As we get ready for Spring, we thought it would be helpful to give you some basics on organic gardening, green pest control, and beneficial insects. Here is one we get all the time…
What is a beneficial insect?
Beneficial insects are natural enemies of yard and garden pests. They control the “bad bugs” (ants, aphids, etc.) and are known as biological control to organic gardeners. Examples of “beneficials”, as they are commonly referred to, are lady bugs, butterflies, bees, nematodes, etc. Broad spectrum conventional pesticides not only kill the “bad bugs,” they kill the “good bugs” too. Another reason to promote beneficial insects by using chemical free Wondercide is that insects have developed unquestionable pesticide resistance. Some insects have become so resilient to pesticides that they are now able to metabolize the poison and use it as food. “Although chemical insecticide use in the United States has grown tenfold in both amount and toxicity since 1945, the crop yield lost to insects has nearly doubled during the same period.” - David Pimentel, 1991
How does Wondercide kill some insects, but not Beneficials?
The answer is simple. Heat seeking, non beneficial insects are pheromone driven to food, mates, and reproduction. Because insects breathe through their bodies, Wondercide is absorbed directly into the breathing pores causing pheromone interruption. The survival of the insect relates directly to its exposure to the foreign substance. So, it repels insects by scent and kills them on contact. Beneficials, on the other hand, are Sight Driven and are not affected by pheromone interruption. The Aroma of cedar oil does not affect them neurologically or biologically simply because they are not driven by pheromones.
