Insects and Invertebrates

• Excellent alternatives  How-to Factsheets for
  

  Ugly nest caterpillars

   many insect pests. (Beyond Pesticides) including
•  
• ants                   (additional information below)
• bed bugs          (additional SK information below) video (NCAP 2014)
• carpenter ants
• fleas         (additional information below)
• fruit flies
• head lice and scabies   (additional information below)
•  backyard mosquito management   (additional information below and WNV)
• DEET alternatives
• spiders
• ticks      (additional information below)
  

  Bald faced hornets at nest

• wasp, including yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets
• Living with Bees and Wasps (NCAP 2009) 
• and many more including termites Not generally found in SK).

NCAP factsheets - solutions

• aphids                 (additional information below)
• box elder bugs
• cutworms
• fruit flies
• grasshoppers
• slugs   also see links below
• tent caterpillars and webworms 
• and many more, some about the same pests as the ones covered in Beyond Pesticides.
• Video: Biological Control: Harnessing Nature in the Nursery Industry (NCAP: Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Dec 28, 2016)  8 minute video. An introduction to the basics of biological control for nursery and greenhouse growers, as well as community members concerned about pesticide use. Robin Rosetta, Associate Professor and Extension Horticulturist at Oregon State University, explains the essentials of biological control.

PANNA links to alternatives fact sheet

• Flies  from University of California IPM Online
• Moths and Carpet Beetles (alternatives to mothballs)from 'Bugs'
• and many more, some about the same pests as the ones covered in Beyond Pesticides and NCAP.

University of Saskatchewan

• Flea beetles  

Governmenet of Canada

• Chinch Bugs description and cultural management. Add that a wet bac will pick up 100 % of eggs, larvae and adults. Not present in SK.

National Geographic videos on insect and invertebrate parasites in action

• Body Invaders (Apr 27, 2019) A parasitic wasp has injected her eggs into a caterpillar -- and now they're ready to hatch. In the Womb: Extreme Animals 
• Zombie' Parasite Takes Over Insects Through Mind Control (Apr 30, 2019)  Deep in the Amazon jungle, a parasitic fungus called cordyceps infect ants and other insects in order toreproduce. 
• Parasitic Wasps (Apr 28, 2009)       
• Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe

Featured Video: Earwig Biocontrol for Temperate Tree Fruits (USDA Agricultural Research Service 2.48 min. video,November 2024)       Did you know that while earwigs are often considered a pest, they can actually benefit apple growers in Washington? ARS researchers have ingeniously developed traps using rolled cardboard tied to trees to capture these critters. Once captured, the earwigs are relocated to apple orchards where they feast on aphids, the real troublemakers! This natural form of pest control helps reduce reliance on pesticides, paving the way for more organic farming practices.SNAP Comment: interesting that a species is a pest inone curcumstance but useful in another.

Sticky trick: new glue spray kills plant pests without chemicals   Edible oil droplets trap bugs without the harm to people and wildlife that synthetic pesticides can cause. (Damian Carrington Environment editor, The Guardian,  18 May 2024)     'Tiny sticky droplets sprayed on crops to trap pests could be a green alternative to chemical pesticides, research has shown.    The insect glue, produced from edible oils, was inspired by plants such as sundews that use the strategy to capture their prey. A key advantage of physical pesticides over toxic pesticides is that pests are highly unlikely to evolve resistance, as this would require them to develop much larger and stronger bodies, while bigger beneficial insects, like bees, are not trapped by the drops.    Pests destroy large amounts of food and chemical pesticide use has risen by 50% in the past three decades, as the growing global population demands more food. But increasing evidence of great harm to nature and wildlife, and sometimes humans, has led to a rising number of pesticides being banned.... the new sticky drops are thought to be the first such biodegradable pesticide to be demonstrated.   The drops were tested on the western flower thrip, which are known to attack more than 500 species of vegetable, fruit and ornamental crops. More than 60% of the thrips were captured within the two days of the test, and the drops remained sticky for weeks.'    link to the research paper in the article. 

Invasive Species Centre in Sault Sainte-Marie, Ontario. There is mention of chemical control of many species but usually in the form of painting a cut trunk or wicking in small areas. In the fact sheets I looked at, there were other more effective methods. There is extensive information of each species and extensive information of all control methods previously tried including biological. Also info on invasive plants, as well as invasive insects, fish and invertebrates, aquatic plants, and pathogens.

Viruses Shown to Be Effective Biological Control (Beyond Pesticides, November 30, 2023) Scientists at Minami Kyushu University in Japan have made a groundbreaking discovery of a new biological control for a target insect. They have identified a virus in tobacco cutworms that kills males, creating all-female generations. The discovery was described in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences and The New York Times as evidence that multiple viruses have evolved to kill male insects...  This “male-killing” virus could be added to the growing attempts to control unwanted insects with biological, as distinguished from genetically engineered (GE) solutions.

