{"id":7691,"date":"2019-08-01T13:29:10","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T12:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/?p=7691"},"modified":"2020-09-11T14:31:24","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T13:31:24","slug":"international-pest-control-july-august-2019-vol-61-nr-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/international-pest-control-july-august-2019-vol-61-nr-4\/","title":{"rendered":"International Pest Control \u2013 July\/August 2019 \u2013 Vol 61, Nr.4"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Maremma guardian dogs protecting Little Penguins on Middle Island, near the City of Warrnambool, Victoria in southern Australia. Picture by P. Corbett<\/p><\/div>\n

With so many of us on the planet and so much pressure on land, natural habitats and the wildlife they contain it is frightening to read that we still lose 40% of our food crops to pests. It is also a surprise to learn that we have an \u201cevidence gap in plant health\u201d. Hopefully the steps being taken at CABI funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help us fill that gap.<\/p>\n

Which takes us neatly into \u201csmart farming\u201d, a collaborative project between UK and Chinese institutions funded by Innovate UK to apply the latest in agricultural information technology to the problems of maximising output from land. And supporting the dissemination of information about smart farming is the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit which is taking place in London on 15 to 16 October 2019.<\/p>\n

But technology is just part of the solution, we still use a wide range of plant protection products and new PPPs can take years to introduce; Fera Science Ltd has hosted its Advances in Environmental Risk Assessments symposium, inviting members of the PPP industry to come together and discuss how to develop new solutions that will support an increase in agricultural outputs.<\/p>\n

And then there are Google, Spotify, Amazon and Rothamsted\u2026 today we take statistical analysis of experimental data for granted. We use it as proof that our products actually have the desired effect, but when did it all start and where did it lead? We turn the clock back to 1919.<\/p>\n

The IBMA has a new Executive Director and NPMA are inviting you to PestWorld 2019 as well as launching a pest identification App. The Arab Society for Plant Protection has a conference planned in 2020.<\/p>\n

On to our special feature and the control of vertebrate pests \u2013 Rodents and Birds \u2013 and we kick off with a wide-ranging article looking at the role of rodenticides and how they can be as important for control of food and public health pests as for the preservation of endangered species. We then look at how you establish a product does what it says on the can before moving on to consider how \u201cman\u2019s best friend\u201d can also become a penguin\u2019s best friend. We take a look at what makes a bait attractive to a pest species and not surprisingly we discover rodents like the good things in life. And we finish with the use of lasers to keep birds off fruit crops \u2013 not by frying them in flight but by just shining a light on them!<\/p>\n

From lasers to thermal imaging to find wasp nests \u2013 no more tearing out all that plasterboard \u2013 just pick up the heat of the nest, which may help if you live in the UK where, after a mild winter, another \u201cbumper\u201d season for wasps is predicted. The 10th International Conference on Urban Pests (ICUP) has been announced by the organisers and will take place from 29 June to 1 July 2020 at Pompeu Fabra University, in Barcelona, Spain.<\/p>\n

We report on the 4th Biopesticides Europe Conference which was held in London in May and attracted over 90 delegates. We also look at how we can manage slugs without metaldehyde and report on the search for cabbage stem flea beetle in the UK. Another conference report follows on the 21st Akademie Fresenius Conference \u201cBehaviour of Pesticides in Air, Soil and Water\u201d which took place in Mainz, Germany.<\/p>\n

Then, before you know it, we are back to OPM, and Xylella<\/em>. We finish with a look at animal health products for our furry friend the cat as well as that important food source the pig.<\/p>\n

In our next issue we will be looking at Biopesticides and Semiochemicals, rapidly growing areas of pest control as more and more organisations want to move away from the use of traditional toxic pesticides and adopt instead these natural products which we hope have no adverse effects on us or the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

If you want to contribute to our special subject or to any of our other sections please email me!.<\/p>\n

Chris Endacott, Editor International Pest Control magazine
\nEmail Chris on editor@international-pest-control.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Contents International Pest Control July\/August 2019
\nVolume 61, Number 4.<\/h3>\n

\"\"INTERNATIONAL NEWS IN BRIEF<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n