Lesson 3: Disease And Pest Control
Chemical Controls
As an organic gardener, I am extremely reluctant to use chemical controls in my home and garden. There are so many effective “natural” products out there it seems reasonable to use them, especially when our streams and rivers are contaminated by chemical pesticide wastes.
However, there are circumstances where chemical controls are needed. When the Mormon cricket beetle caused 25 million dollars damage to crops and farms, chemical eradication was the only solution. Grasshoppers in huge hordes are voracious predators. Chemical controls are the only way to quickly eradicate them.
In home gardens, prevention can stop most major predator problems before such controls are necessary. It also could have helped in Utah. Grasshoppers and truly damaging predators all need certain conditions to thrive. In this case, dry, brushy, unkempt highways and farms provided them with the favored environment to breed and overrun their ecosystem.
If you find you must use a chemical like malathion or diazonon, try and keep the application to a minimum. Keep the application confined to the affected plant(s) only. In conjunction with using these products, use items like sticky traps or bioactive protozoal larvae. While the chemical is dealing with the most urgent part of the treatment, the other tools will take care of the problem over a much longer time.
The bioactive protozoals are egg laying larvae that attract specific predator insects. Once the predator ingests the larvae, the larvae are carried back to the nest where every other related insect is killed off for generations. Over time the predators are effectively eliminated from the area, naturally and safely.
Before using any chemical control, ask your nursery for the least harmful application rates. Used wisely, chemical controls can save a garden from years of damage from predators.
