The reliance on chemicals is unsustainable and an issue environmentally and for health.
We all now about the chemical resistance that pests develop and the accumulative affects of exposure to toxins over time.
We also know that children and pets are more susceptible to chemicals than adults and again the affects are not always seen immediately.

But did you know that recent research into Neonicotinoid insecticides (eg Confidor) has suggested they are likely to be responsible for some serious environmental degradation. Confidor uses the active ingredient imidacloprid.

In Europe Neonicotinoid’s have been associated with adverse effects on bees and fish with declines in field birds. These insecticides are highly water soluble and have been leaching into the water table in Europe. Many of them are now banned. Local government areas in other countries (especially the USA) have realised the dangers and have imposed bans or restrictions on the use of most of these chemical products. Why are they are still widely used in Australia?

Did you know that, many grub killers sold in hardware stores in Australia contain the active ingredient ‘Chlorpyrifos’. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorpyrifos

Chlorpyrifos is an anti-cholinesterase product (nerve poison) so acts directly on the nervous system of insects and people. It is also banned in many parts of Europe due to contamination of water tables and the effects on DNA.

You are actually poisoning native animals that consume these dead or dying grubs. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate. It becomes dissolved in the fatty tissue of the grubs as in humans and travels up the food chain.

Once it contacts the grub it requires a very heavy dose to have an effect as it dissolves in the fatty tissues, and has an accumulative effect in humans. The half life is 2-3 years so if you apply it regularly you will quickly find you have decade’s worth of poison in the soil very quickly. This has an affect on soil microflora and beneficial insects and fungi as well.

Why is it still widely used in Australia? Because the dose is small legislators don’t take the cumulative effects or frequency of application into consideration.

Entomopathogenic (Insect-killing) Beneficial Nematodes (Nemassist ®), are far more effective than the chemical alternatives and it is impossible for the pest to build up resistance and there is no collaterale damage to the environment and you won’t harm your family or pets.

Give them a go!

When applied, the nematodes seek out the pest and enter it through natural openings, where they then release a symbiotic bacteria which very quickly kills the target pest and provides a food source. The nematodes breed within the dead insect, and once the offspring have exhausted the food source from this host they leave and actively search for a new host. This process can continue across several generations and as such provides longer term control.

These Beneficial Nematodes are not harmful to any non-target pests. They do not affect other beneficial insects such as earthworms, ladybugs or other micro-organisms. They are not harmful to humans, and are totally safe around humans and waterways. They are naturally occurring and then mass reared.