Integrated Pest Management

B.C. Pest Monitor — Former Newsletter of IPM in British Columbia

Vol. 3 No. 1 May 1994

IPM for Structural Pests — One Company's Experience

Bob Lucy, Professional Ecological Services, Victoria, B.C.

Unwanted insects and rodents that get into homes, offices, restaurants and other structures are known as structural pests. Whenever possible, we use an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to control these pests. The most successful IPM programs are for control of carpenter ants, rodents and cockroaches. IPM programs for these pests are cost competitive with traditional pesticide-only programs and often provide better control, but consumer acceptance is limited by people's expectations that pests be eliminated immediately and by their willingness to pay for IPM services. Unfortunately, the flea IPM program costs more than conventional spraying and although it is also very effective, it takes longer to eliminate the fleas. Our customers, therefore, usually only accept it in situations where minimal pesticide use is essential. Following is a brief outline of IPM programs for carpenter ants, rodents, cockroaches and fleas used by our company.

Rat and Mouse Control

1. Inspect the building. We look for things that attract rats and mice to the property and for ways the rodents can get into the building. These problems are either corrected, or recommendations are made to customers on how to correct them.
2. Set traps. Between 15 and 40 snap traps are used in a typical house to catch rats or mice, although as many as 300 traps might be used in a single building. Using traps eliminates any chance of poisoning non-target organisms. It also enables us to remove the dead rodents so that there are no decay, odour or insect problems developing on the bodies. We usually make between 3 and 8 visits to a building over a 2-4 week period to maintain the traps.
   
   When trapping rats, the traps are often baited but left unset for a few days so that the rats overcome their fear of the traps. Once the rats begin accepting the bait in the traps, the traps are set. In mouse control work, this "pre-baiting" is usually not necessary.
3. Use baits. In rare situations and as a last resort, where the rats or mice have become trap shy, poisoned baits are used to kill the rodents that cannot be caught in traps. Whenever they are used, great care is taken to ensure that there is no chance of children or pets contacting the bait, usually by using the baits in tamper-proof bait stations. Poisoned baits are always removed once the rats and mice have been eliminated.
4. Maintain the property. In high risk situations a follow-up preventive maintenance service is provided to maintain the property so it is unattractive to rats and mice. This requires inspecting areas likely to become infested, and maintaining traps and/or bait stations as required.

Flea Control

1. Thorough vacuuming. The first, and very effective, step is to remove many of the fleas and much of the food that young fleas eat using a high suction vacuum.
2. Apply flea growth regulator. Insect growth regulators, such as methoprene (Precorreg. ), stops the development of immature fleas for a prolonged period. It is sprayed onto floor areas where immature fleas are likely to be living.
3. Install flea traps. Flea traps are used to catch adult fleas before they bite, to monitor the effectiveness of the control work and help pinpoint areas where the fleas are living.
4. Repeat vacuuming. The high suction vacuuming is done twice more at one week intervals, each time collecting more fleas and more of the dried blood the immature fleas feed upon.
5. Check the flea traps. At each vacuuming, the sticky pads are replaced if needed, and traps moved if necessary. This ensures that the traps are always working well.
6. Perform other control work needed. If additional work is needed at the end of the first two weeks, we continue with the vacuuming and trapping work and/or apply appropriate insecticides in areas where fleas have been caught in traps. Insecticide use can usually be restricted to very small areas.
7. Pet care. It is important for customers to maintain good flea control on their pets and we may suggest they use a flea control product containing Precorreg that is registered for use on animals.

IPM for Cockroaches

The following notes are from a presentation given by Dr. Austin Frishman, president of AMF Pest Management Services Inc., Farmingdale, N.Y. during an Urban Pest Management Association of B.C. Conference in November 1992 held in Surrey, B.C. He has been a pest control consultant since 1967 and is a leader in the structural pest management industry in North America.

