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Enviro-Gardening
Other Recent Articles
Alternatives
More and more of us are hearing about the contaminated wastewater flowing into
the Trinity River from the Water Treatment Facility on the south side of Ft. Worth, Texas.
The culprit? Diazinon — a general purpose pesticide applied in granular
form to control everything from fleas to ants to grubworms to crickets to scorpions;
applied in spray form to control wasps, aphids, flies, June beetles, and a host of other
garden pests.
The cause? It’s overuse in the urban landscape. Too many gardeners, pest
control operators, and so-called "landscape companies" applying too much
diazinon or applying it incorrectly; thinking that doubling the application rate must
certainly be better than applying it according to label directions.
The result? If Ft. Worth, doesn’t reduce the amount of diazinon flowing
into the Trinity River (the drinking water of many who live downstream), the taxpayers and
water users face collective fines of up to $25,000 per day or the expense of installing a
filtration system, the likes of which can cost as much as $10 million to build and $4
million annually to operate.
Just as important, if it can happen in Ft. Worth, it can happen in your hometown, too!
The solution? You! That’s right! You can make the difference by
selecting alternative, less toxic pesticides to control your landscape pest problems.
Let’s take a look at some of the more common landscape pests controlled with
diazinon; then some alternative solutions.
Fleas
Every pet owner knows the problem with fleas. At times, it may seem that all 2000-plus
species known to the world are attracted to your landscape by your animal friends. When
temps reach 65° to 80°F (18° -27°C) and the relative humidity exceeds 70%, flea
populations surge. One female can lay up to 25 eggs per day and up to 800 eggs in her
lifetime.
Regardless of approach, flea control is a 3-stage process: In the home, on the pet, and
in the landscape.
Alternative flea controls:
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Mechanical
controls to include flea combs, vacuums, sticky light traps, and sticky tapes. Look for
products like Over Nite Flea Trap, Flea Stop, and Ultralight for the home. |
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Insect-attacking
nematodes like Vector or BioFlea for the yard. |
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Borate-based
powders like Rx for Fleas for the yard. |
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Citrus or herbal
oil extracts like Flea Stop Shampoo, Citrus Plus Shampoo, and Pennyroyal Shampoo for the
pet. |
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Diatomaceous
earth (DE) with or without pyrethrins like EcoZone, Protect-It, Answer, and Permaguard for
the yard. |
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Insect Growth
Regulators (IGRs) like Program available from your veterinarian, or Precor, Precor 2000
and Enforcer Flea Spray for the home and yard. |
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Insecticidal
soaps with or without pyrethrins like Flea & Tick Attack or Safer’s Yard and
Garden. |
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Pyrethrins like
PT 175, Kicker and Formula 66. |
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Pyrethroids like
Sectrol available from your veterinarian. |
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Pyrethrum
powders like EcoZone. |
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Repellent herbal
flea collars like those sold by Pet Organics, Gardens Alive, and Harmony. |
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Silica aerogel
dusts like Drione for the yard. |
White grubs or grubworms are the larval stage of May or June beetles and Japanese
beetles. Their distinctive C-shaped, white or gray bodies with brown heads tunnel around
in your garden soil munching on grass and plant roots. Female beetles can lay up to 60
eggs in their short, 6-week lifetime. Severe infestations can cause serious damage to
turfgrass, shrub foliage and ornamental blossoms.
"Infestation" is the key word. By most expert definitions, this means more
than six to ten grubs per cubic foot of soil. Less than that will have little impact on
your lawn or garden.
