International Pest Control – July/August 2023 – Vol 65, Nr.4

IPCadmin | August 3, 2023

COVER IMAGE: Ixodus ricinus.
Picture by Hans Smid

At a time when many parts of Europe and North America are “boiling” or burning, other parts of the world are submerged under water and the Atlantic to the west of Ireland is suffering a Marine Heatwave classified by NOAA as Category 5 (‘Beyond Extreme’) with sea surface temperatures as high as 4-5°C above average, the long predicted impacts of climate change are becoming ever more apparent and ever more damaging.

Against this background we are seeing pest species spread to new parts of the world and invasive species thrive in countries which would otherwise have had hostile climates. So it is not surprising perhaps that investment in the use of satellites to study land use change has been forthcoming or that €15 million has been invested in a new Dutch institute “CropXR” to breed more climate resilience into crops. Nearly $5million has been invested by the Gates Foundation into “PlantVillage”, a project aimed at reducing crop losses in sub-Saharan Africa.

The “Bug of the Issue” this time is the common wasp – Vespula vulgaris – which becomes a real pest towards the end of the summer when its nest hierarchy breaks down.

Don’t miss out on PestWorld – although how you get to Hawaii without producing a lot of carbon is a puzzle! In company news collaboration and acquisition remain the main game especially in the biologicals sector. But we also have some new products.

In our Special Feature our resident expert Dr Fabio Castello focuses on the fight against dengue, Zika and chikungunya in Brazil, how reported cases collapsed during COVID but have now bounced back above 2019 levels.

We look at the role of digital in pest control and the move towards much more automation of rodent pest control. Ticks are another disease vector and while Lyme disease is commonly linked to ticks, less well known is the ability to transmit the encephalitis vector. Finally, we look at how Wolbachia may be used in the control of cockroaches.

Mosquitoes are also a focus of a device which aims to lure and then trap the insects. We report on trials in India and Brazil.

Sorghum may be improved by a gene that the ARS has found can protect against the fungus that causes anthracnose disease. There may also have been a breakthrough in the fight against Phytophthora infestans in potatoes with the use of gene editing to improve resistance. Tropical tent web spiders, Cyrtophora citricola, may have a role in pest control.

In Forestry we take a long look at the scourge of British woodland Rhododendron ponticum, a weed that was introduced in the 1700s to beautify the gardens of the rich which has now escaped into woodland and is not only suppressing woodland diversity and undermining the recovery of the UK’s temperate rainforest but also acting as a “jump off” point for Phytophthora ramorum which has the potential to destroy Japanese larch as a commercial, softwood timber tree in the United Kingdom.

This is just a selection of the articles in this issue and hopefully there is at least something for everyone. Our next issue has a special feature on invertebrate pest management – if you have something to say on this topic we look forward to hearing from you!

Chris Endacott, Editor International Pest Control magazine
Email Chris on editor@international-pest-control.com