Dr. Frishman began his presentation with the assertion that innovation is vital. He said that the structural pest control industry is changing to adopt integrated pest management methods (IPM), both from customer demand and from legislated changes in the way pest control can be carried out. He cited the example of several large U.S. firms that specialize completely in using IPM programs that require little or no pesticides. One very large and profitable firm uses only sticky traps, silica gel (silicon dioxide) and sanitation methods to control cockroaches. They spend 20% of their service time caulking and sealing cracks for their clients. He suggested that B.C. pest control companies could benefit by moving into providing cleaning and sanitation service for clients.

The need to use alternatives to conventional chemicals is increasingly clear. High levels of resistance to synthetic pyrethroids are being found in some populations of cockroaches, with variations in resistance characteristics found in different populations living in the same building. According to Dr. Frishman, space sprays for cockroaches simply don't work. Also, the oil solvents for the sprays can still be detected weeks later in cardboard boxes stored in warehouses.

As an example of how important it is to achieve a high level of efficacy in a cockroach control program, Dr. Frishman gave an example using the German cockroach. If there were 1000 roaches in a building and control measures killed 90% of the them, then about 100 will survive. If half of these are adults, and half of the adults are female, there will be 25 females laying about 40 eggs each within the month. This results in 1000 new roaches, plus the original 100 survivors, for a total of 1100 adult in about a month. Even with 90% control, there could be more cockroaches after a month than there were before the control program started. He stated that to accomplish a long-term decrease in the pest population a control program must achieve over 96-98% control.

To do a good job controlling cockroaches it is important to understand their behaviour. For example, they rest and feed in packs so repellent pesticides tend to scatter them and makes the infestation problem worse. Also, cockroaches are much more active at night than during day and they are much more active after their egg capsule hatches [some species carry their egg capsule on the tip of their abdomen until it hatches]. This behaviour must be taken into account when monitoring for the presence of cockroaches.

Pest managers must be aware of how cockroaches are getting into buildings and work on eliminating this source of infestations. Dr. Frishman recounted the example of a monitoring study in a large New York supermarket that found 1500 roaches per hour were being brought into the store in recycled cans. He noted that there is enough sugar left in the bottom of a soft drink can to feed a roach for days, therefore bins of recycled cans are prime cockroach harbourage. After this discovery, the store started holding the cans outdoors in large bins that were closed up at night and treated with time-release pyrethrins sprays. This eliminated the cockroaches from the supermarket, because the source of infestation has been eliminated. He suggested that this could be a potential new area of business for pest control companies who could set up and manage recycling bins as part of the sanitation steps necessary to make an integrated pest management program work.

Boric Acid Bait

According to Dr. Frishman, Blue Diamond MRF bait [see Nov. 1992 issue of BC Pest Monitor] is an excellent product that has revolutionized roach control. This is a boric acid paste with a feeding attractant in it. Although it is highly effective, results don't show up for 3-4 weeks. In his experience, it is possible to achieve over 98% kill, with good results (over 85% kill) lasting for an additional 4-6 months after placing the baits. The bait is a soft white paste that can be applied with a spatula or bait gun. He demonstrated a particularly useful bait gun obtained from a medical supply catalogue. It has an applicator needle for fine applications and is also available with a flashlight mounted on top to make it easy to see into crevices to apply the bait. When applying the paste in large cracks, he cautioned against filling the crack completely. It is important to leave the roach some space to sit and feed. He also emphasized that chemicals should not be sprayed after putting out the baits as it will ruin the attraction of the bait.

To find out where to put baits, he uses monitoring traps. In difficult spots where it is not possible to apply bait directly to surfaces, it can be set out in bait stations. A home-made bait station can be made from a 10-15 cm square section of corrugated plastic panel. A small amount of the paste bait is put inside the spaces between the corrugations. The plastic bait station is light enough that it can be stuck to walls and overhead areas if necessary to place the bait where the cockroaches have been detected.

