Pestuk

International Pest Control – July/August 2026 – Vol 68, Nr.4
2026-08-06 11:16 UTC

Cover Image: This farmer manages to produce vegetables all year round, leading the sector also in winter.
Picture by J. Huete Greenhouses

As I write this Europe is sweltering under a record heatwave, the temperatures being reached are not typical of those the continent has benefitted from for hundreds of years and records are being broken again and again. Much of Europe is tinder dry and wildfires are a common feature from southern Spain to northern Wales. Lives (an estimated 20,000), buildings and crops are being lost to fire and heat while yields are being lost to drought. But this is no ordinary drought as Europe has experienced from time to time in recent years: the heat is sucking the moisture out of the land leading to extensive soil drying, with forecasts of nine million tonnes of grain to be lost.

And all this is happening at only 1.4°C of global warming with the escalator still on an upward trajectory towards 2°C and perhaps beyond. This magazine has spent over 60 years attempting to improve our management of a wide range of pests that impact the health of ourselves, our animals and our crops but it now seems the biggest threat to our wellbeing is not some new invasive species or vector of disease, it is simply burning fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas. We are the pest and we need to stop greenhouse gas emissions and quickly.

Our International News section kicks off with a look at CABI’s new Global Partnership on Pesticide Risk reduction, this is followed by a look at a call for changes to EU pesticide regulation, the signing of a collaboration agreement between WUR and Ohio state, more criticism of EU pesticide regulation from scientists and news of a partnership between the University of Queensland and Ethiopia.

Pest of the Issue is the phorid or scuttle fly Megaselia scalaris which is associated with moist organic residues. Association & Society news incudes announcements from BCPC, NPMA and DIPC. Company news is the usual round of team changes, acquisitions and product launches and includes news from Koppert, Syngenta, BioWorks, Pelsis, BASF and Certis.

This month’s special feature is about Developments in Glasshouse Pest Control and we have articles on simulated greenhouse environments, smart greenhouses, VR greenhouses, aromatic barriers to pests and sustainable mealy bug control.

In public heath our topics include IPM on tropical islands, a phone App being developed to monitor vector populations more accurately, research into stopping ticks, concern that mosquitoes are learning to associate the smell of DEET with food, and more on keeping ticks at bay, this time with woodchips.

Agriculture includes articles on soybean cyst nematode, the impact of soil pH on pest species, burrowing shrimp, air pollution and its impact on pest control, and finally the failure of some seed treatments of soybean to be a cost-effective solution. Pelargonic acid features in Horticulture and Amenity, as well as a mystery beetle inhabiting North Carolina blueberry fields, which has been identified as Prionus imbricornus, a species of longhorn beetle.

In forestry we are back to the topic of invasive pests, this time of the introduced (to the UK) species Holm oak. An aggressive pathogen is contributing to the widespread tree death and production losses in almond orchards across Australia. In North America introduced wild pigs may actually be having a beneficial effect in North American forests.

Then we come back to climate change and its impacts on pest population, malaria, dengue fever, tick population and rodent borne viruses. We close on the animal health threat posed by the H5N1 virus and by ticks.

In the next issue the Special Feature will be all about “Natural Products – the future of pest and disease control?” – as ever your contributions would be most welcome!

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