Eliminating Pesticides Increases Crop Yields, Debunking Myth of Pesticide Benefits (Beyond Pesticides, February 12, 2021) Recent research points to an example of such ecosystem efficacy. The study, by researchers in California and China, sought to evaluate whether increased population densities of fungi might be suppressing nematode populations in California production fields frequently planted with the cole crops (such as brussels sprouts and broccoli) they favor. The research finds that a diverse population of fungi in soils is highly likely to be effectively killing nematodes that threaten such crops. These research results demonstrate how faulty the use of fungicides — which in 2012 amounted to 105 million pounds in the U.S — is likely to be. These compounds destroy fungi that provide a variety of beneficial and economically valuable ecosystem (and crop) services. Fungi decompose and recycle nutrients, improve moisture retention, and even act as biological controls for some fungal diseases. Many other pesticides, including glyphosate (which is an antibiotic) threaten microbial life, as well.

Biological Management Has Added Billions in Benefits to Agricultural Economies    (Beyond Pesticides, September 29, 2020) 'While the green revolution is often heralded in conventional agriculture circles as the key agricultural innovation of the last century, new research finds that biological controls likely had a bigger beneficial impact on world crop production.   The success of these programs had critically important implications for agricultural economies in the region. “Biological control delivered durable pest control in myriad Asia-Pacific agriculture sectors, permitting yield-loss recoveries up to 73%, 81% and 100% in cassava, banana and coconut crops respectively, said Dr. Furlong.'

Good news for Canadian bees, other pollinators and gardeners – major garden centres shut down use of neonic pesticides   (Friends of the Earth, 12 June, 2019)  'Top place for neonic-free flowering plants goes to two big box chain stores and one regional chain: Home Depot, Lowes (which includes RONA and Reno-Depot Corporate stores across Canada and Sheridan Nurseries in Ontario.  As a close second, Canadian Tire Corporation reported that it has reached 95% neonicotinoid free. Home Hardware reports 100% neonic-free products from its distribution centres, but Friends of the Earth notes that many Home Hardware stores host local nurseries and it is not clear that their plants are neonic-free. Both Costco and Walmart report progress in removing neonics on their websites, but are not reporting on Canadian-specific markets. Loblaw, with the largest number of outlets – some 2500 in Canada – is recycling its 2016 statement saying that since 2014 it has been “developing a plan”. Empire Company, which owns Sobey, IGA, Safeway and other stores, has not responded to Friends of the Earth. '...there is no response from Atlantic Canada’s Kent Chain, Quebec’s Botanix Garden Centres or BC’s Art Knapp Plantland. Friends of the Earth hopes they will respond soon.'  SNAP Comment: at least in Ontario. It has happened many times that, as pesticides got banned in Ontario. they were shipped West because we had no pesticide law yet. I hope the same isn't true for bedding plants. However, this is a survey so hopefully the companies answered truthfully. Always ask for neonicotinoid-free plants.

Coconut-Derived Insect Repellent More Effective than the Hazardous DEET  (Beyond Pesticides, November 6, 2018) 'Scientists... have discovered natural compounds derived from coconut oil that are more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, bed bugs and other insects. Given the long-lasting efficacy of the compounds researchers tested, commercialization could make the regular use of toxic insect repellents, like DEET, obsolete. Scientists zeroed in on a blend of C8 (caprylic acid), C10 (capric acid), and C12 (lauric acid) fatty acids as the most effective repellent mixture. Individually, only C12 exhibited anywhere near the same efficacy as the specific blend identified.'

Bugs  additional fact sheets Living with Bugs: Least-toxic Solutions to Everyday Bug Problems by Jack DeAngelis, Ohio State University, 2009, companion book to ‘Bugs website, covering 50+ most common household pests with drawings and photographs to help with identification

• Sod Webworm  (Organic Gardening) I remember these moths from growing up in Quebec, but have hardly if ever seen them in SK.
• Spider mites and aphids
•  Fact Sheet tent caterpillars cankerworms (SES)

             Cockroaches (information below)

Many of these pests and more are each covered by a slide in the power point presentation of SNAP's Organic Gardening class. Also see Additonal information below

If you do a google search on ants, aphids, or any pest you are dealing with on the major websites I have listed in alternatives (NCAP, PANNA, or Beyond Pesticides), you can likely find other ideas and a much more complete answer.

On the page above extra information on ants, aphids, bed bugs, cockroaches, fleas, grasshoppers, lice, mosquitoes and ticks.