To deal with heavy infestations he said he vacuums up as many of the cockroaches as he can, then flushes out remaining roaches with a pesticide (such as one containing pyrethrins). Thereafter he would just use sticky traps and Blue Diamond baits to maintain control.

Hydramethylnon Bait

The use of bait stations containing the insecticide hydramethylnon was also recommended. The bait is accepted well by cockroaches Max-Forcereg. (Commerical registration) [or Combatreg. for the Domestic product in Canada]. The baits are made up with a feeding attractant carrier and come in round trap, which has a transparent cover for easier inspection.

Future Biological Control

A new product, [now registered in the U.S., but not Canada], that is a biological control for cockroaches was described for future reference. It is a microbial product containing the "green muscardine" fungus disease (Metarrhizium spp.) called Bio-Path (from EcoScience). The fungus is on an agar block placed in the top of a plastic bait station, which looks like a puck with four entrances. As the roach walks into the bait station it gets fungal spores on its back and takes the spores back to the rest of the population where the insects become infected.

`To control cockroaches, learn to think like a cockroach'

Progress in Subterranean Termite Control

Research conducted by Dr. Timothy G. Myles at the University of Toronto is showing promise for control of subterranean termites. Unlike the common dampwood termites, subterranean termites are serious pests in wooden structures because they tunnel into sound wood. Previously rare in B.C., subterranean termites are sometimes a problem in the lower mainland B.C. Dr. Myles has developed a Trap-Treat-Release system that provides a low-toxicity alternative to conventional soil treatment with pesticides. The system is based on live trapping a large number of termites from a colony, treating them with a slow-acting pesticide and releasing them back to their colony. There, the grooming and mutual feeding behaviour of termites ensures the toxicant is passed around throughout the colony. Thus, the termites themselves deliver the toxin with deadly accuracy to their nestmates. The research has progressed from laboratory studies to a field trial at 20 infested sites in Toronto in 1993 [reported in detail in the March 1994 issue of Pest Control Technology, vol. 22(3):64-74]. Monitoring after treatment indicated 96.1%-100% suppression at 9 of the sites, 60.6%-89.6% suppression at 10 sites. A second treatment was needed at one site to be effective. A patent for the process has been filed and it is expected that commercial trials in 1995 and 1996 will lead to the system becoming widely available to structural pest control companies by 1997.

In late 1992, representatives from the Urban Pest Management Association of B.C. approached the Pesticide Management Program to improve applicator training and develop a credit system for re-certification in the structural pest control category. (Structural pests include fleas, rodents, cockroaches, carpenter ants, silverfish, etc.) The timing was right because this fit well with the recent initiative in BC Environment to revamp all categories of pesticide certification training to include IPM methods. As a result of this initiative, a new manual on using IPM methods in structural pest control has been written and other course material has been revised. Over the last three months the IPM manual has been developed into a training materials. A draft copy of the course materials should be ready in May for final review by structural pest control industry representatives. After final revisions, the manual should be printed this summer. New certification exam questions have been developed and new exams will be assembled from this bank of exam questions; this will also be reviewed by industry representatives. The entire course is expected to be ready for use in September 1994.

Recommendations made by the Urban Pest Management Association for development of a credit system for re-certification and an experience requirement to obtain a Pest Control Service License are still under review. These proposals were sent out for wide review to pest control companies and other stakeholders in the province last summer. The range of comments received showed that there was disagreement primarily on the issue of the experience requirement. It is hoped that this issue can be resolved by the end of August so that the new requirements and re-certification procedures can be put in place this fall, along with the new structural IPM certification course.

