Re: Ant question

On Wed, Jun 09, 1999 at 07:39:41PM -0700, The Pumpkin Master wrote:
> Hi shawn, I say don't use insecticides.  

I won't because I don't have a problem that requires them.

> Go for it and I am sure you will 
> not have as big a pumpkin as you could have.

That might be a worthwhile tradeoff for me.  Anyway, my point wasn't
"don't use insecticides", my point is "don't misuse insecticides."  If you
or anyone else don't apply them according to the directions then you will
end up poisoning yourself (which is your prerogative) and creating
resistant pests (which is not).  There is a non-native honeybee mite
causing heavy losses to the beekeeping industry because of a few
beekeepers that abused fluvalinate, the only EPA-registered miticide for
the mite.  They found out that instead of using the registered
formulation, Apistan, in strips, they could get higher concentrations in a
pesticide called Maverick which was registered for other uses.  Using
Maverick controlled the mites well for a while but the high dosage led to
a fluvalinate resistant mite which has now migrated to several states, led
to quarantines, and has been very difficult and expensive to control.  If
you or anyone else misuses Sevin or other pesticides on pumpkins, in the
same way you are selecting for pesticide resistance in bugs.  Due to the
short life cycle of insects resistance can arise quite rapidly.  So unless
you want resistant squash vine borers and other nasty pests that can't be
controlled, you need to carefully follow the directions on the label and
be judicious with your application of pesticides, not just apply them
whenever you see ants or other bugs that aren't causing an uncontrollable
problem.

Shaun

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