The control of pests in the protection of stocks was dominated for a long time by the call for the „pest exterminator“ and the apparently safe solution by using chemical control agents. Moth paper and mothballs in the wardrobe were standard in grandmother´s time. In the meantime, many of these substances have proven dangerous to health. After the new regulation on biocides, the range of approved chemical control agents is limited to only a few products.
However, today we have a range of biological control agents at our disposal. On the one hand, these are biological insecticides, but especially the natural antagonists of moths and beetles, the beneficial insects. Just as the ladybird beetle devours the aphid, there are parasitic wasps that „love a storage pest to bits“. The mode of action and the effectiveness of the beneficial insects has been known for decades and has been proven by numerous studies. And in the meantime the „pest exterminator“ has become a Chamber of Commerce-examined Pest Controller with several years of training who increasingly also uses beneficial insects for control!
Instead of quickly resort to the spray can to control flying moths and crawling beetles, a new control principle applies now: detect a pest infestation at an early stage, determine the pests (by traps), remove infested stock items and effectively control the remaining stages of pests (eggs and larvae) by using beneficial insects. In individual cases also in combination with biological insecticides.
The use of beneficial insects is a modern, environmentally friendly and effective way to control pests.