IPM in Landscapes

The conference "IPM in Landscapes: Making the Transition" held in Tsawassen, B.C. last February was attended by over 280 people (it was originally hoped that 100 would register!). A mixture of talks and workshops, the two days of the meeting gave delegates a chance to hear a range of topics and contribute to discussions on aspects of getting integrated pest management programs working in landscapes. A high point of the conference was the keynote address by Dr. Sheila Daar from the Bio-Integral Resource Center in Berkeley, California. Conference evaluation sheets filled out by attendees gave the conference presentations high marks, despite the difficulties of operating with such a large crowd. The evaluations also yielded a list of good ideas for future events. Although a proceedings will not be produced, condensed versions of the talks will be included as an appendix in the IPM manual being developed for use pesticide certification courses in landscape category. There was a lot of interest in having another conference on this, possibly next year. For this year plans are currently afoot to organize a one-day conference on landscape IPM to be held in the B.C. interior, probably in the Kelowna/Penticton area.

Codling Moth Sterile Insect Release Program

Since the last update [BC Pest Monitor, Nov. 1992: pg. 5], the second largest moth-rearing facility in the world was officially opened on January 15, 1993 in Osoyoos, B.C. The moths are being raised as part of a massive codling moth eradication project for the Okanagan and Creston fruit growing areas. The rearing facility, which has the capacity to produce over 5 million adult codling moths per week, produces sterile moths. These are released in large numbers to mate with the wild moths so that the females will lay infertile eggs. Mass-rearing of the moths for the 1994 season has been in progress over the winter. The first releases of sterile moths began in late April 1994. Moths are being released this year in over 8,500 acres of commercial apple and pear orchards in the South Okanagan, Similkameen and Kootenay Valleys (Zone 1). Over 1 million sterile moths will be released 5 days a week in orchards and urban areas for 21 weeks. In orchards, this will translate into over 200 moths released over each acre of apples and pears, twice weekly. The moths are transported to each site in refrigerated vans, then dispersed from the back of all-terrain vehicles driven through the orchards. Eradication is expected in this zone by the end of 1996. Clean-up efforts will begin next year in the North Okanagan (Zone 2). Eradication of the codling moth from the entire area is projected for the year 2000.

Purple Loosestrife Reminder

It will soon be the time of year that Lythrum salicaria or Purple Loosestrife starts to grow vigorously. It is a weed introduced from Eurasia which flourishes in shallow marshes, along stream banks, in ditches, and wetland meadows. Without its natural controls, it is capable of out-competing native vegetation and becoming the dominant or only vegetation in an area. [See B.C. Pest Monitor, Nov. 1993, pg. 6 for article on biological controls for loosestrife.] Once a body of water has become overrun with loosestrife, the natural habitat is lost and the productivity of the native plant and animal communities is severely reduced. It has become common throughout the Lower Fraser Valley, on southern Vancouver Island, in the Okanagan Valley, and in the Kamloops region.

Loosestrife is exceptionally prolific. A single plant is capable of producing 2.7 million seeds a year, each of which can lie dormant for 10 years before germinating. The plant can grow vegetatively from even the smallest piece of root, stalk, leaf, flower, or seedhead. Purple loosestrife should not be cultivated as a perennial for commercial sale. Any and all new purple loosestrife plantings should be discouraged and prevented. [From BCMAFF Floriculture Newsletter, April 1994.

Purple Loostrife Distinguishing Features:

• height: one to two metres
• stem: square, woody, several stalks per plan
• leaves: smooth edges, opposite sides of stalk, attached directly to stalk
• flowers: pink / purple spike, June to September

Publications

Books

Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests of Woody Landscape Plants. 1993

M. J. Raupp, R. G. Van Driesche & J. A. Davidson

This handy manual was developed to assist those in the landscape, nursery, and greenhouse industries to take the first step toward using biological controls in the production and maintenance of woody landscape plants. Introductory material covers integrated pest management, pesticide resistance, pesticide-induced outbreaks and effects on non-target organisms. A photo file of biological control agents in landscapes and nurseries is included, along with methods for using them. Fully illustrated in colour. 39 pp.

