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Tips for Conserving Natural Enemies

 

Conservation means helping keep alive and benefiting those naturally occurring natural enemies already in and around your garden

 

Three categories of conservation tactics are crucial, though there is some overlap:

altering pesticide usage, habitat manipulation, providing requirements for natural enemies

 

���� Reduced/altered pesticide usage

����������� Pesticides kill by direct contact, residue on plants or soil, and by killing host life stages (e.g., egg, larva) that may contain an immature parasite

����������� IF pesticides must be used, several ways to help out your natural enemies are:

����������� ���������� selective use:treat minimal areas, individual plants, not entire gardens

����������� ���������� selective timing: can you treat at a time when natural enemies may not be around or active (e.g., early season before emergence of a natural ������ ����������������� enemy)?����������

����������� ���������� selective chemicals:are there more �friendly� chemicals, or even soaps or botanical pesticides?

 

���� Habitat manipulation

����������� Polycultures (landscapes and gardens already are polycultures)

����������� Altered harvest schedule:leave some of the �pest-infested� plants that may harbor natural enemies

����������� Alter the habitat, whether in or near the garden: shelter for overwintering or feeding sites, plants that may harbor alternate hosts

����������� Plant varieties:some plant varieties are more �friendly� to the natural enemies

����������� Tillage:reducing tillage reduces dust, keeps a few �weeds�, avoids compacting soil, enhances plant diversity

 

���� Provide natural enemy requirements

����������� Shelter:Overwintering sites, resting sites, favorable microhabitat

����������� Food sources:both prey and non-prey foods.This can be alternate hosts for parasites, alternate prey during times of prey scarcity (not actually �������� ����������������������� providing these as much as keeping them alive for the predators to feed on); and non-prey such as sugar-water, plants friendly to the natural ����� ����������������������� enemies (see accompanying list), or other carbohydrate and/or protein sources helpful to the natural enemies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tips for Releasing Natural Enemies

 

Augmenting natural enemies is possible but may not always be advised.It can be labor-intensive and/or expensive

        You can purchase many kinds of natural enemies -- something like 120+ spp are available from North American suppliers -- predators, parasites and pathogens.However, a few necessary caveats:

        Just because you can buy it doesn�t mean it will work

        The species you buy may be the best natural enemy in the world, but it may not attack the pest you have; identification is crucial.

        Suppliers differ in the quality and accuracy of what they sell; work with a known supplier and develop a relationship with them.If you don�t get what you ordered, ask for your money back and/or switch suppliers.

        Even if the species you order MAY work, following directions is critical, natural enemies are living organisms and need to be treated accordingly.

        The directions you will receive need to be followed.Don�t set the natural enemies aside and wait until another day to release them.Put them out when you get them unless there are genuine reasons not to.And if you don�t, then take extra good care of them.Remember -- you paid for them.

 


Purchasing Natural Enemies

 

What to buy for an outdoor garden and landscape

 

����������������������������������������������� Already Have�� Could Buy������������������� Don�t Buy�������

 

Aphidoletes����������������������������� XX������������������������������ XX

Carabid beetles����������������������� XX

Egg parasites��������������������������� XX������������������������������ XX

Flower flies������������������������������ XX

Lacewings������������������������������� XX������������������������������ XX

Mantids ���������������������������������� XX������������������������������������������������������������������ XX������

Nematodes������������������������������ XX������������������������������ XX������

Predaceous mites��������������������� XX������������������������������ XX

Spiders������������������������ ���������� XX�������������������

Beauvaria bassiana������������������ ??�������������������������������� XX

Bacillus thuringiensis����������������� ??�������������������������������� XX

Milky Spore Disease��������������� ??�������������������������������������������������������������������� XX

 

Where to purchase natural enemies

 

Numerous suppliers in North America will sell some, many or nearly all of the organisms that are available.A free listing of all the suppliers is available (only one copy per customer ordering):

 

�Suppliers of beneficial organisms in North America�, by C. D. Hunter

California Environmental Protection Agency

Dept of Pesticide Regulation

PO Box 942871

Sacramento, CA 94721-0001

 

Check out their web page:

http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/ipminov/bensuppl.htm

 

Or order by phone916-324-4100