Alternative grub controls:
The best controls against the adult forms of these beetles include
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Pheromone traps
like SureFire and Safer Japanese Beetle Trap. |
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Physical
controls like row covers sold by Gardens Alive, Peaceful Valley, and Harmony. |
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Sticky traps and
tape like Chroma, Ecogen and Sterling’s Japanese Beetle Trap. |
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Garlic
repellents like Garlic Barrier, Garlic Gard and Guardian. |
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Neem oil
products like Safer’s BioNeem, Azatin, Align, Neemix, Trilogy, and Neem-Away. |
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Pyrethrins like
Pyrenone, Capsul-Ban, and Bug Buster. |
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Sabadilla like
Veratran, Red Devil Dust and Concern. |
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Silica aerogels
like Drione. |
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Borate-based
dusts like PT240D and Niban. |
For the grubs themselves, try
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Insect attacking
nematodes in the Heterorhabditis or Steinernema species like those sold by
BioLogic, Biofac, Ciba-Geigy, Gardens Alive, ARBICO, Peaceful Valley and Bozeman. |
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Grub attacking
fungi like Beauveria bassiana and sold as Naturalis. |
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Bacillus
thuringiensis (BT) for beetle larvae like Trident, M-One and Foil. |
Although ants are a beneficial critter in that they control fleas and ticks while
tilling and aerating the subsoil, the most troublesome of the estimated 14,000 different
species are the fireants in the landscape and the sugar ants in the home. At any given
time, it’s estimated that more than 1 quadrillion ants (that’s a 1 followed by
15 zeros) are on the Earth’s surface. And to some of us, it seems every one of them
is in our yard!
Alternative ant controls:
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Mechanical
barriers for the home like caulk vacuums; or sticky barriers like Tanglefoot and Stickem,
Teflon barriers like those sold by ARBICO, Bozeman and Consep, and sticky tree wraps like
Stiky Tree Guards for the landscape. |
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Insect
-attacking nematodes from the Steinernema or Heterorhabditis species, or
parasitic mites like Pyemotes tritici sold by ARBICO, Biofac and Praxis. |
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Abamectin like
Ascend. |
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Borate-based
dusts like Borid, Perma-Dust, and Mop-Up; or Borate baits like Drax, Niban, Victor, and
Bushwhacker. |
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Diatomaceous
earth (DE) with pyrethrins like Permaguard, Insecto, Concern, Insectigone and SureFire. |
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Insecticidal
soaps with pyrethrins or citrus oils like Rose and Flower Insect Control and Safer Yard
and Garden. |
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Pyrethrins like
Kicker, Bug Buster O, and Capsul-Ban. |
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Garlic sprays
like Garlic Barrier, ENVIRepel and Garlic Gard. |
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Silica aerogels
with or without pyrethrin like Cab-O-Sil, Drione, and Tri-Die. |
Silverfish
This critter invades home and garden looking for cellulose to eat; commonly the glue
used in book bindings and food boxes. Although they play an important ecological role in
Nature’s "web," they can become a pest.
Alternative silverfish controls:
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Borate-based
insecticides, diatomaceous earth, silica aerogels, and pyrethrins; see
Ants. |
Scorpions, Cockroaches, and Other ‘Creepy Crawlies’
Like silverfish, most of these guys play an important role in the cycles of the natural
world. Scorpions, for example, are predators of many pest critters in the landscape. And
earwigs and cockroaches help breakdown organic matter to begin The Nitrogen Cycle and
return that which we have used into renewable resources. Still, they can become a pest.
Alternative controls:
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Caulks, Teflon
barriers, Abamectin, borate-based insecticides, diatomaceous earth with or without
pyrethrins, and silica aerogels; see adult forms of Grub controls. |
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For cockroaches,
include Metarhizium fungal bait stations like Biopath and Bengal, and Hydroprene like
Gentrol and Point Source. |
Cucumber Beetle
This pest, which looks like an elongated green version of a ladybug, seems to love my
roses. The larval form is known as Corn Rootworm and will play havoc with your spring and
summer vegetables.
Alternative controls for Cucumber Beetle:
* * *
By choosing some of these alternative solutions to controlling garden and household
pests, you will reduce your need to use toxic, general-purpose pesticides like diazinon.
Not only will your garden become a more enjoyable place to visit, their use just may save
you a few bucks in water usage fees!
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Reference: 1997 Directory of Least-Toxic Pest Control Products,
Bio-Integral Resource Center, Berkeley, CA.
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