It was Koppert Biological Systems (
www.koppertonline.ca) that put us onto the nattering nabobs of nematode natural control. Not all offerings of nematodes are alike and, as we were told, it is a wide-open field with few controls. A good resource, Koppert let us onto, was Ohio State University where much research has been completed.
Nematodes Offer Natural Control
In brief, nematodes are minute worms with thousands of species classified. Most are harmless, a few nuisances on crops and ornamentals. Some are parasitic on animals, humans included. Then there are the beneficial nematodes that prey on some of our worst garden pests.
Often these are very specific in their targets. In order to achieve effective control they also have to be present in fairly high numbers. Retailers may mention neither of these facts.
Koppert supplies retailers with three different controls. Terranem is white grub controlling package of 50 million nematodes that rejoice in the name of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. This is sufficient for 2500 ft² of lawn (230 m²), the size of that surrounding an average suburban home. They should be applied to moist soil with temperatures 14ºC to 33ºC.
Koppert also supplies Capsanem for control of crane fly larvae (leatherjackets), side webworm, iris borer, cutworms and caterpillars.
Natural Insect Control (
www.natural-insect-control.com) also offers the similar pest controlling nematodes. Since these are raised in Canada, this company claims them to be more cold tolerant, down to 10ºC. They are also said to be more aggressive, harvested the same day as they are shipped a live host raised for faster control and natural affinity for the grubs. They mix species for feasting on “lawn grubs,” leather jackets, root weevils, iris borer even fleas and other pests. Natural Insect Control also carries an impressive range of other items.
BioLogic Company (
www.biologicco.com) is a Willow Hill, Pennsylvannia based company that also carries different species of nematodes for many purposes. Scanmask™ is their preparation of Steinernema feltiae to hunt down more than 20 pests including root maggots, cutworks, weevil grubs, and borers. For root weevils and white grubs though they recommend Heteromask™ or our old friend, Heterorhabditis species. They also offer an unnamed nematode in Termask™ preparation to kill subterranean termites. When we met them last October, we were assured they shipped these into Canada.
Chafer Traps and Waspinators
Back in the early days of British television, the BBC advised viewers prior to a possibly controversial show that, “persons of a nervous disposition should not watch the following program.” The following two items might cause consternation to similarly inclined people when displayed in the garden.
Bad enough what appears to be a large wasp nest hanging from a tree or under the eaves, but below, on the ground, an aircraft delivered bomb? Rest easy. It is only your environmentally concerned neighbour practicing natural pest control.
The white “bomb” is trap for adult rose chafer beetles. These pests are unusual in that they feed on garden plants in both their larval and adult stages. Nor is their feasting limited to what their name would appear to indicate. Frustrated gardeners may find them on almost anything green, it sometimes seems.
The adults are active in May through June, with the females laying eggs in early July. The resulting larvae hatch within two weeks and feed on roots until fall. While the larvae may succumb to applications of parasitic nematodes, the adults are less easy to destroy – until these ‘bombs’ are positioned in early May.
The Waspinator is based on an old remedy, works without chemicals and does not attract yellow jacket wasps to a trap with sweetened liquids. Instead, it looks like a paper wasp nest. Hung near a deck, under a patio umbrella or from the eaves, and wasps are repelled from the area.
Since this deterrent device does not destroy them though, the yellow jackets are free to continue elsewhere, preying on many garden pests. These wasps are in fact the ‘hawks’ of the insect world, swooping down in seek-and-destroy missions to rid the garden of many a parasitic pest.
Definitely inadvisable, however, is use of the Rose Chafer Trap by those on Ogilvie Road in Gloucester, Ontario, location of the Canadian Security & Intelligence Service. Unless, of course, they interview Susan Cavey, operations manager at Natural Insect Control first. (
www.natural-insect-control.com)
