More low impact insecticides (cont.) FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Boric acid • Good for cockroach control, but should never be Lots of useful information is available from left where children or pets can reach. Boric acid is Texas AgriLife Online. Check out the not toxic to touch, but in high doses can be toxic to swallow. following resources: • Light, barely visible, residues are best for control‐ • http://Agrilifebookstore.org ling cockroaches. A great site with hundreds of Extension • Used as an active ingredient in some cockroach and ant bait products. publications on topics ranging from • Diatomaceous earth water conservation to pest management. • Can control pests if kept dry and used in dry envi‐ Try browsing the House and garden ronments. Try dusting pet beds for flea control, and in walls and other dry locations for ant and insect section, or search on a pest of cockroach control. interest. • Botanical (plant-based) insecticides • http://insects.tamu.edu • Plants make their own insecticides, some of which we use too. Check the labels of these products to A diverse site devoted to all things insect. compare toxicity. Just because a pesticide comes The home for the department of from a plant doesn’t mean it’s safe for people. entomology at Texas A&M University. • Botanical pesticides generally break down quickly when exposed to sunlight, air and water. This • http://Citybugs.tamu.edu keeps them relatively safe for many beneficial A north-Texas based site with an eclectic insects. assortment of information on pests • Look for products containing pyrethrins, neem extracts, mint oils and citrus oils. missed by other sites. • Attractants and repellents • Sometimes the best way to manage pests is to repel them, or attract them elsewhere (like to a trap). What’s the difference between an • DEET, lemon oil of eucalyptus, and picaridin are insecticide and a pesticide? Low impact insecticides are the leading mosquito and tick repellents today. Pesticides are chemical tools designed to kill, products that are relatively low in • Attractants are often added to sticky traps to repel or prevent any kind of pest. Insecticides toxicity to people, pets and wildlife, make them more effective. are a special kind of pesticide designed espe‐ cially for insect control. including beneficial insects. You can find a variety of low‐impact products as close as your nearest Tip: Educational programs of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service are open “Sticky traps” can help you catch and identify to all people without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion age, grocery or garden store. household pests. In some cases they can even or national origin..

help control pests. Look for sticky traps Author: Michael Merchant, PhD, BCE (sometimes called roach hotels) in your local Extension Urban Entomologist with the Urban Solutions Low-Impact Insect Center at Texas AgriLife Research & Extension Center at hardware, grocery or do‐it‐yourself pest con‐ Dallas, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX 75252-6599 trol shop. http://urbansolutionscenter.tamu.edu Control for Everyone Misc. handout 4‐2009 Not all insecticides are created equal. In What is low-impact pest control? themselves, insecticides do not have to be harmful to the It’s hard to be green when pests are driving Examples of low impact insecticides environment. Some you crazy. That seems to sum up our popular insecticides on shelves attitude about pests and pesticides. Some of • Insecticide soaps and horticultural oils today are very low in us are willing to resort to almost any means to • These products kill smaller, soft‐bodied arthropods like toxicity to people and get rid of scary and pesky bugs, but many mites, aphids and scales. But they only kill when sprayed pests can be controlled with very little risk to directly on the pest. highly selective for cer‐ us or the environment. By combining low risk • Horticultural oils are sometimes called dormant oil, Volck tain insects. This allows pesticides with oil, summer oils or ultrafine spray oils. us to control pests non‐chemical • Store bought versions of these products are generally safely and preserve control measures, safer to plants (plus they come with instructions!). beneficial insects. we soften our • Soaps and oils are among the cheapest and safest pesti‐ cides for the garden. Some of the smallest insects impact on the • Microbe-based products in the garden should be your environment and • These products consist of, or are derived from, bacteria best friends. Predatory control pests at and other microbes. pirate bugs, parasitic wasps, the same time. • Microbe‐based products, like Bacillus thuringiensis and spinosad, are generally safe for people and selective for predator flies and even Pesticides aren’t pests. beneficial mites and thrips are the answer to all • Caution: Even the low toxicity product spinosad can be common in most gardens, pest problems. In harmful to bees. It’s best to spray flowering plants in the evening to minimize risks to bees and other pollinators. and in many cases do a better fact, we often • Insect growth regulators (IGRs) job of controlling pests than don’t need pesti‐ • These products are usually man‐made copies of hor‐ cides to keep insects and other pests at bay. the better‐known lady mones that are found in insects. They can affect insects Home grown lady The best low‐impact approach is called inte‐ beetle. by disrupting egg laying or interfering with normal beetles are best! grated pest management, or IPM. It provides growth. They are generally harmless to people and pets. a way to use fewer pesticides along with other • Examples of IGRs include methoprene (flea and fire ant Mother Nature does a effective tactics to keep pest numbers man‐ control), hydroprene (mosquito control), and good job of delivering halofenozide (caterpillar and white grub control). ageable. lady beetles to our • Baits front step when they • Because baits are fed on by pests, the amount of pesti‐ IPM starts with identifying the pest, then cides needed to kill is very small. In many cases, baits are needed. Repeated looking for sanitation or other non‐chemical can eliminate the need for potentially more hazardous research studies show sprays. ways to make the environment less attractive that store‐bought lady • Cockroach bait stations and liquid ant baits can provide to pests. Excluding the pest from your home excellent control of these pests. beetles rarely stay or garden is next. Finally, IPM encourages use • Fire ant baits should be scattered over the whole yard around long enough to of the least‐toxic products that will control and not placed in piles around ant mounds for best con‐ trol. control your pests— the pest. Put all these things together and • Some baits, like fire ant, slug and rodent baits can be though they may help you’ve got low‐impact pest control! toxic to pets unless label directions are followed care‐ someone on the other fully. side of town!