UC urges use of pesticide alternatives in California homes and gardens The University of California has comforting news for people who are assailed by ants, spiders, cockroaches, aphids and other pests. Very often, you don’t need to resort to spraying pesticides. Instead, you can plug ant entryways into the home with caulk, remove food sources and use bait stations when ants get out of hand. Vacuum up spiders and their webs. Blow boric acid into cracks and crevices, use bait traps, clean up food sources and eliminate hiding places to battle cockroaches. For aphids, use sprays of water or insecticidal soap or just wait till the weather gets warmer and many aphids will disappear. These are just a few of the good-sense solutions the UC Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program offers to help residents keep a safer home. Importantly, combining several non-chemical pest control techniques allows residents to cut back on harsh pesticides, which helps protect California waterways from pesticide residues. When pesticides are used outside, rain and irrigation water can wash the chemicals down storm drains and eventually into creeks, rivers, bays and groundwater. That’s why UC Cooperative Extension offices throughout the state are encouraging Californians to adopt pest control methods developed by the IPM program for the home and garden. Urban pesticide use much higher than ag pesticide use Agricultural pesticide use must be reported in California, however, most home, garden, landscape and other urban pesticide use goes unreported. In 2003, about 160 million pounds of pesticides were used on agricultural crops, but total urban use is unknown. “Based on mill assessment data from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, a best-guess on pesticide products purchased in 2003 suggests more than 200 million pounds were applied in urban areas,” said Mary Louise Flint, UC Cooperative Extension IPM specialist. “If disinfectants, which are also pesticides, were added to the number, the amount would be close to 500 million pounds.” In the early 2000s, Flint and IPM advisor Cheryl Wilen surveyed residential pesticide users in northern, central and southern California to determine home pesticide use practices and attitudes. Their respondents used the most pesticides by far against ants, about half disposed of pesticides improperly, and about the same number measured pesticides incorrectly or not at all. (Click here for survey data.) “Although more than half the people interviewed were aware that pesticides used around homes and gardens affect water quality in local creeks, rivers and bays, most hadn’t changed their behavior to reduce problems,” Flint said. UC trains volunteers to teach Californians about pest management Last summer the IPM program trained more than 60 UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners representing 26 California counties about environmentally sound approaches to pest management. Master Gardeners are gardening enthusiasts trained by UC academics who volunteer to educate the public about gardening. The most common pesticide problem they see, McClure said, was gardeners’ desire for immediate gratification. “They want to know what can be sprayed to make pests disappear fast,” McClure said. However, the Master Gardeners try to steer gardeners toward approaches like careful plant selection, proper plant placement in the landscape, and even a little acceptance of pest problems to reduce pesticide use. As an example, Master Gardener Gary tells about a gardener who was delighted with the beautiful butterflies that were attracted to his garden by a flowering mulberry bush, but asked the Master Gardeners what he could spray to get rid of the caterpillars now eating the leaves. “A picture perfect garden is not a realistic goal,” said Scott Parker, an educator with the San Diego County UC Cooperative Extension office who coordinates the Healthy Garden/Healthy Home program. “People need to tolerate some pest activity.” In Sacramento County, UC Cooperative Extension designed a household pest-control education program with the Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District and the Sacramento Stormwater Management Program. Officials had determined concentrations of two pesticides were high enough in creeks and rivers to kill a water flea at the bottom of the aquatic food chain. Working closely with the UC IPM program, they developed TV and radio ads, handouts in Spanish and English, posters and other materials to educate residents about pesticide use. The coordinated effort, which began about five years ago, has resulted in measurable improvements. “The Stormwater Management Program has conducted water tests that have definitely shown a decline in chlorpyrifos and diazinon in waterways,” said Judy McClure, the UCCE Master Gardener program coordinator in Sacramento County. “They attribute a lot of that to the outreach program.” Practical advice for Californians on pest management UC IPM adapted the educational materials created for the Sacramento program for use statewide. Following is a sampling of suggestions for controlling household pests without spraying pesticides. Much more information is available from county UCCE Master Gardener programs, http://ucanr.org/ce.cfm, and at the UC IPM Web site, http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu. | Ants | Cockroaches | Earwigs | Snails and Slugs | Spiders | Termites | Aphids | Tree borers |
(March 2006) |
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Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California. All contents November 20, 2009 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. |
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