Available from:

Agricultural Duplicating Service, 6200 Sheridan St., Riverdale, MD 20737

Soft cover US $22.00

Natural Enemies of Vegetable Insect Pests. 1993

M. P. Hoffman and A. C. Frodsham

An excellent, well illustrated manual on biological control agents, this text covers the species that are native in North America or that can be purchased commercially for use in vegetable crops. An introductory section covers the basics of integrating biological controls into a pest management program, insect ecology and biology. Most of the book is devoted to an illustrated compendium of biological control insects and pathogens, which describes their biology, host range, effectiveness and crop uses. Fully illustrated in colour. 63 pp.

A slide set of the 91 photos used as illustrations is also available.

Book and slide sets available from:

Resource Center, 7 Business/Technology Park Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850

Tel: 607-255-2080 Fax: 607-255-9946

Soft cover Book: US $22.50 + 20% handling fee

Slide Set: US $83.50 + 20% handling fee

Field Guide to the Biological Control of Weeds in British Columbia. 1994

G. W. Powell, A. Sturko, B. M. Wikeem and P. Harris

The Ministry of Forests has just produced a superb field guide on weeds and the insects released to control them in the province. In addition to identification, the guide describes collecting, shipping and release methods for biocontrol agents. It is printed on waterproof paper in a pocket-sized ring binder for easy use in the field and should be in the library of anyone involved in vegetation management. Fully illustrated in colour. 163 pp.

Available from:

Crown Publications Inc. 546 Yates St., Victoria, B.C. V8W 1K8

Tel: 605-386-4636 $31.00 + 7% GST (no shipping charge for mail orders)

Pamphlets, Guides Fact Sheets

Pest Control in the School Environment: Adopting Integrated Pest Management. 1993

This small booklet was produced for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs. It provide an excellent overview of how IPM applies to structural pest control and how to reduce children's exposure to pesticides in the school environment. A good guide to use for educating parents, school board officials, pest control services, etc. about these issues. 43 pp,

Available from: INFOTERRA, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460

Phone (202)-260-5917 Fax (202) 260-3923 Internet: library-infoterra@epamail.epa.gov

No charge

Biological Weed Control in British Columbia. 1994

R. Cranston

The BC Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foods has written a full-colour brochure describing how biological controls are selected and some of the insects that have been released to control introduced weeds, such as knapweed, tansy ragwort and St. Johnswort.

Available from:or from:

Roy Cranston, Pesticide Management Section

BCMAFF, Cloverdale, B.C.4th Floor, 737 Courtney St.,

Fax: 604-576-5652Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4

Fax: 604-387-8897

No charge

BT: An Alternative to Chemical Insecticides. 1994

L. Gilkeson

A new fact sheet is now available from BC Environment that addresses commonly asked questions about the biological control, Bacillus thuringiensis. Landscape services, municipal parks staff, and others may wish to use this fact sheet to assist in public and customer education.

Available on this web site.

Other BC Environment fact sheets still available:

Integrated Pest Management in BC

Comprehensive Survey of Pesticide Sales and Use in British Columbia: A Summary

New Products

Products and services are listed for reader information only. This does not constitute an endorsement of either quality or effectiveness by BC Environment.

Boron Wood Treatment

Impel rods are colourless, odourless, moulded rods of water-diffusible boron used to protect wood structures against fungal decay and insects. They are inserted in small holes drilled in the wood and remain solid until the wood becomes damp. They then dissolve in the moist wood and the boron disperses to areas of the highest moisture.

For more information:

Sasco Products Ltd., 31 Ilsley Ave., Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3B 1L5

Tel: 902-468-2126 Fax: 902-468-2642

Insect Barrier

The non-stick properties of TeflonTM are now available in tapes or as a spray formulation to make crawling insect barriers. These can be used for ants, pillbugs, cockroaches and others. Sold in spray cans and as 30 and 150 foot rolls of tape (2 inches wide).

Available from:

Professional Ecological Services, 98-B Burnside Rd. West, Victoria, B.C. V9A 1B5

Tel: 604-383-2445 Fax: 604-383-6775