1 Pesticide Management Options

 

Contents

What Are Pesticides?. 1

Home Remedies. 1

Pesticides. 1

Application Equipment 2

 

 

Table 1. Helpful weights and measures

 

 

What Are Pesticides?

The Environmental Protection Agency defines a pesticide as “any substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, or mitigate any insects, rodents, nematodes, fungi, or weeds, or other forms of life declared to be pests and any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.” This definition includes biorational and chemical pesticides. Biorational pesticides include bio-chemical products (pheromones, hormones, and enzymes) and microbial products (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, and fungi). In turn, the microbials consist of two groups: products whose active ingredients occur in nature and those whose active ingredients are genetically engineered. Chemical pesticides are chemicals, of either natural or synthetic origin, that kill or protect against pests—insects, weeds, plant pathogens, rodents, and other kinds of animal and plant life.

Home Remedies

Although gardeners claim that certain herbs, onions, garlic, and other plants will repel insects, evidence for such claims is scarce. Numerous commonly available products such as vegetable cooking oils, soap, and baking soda have pesticidal properties as do concoct-tions made from plant extracts such as mint, citrus peel, and marigolds. Both state and federal regulatory agencies prohibit their use on a commercial basis (even though they are environ-mentally safe and inexpensive); to comply with these regulations we are obliged to refrain from recommending them in most cases. We do list a few home remedies in this publication, but these remedies are not endorsements by Cornell University of any product or procedure, nor are they recommend-ations for use either express or implied. Neither Cornell University nor its employees or agents is responsible for any injury or damage to person or property arising from the use of this information.

See Part I of this publication for cultural pest management recommendations.

Application Equipment

Good basic tools as well as novelty tools are available for applying pesticides. Sprayers are the most versatile and usually the most efficient means of applying pesticides.

Pressurized cans and aerosol bombs containing pesticides are the most convenient—and most expensive—spray applicators. They are useful for making spot treatments on plants and on walls, cracks, and crevices, both inside and outside the home, and as atomizing sprays for controlling flying insects in confined areas. Bug bombs are sometimes made for specific uses. If you choose an aerosol bomb, be sure to check the label to see whether the contents are labeled for your purpose.

Hose-end Sprayer

The hose-end sprayer is an easy means of applying sprays. Both good and poor hose-end sprayers are available, and a good one can become useless if not cared for properly. A hose-end sprayer is basically a siphon. The pesticide is placed in a bottle attached to a metering jet, which in turn is attached to a watering hose. When water under pressure passes over the metering jet, a small amount of concentrated pesticide is drawn into the stream of water. Water pressure in many communities fluctuates from hour to hour. The best hose-end sprayers can compensate for some variation in water pressure (55 to 60 lb. is best). All hose-end sprayers function best with emulsifiable concentrates. Poorly ground formulations of wettable powders and dirt particles in the metering jet will make even the best sprayer worthless. If a hose-end sprayer best suits your needs, buy a model containing an antisiphon device. Such a device is essential to prevent contamination of the water supply.

Other sprayers differ in their source of power, tank and pressure capacity, and portability. Nozzle spray patterns vary, but nozzles can be purchased to meet various gardening needs. For pest control on trees and shrubs, high pressure is necessary to drive the spray into dense foliage and to reach the highest branches. It is often necessary to have large trees and shrubs sprayed by a commercial pesticide applicator who has the equipment to reach the treetops.

     

          

Any sprayer used to apply herbicides should never be used to apply insecticides or fungicides. Residues from herbicides (weed control chemicals) are difficult to remove by normal cleaning methods. Minute amounts of certain herbicides can damage sensitive plants.

The duster, after the pressurized can, is the most convenient applicator for small jobs, but it has some disadvantages, including more frequent applications and the relatively high cost of active ingredients. Pesticide dusts are ready to use and their main advantage is ease of application.

A fertilizer spreader is useful for spreading pesticide granules to control many kinds of turf pests. Many formulators indicate on the label the spreader setting required to apply the proper amount to a given area.

There are several spot-treatment devices for controlling weeds in the lawn and garden. Trigger sprayers allow you to direct the herbicide to one or a few plants only. The use of a paraffin-based drag stick containing herbicides (Killer Cane) or similar device can transform a difficult job into an easy one.

The paintbrush is often unsurpassed as a tool for applying pesticides inside the home. Use an artist’s brush to spread insecticide on and around scale insects on houseplants. Use a paintbrush to spread insecticide on baseboards, behind sinks in the kitchen and bathroom, and in any cracks or crevices where particles of food, lint, and hair tend to collect. Of course, apply only pesticides that are recommended for use inside the home. Other specialized equipment includes the fog (smoke) generator and mist blower used primarily for controlling mosquitoes and flies. For these, special pesticide formulations are required.