Dang, also a member of the Consultant team at IPC, takes a look at dilemmas surrounding the use of pesticides to protect humans from pests.

Controlling COVID in indoor spaces is the focus of further actions of the EPA who are clearly keen to support states in their battle with the virus. Pelgar experts ask if consumers can be trusted to safely use pest control following adverse press in the UK regarding the supply of products through DIY stores.

With the rapid growth of cities and urbanization of rural areas India is facing a storm of pest problems and the need for well-trained operatives has never been greater. A new training programme aims to address the issue and ensure the country has a well trained workforce, able to grow the pest control sector.

Terry Mabbett, a regular contributor and IPC technical consultant investigates how the UK’s arable farmers will cope with the slugs and other pests that are grazing on young cereals and oilseed rape plants as the traditional chemical controls are restricted by environmental concerns. And later in the magazine Terry looks at the impact of weather, pests and politics which are all conspiring to put pressure on UK farmers – who would be a farmer?

Finally, Terry Mabbett takes a look at viruses and how COVID has been a distraction from bird flu. The H5N8 subtype of avian influenza appeared in UK swans in November 2020 but also affected several species of wild geese before impacting chicken farms. An Avian Influenza Prevention Zone is in place across England, Scotland and Wales which requires all bird keepers to follow strict biosecurity measures. The UK government says the risk to human health from the H5N8 subtype of avian influenza is very low, but mutation is the key word here and that occurs at an alarming rate in these viruses. Fingers crossed.

Chris Endacott, Editor International Pest Control magazine
Email Chris on editor@international-pest-control.com