Natural Pest Control - Bugs for Bugs
Natural pest control - Bugs for Bugs
As summer heats up and the garden is in full swing this can sometimes mean as well as attracting beneficial insects, it can also mean some unwanted visitors.
We touched base with Dan the Entomologist from Bugs for Bugs and asked a few question which we thought would be interesting for our readers.
Can you tell us a bit about Bugs for Bugs?
Bugs for Bugs specialises in integrated pest management (IPM) and is one of Australia’s leading suppliers of biological control agents. Since 1981, our mission has been to help Australian growers achieve best practice pest management with minimal pesticides.
For 40 years Bugs for Bugs have been providing crop protection solutions and bio-control organisms. Bugs for Bugs breed beneficial insects to help control invasive unwanted bugs. Offering non toxic alternatives to chemical pesticides, also providing contract research in the field of integrated pest management.
Our main insectary is located at the site of the old butter factory in Mundubbera. In addition, we have production facilities at Donnybrook, on the Sunshine Coast, and in Toowoomba. We produce our biological control agents in a range of different environments, including climate controlled rooms, laboratories, and glasshouse structures. Each facility is overseen by a range of entomologists and production staff. We now operate more than 50 climate controlled rooms for the production of our biological control agents.
Beneficial insect and mite production is very challenging. Maintaining continuous insect production of each beneficial species requires constant monitoring of the rearing systems and attention to detail.
We currently produce 16 species of natural enemies available to help manage pest problems in a more sustainable way. Each of these rearing systems is complex and labour intensive.
Bugs for Bugs began in 1981, how has it grown and changed with the changing environmental conditions?
Bugs for Bugs has evolved over 44 years (as of September this year). This has necessarily been a slow process as we have had to develop most of our technologies from scratch and lacked resources at the outset. When I started the concepts of IPM and biological control were very much ‘fringe’. I do believe that that has changed significantly over time and now the products and services we provide are increasingly becoming ‘mainstream’.
Can you suggest what bugs and how they may help with some of the common pest problems in the garden for our fellow gardeners?
Aphids
Fortunately the arrival of aphids is usually quickly followed by a variety of natural enemies (predators and parasites) that can help control aphid populations. Most aphids have several biological control agents and in many crops and gardens it is possible to achieve good aphid management without resorting to chemical treatments.
Hoverflies, lacewings, ladybirds and parasitic wasps are some of the most abundant and powerful natural enemies of aphids. Provided they have not been harmed by toxic pesticides, you should be able to observe and benefit from their activity at this time of year. You just need to know what to look for. To help you out, we have provided a selection of images.
Bugs for Bugs produces three aphid biocontrol agents that can work individually or as a package. Our Aphidius wasps are ideal for preventative treatment or management of low level aphid infestations – they are master scouts, well adapted to finding and attacking aphids long before we can detect them ourselves. Our Lacewings and Spotted Ladybirds are best applied to treat hotspots, where they can immediately get to work cleaning up heavily infested plants.
Powdery Mildew
We don’t have any biocontrol agents for powdery mildew although there is a ladybird beetle that does feed on this plant disease.
Caterpillars
Treatment options for control of caterpillars include:
There is a huge range of naturally occurring beneficial organisms that help to keep moth and butterfly populations in check, attacking them in the egg, larval, pupal and adult stages. Examples of these include:
- Parasitic wasps and flies
- Lacewings
- Predatory bugs (e.g. damsel bugs, shield bugs and assassin bugs)
- Bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens
- Insectivorous birds and bats
Whiteflies
A variety of natural enemies to control whiteflies, including parasitoid wasps, predatory mites, predatory bugs, lacewings, ladybirds and hoverflies, can all contribute to the control of whitefly pests, and it is possible to achieve good results without necessarily resorting to chemical treatments.
Mealybug
Most mealybugs species (and there are very many of them) have effective biological control agents. If these can be encouraged or strategically released they can do an impressive job. Beneficial insects that help keep mealybug populations at low levels include various ladybird beetles, lacewings and specific wasp parasites.
The wasps can be extremely effective as they are highly mobile and efficient at seeking out their prey, but they are often very host specific. The ladybird beetles can do a great job of ‘cleaning up’ a population of mealybugs but require a higher population of the pest to establish and flourish. They may disappear when the levels drop below a certain level. Lacewings are general predators and will feed readily on mealybugs as well as several other important pests such as aphids, thrips and young caterpillars.
Spider mites
Spider mites have several biological control agents including lacewings, tiny mite feeding ladybirds (Stethorus spp.), predatory gall-midges (Feltiella spp.) and a variety of predatory mites (including Phytoseiulus persimilis and Neoseiulus californicus).
Once the bugs have arrived in the mail, what is the best way to release them into the garden?
This information varies with the product and is covered under ‘How to Release’ for each beneficial species on our website here.
