Abstract
Field vacuuming is a novel concept for pest management in organic
cropping systems. Though heavily promoted, it has not been widely
adopted. This publication provides an overview of the history and
applicability of insect vacuum technology.
Table of Contents
Field Vacuums for Insect
Pest Management
As the demand for organic produce expands, growers are seeking
additional alternatives for managing insect pests without pesticides.
Among the tools that have drawn interest are field vacuums, which
suck pests from the growing crop and “batter” them to
death. Interest in field vacuums peaked in the late 1980s through
the mid-1990s. They are in limited commercial use at the present
time.
Growers and researchers have experimented with suction devices
on a number of horticultural crops, including lettuce, strawberries,
artichokes, grapes, potatoes, celery, and cole crops. The most successful
application of insect vacuums appears to be control of lygus bugs
in strawberries. The strawberry producer Driscoll Strawberry Associates,
Inc., highlights their use of BugVac™ as a marketing tool
(1)—one that makes them appear more environmentally
responsible. The University of California’s 2001 Pest Management
Guidelines feature specific guidelines for use of suction devices
for lygus control in strawberries. (2)
There has also been some success using vacuums for Colorado potato
beetle control on potatoes. (3) One machine
designed specifically for use on potatoes is called the Beetle Eater™.
Although the Beetle Eater is no longer being manufactured, there
appear to be several still in commercial use. (4)
Despite their promise and promotion in the popular agricultural
press, field vacuums have not achieved wide adoption. Problems cited
include the high initial costs of machinery (5);
the lack of residual pest control, requiring frequent passes over
the field; soil compaction due to equipment weight and the frequency
of use; and the spreading of pathogens like powdery mildew and gray
mold.
Sometimes, the vacuums simply weren’t adequate for the job.
When they tried them for aphid control on lettuce, California growers
found that the pest hid mostly in the lower parts of the plant and
escaped—a particularly serious problem because the aphids
vector several serious diseases. Accommodating the vacuums also
limited irrigation to alternate furrows, which further stressed
the crop. (6)
There has always been a worry that insect vacuums would be detrimental
to beneficial predators, parasites, and pollinators in crop fields.
This concern may be unwarranted (or at least overstated). Studies
indicate that populations of beneficials do not suffer measurably
from field vacuuming. (3, 6,
7)
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Sources for Insect Vacuums
In late 2001, NCAT Agriculture Specialists contacted twelve companies
that had been listed as manufacturers or distributors of field-scale
insect vacuums in the 1990s. None of these companies was currently
producing new suction equipment for sale. Only Driscoll Strawberry
Associates, Inc. (8) indicated they would produce
an insect vacuum on special order.
The California supplier BioQuip Products (9)
has several small vacuums that are mostly intended for insect monitoring
and collecting, rather than control. One of the vacuums is a backpack
unit, however, which might be useful for pest control in biointensive
systems.
For very small-scale applications, the ‘Bug Vacuum’—a
battery-operated, hand-held unit may work. However, it appears designed
primarily for removing individual insects like errant wasps, bees,
and flies from the home. The ‘Bug Vacuum’ can be ordered
on the Internet from at least three different sources. (10)
The base price ranges from $38 to $50.
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Summary
Field vacuums are an interesting non-chemical approach to insect
pest management. While promising, the concept has not received wide
use because of a number of problems, including cost and efficacy.
Sources for commercial machinery are limited.
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References
- Anon. No date. Driscoll’s
Berry R & D. Driscoll Strawberry Associates, P.O. Box 50045,
Watsonville, CA. www.driscolls.com/about/index.html
- Zalom, F.G., P.A. Phillips, N.C.
Toscano, and S. Udayagiri. 2001. UC Pest Management Guidelines:
Strawberry: Lygus Bug. Publication 3339.University of California
Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Berkeley, CA.
February. http://axp.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r734300111.html.
- Grossman, Joel. 1991. Organic potatoes
in Wisconsin. IPM Practitioner. May-June. p. 16-17.
- Birt, Kathy. 2000. Bug off! Spudman.
May- June. p. 26-27.
- One California company reportedly
purchased a number of field vacuums for use in lettuce at a cost
of $100,000 each. Ref: Grossman, Joel. 1990. Aphids vex Bug Vac.
IPM Practitioner. March. p. 12-13.
- Grossman, Joel. 1990. Aphids vex
Bug Vac. IPM Practitioner. March. p. 12-13.
- Grossman, Joel. 1997. Vacuuming
lygus. IPM Practitioner. September. p. 15.
- Driscoll Strawberry Associates,
Inc.
1750 San Juan Rd.
P.O. Box 111
Watsonville, CA 95077
408-726-3531
- BioQuip
Products
17803 La Salle Ave.
Gardena, CA 90248-3602
310-324-0620
310-324-7931 FAX
bioquip@aol.com
- Biocontrol
Network (BIOCONET), Coolgadget,
PestDetour.com
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Popular and Technical Literature
on Horticultural Pest Vacuums
The following is a list of popular and scientific articles
relating to insect vacuums, their use, and their performance in
the field. This list is not comprehensive.
Anon. 1991. Sukup bug beater to be demonstrated at Spudtacular
’91. The Great Lakes Vegetable Growers News. July. p. 14.
Anon. 1990. Back to the future. The New Farm. p. 24-25.Anon. 1990.
Bugs hit the fan. CALS (University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences) Quarterly. Summer. p. 2.
Anon. 1989. New “BugVac” sucks bugs off growing crops.
Farm Show. Vol. 13, No. 3. p. 16.
Anon. 1988. Driscoll invention is sucker for ‘bad’
bugs. The Packer. August 13. p. 3A.
Anon. No date. Driscoll’s Berry R & D. Driscoll Strawberry
Associates, P.O. Box 50045, Watsonville, CA. www.driscolls.com.
Birt, Kathy. 2000. Bug off! Spudman. May-June. p. 26-27.
DeVault, George. 1989. Bug-eating machines clobber chemicals. The
New Farm. July-August. p. 9-11.
Glynn, Mike. 1989. Battling the bugs. The Packer. April 1. p. 16C,
18C.
Grossman, Joel. 1997. Vacuuming lygus. IPM Practitioner. September.
p. 15.
Grossman, Joel. 1994. Lygus bugs in strawberries. IPM Practitioner.
March. p. 13.
Grossman, Joel. 1991. Organic potatoes in Wisconsin. IPM Practitioner.
May-June. p. 16-17.
Grossman, Joel. 1990. Aphids vex Bug Vac. IPM Practitioner. March.
p. 12-13.
Grossman, Joel. 1989. Strawberry IPM features biological and mechanical
controls. IPM Practitioner. May. p. 1-4.
Hillsman, Kelly. 1988. Pest vacuums. The Grower. December. p. 30-31.
Krause, E. 1996. The Bug-Vac and lygus bug control. In: Soraka,
Juliana. 1996. Proceedings of the Lygus Working Group Meeting. Agriculture
and Agri-Food Canada. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. April 11-12.
McGill, Steve. 1990. Vacuum sweepers clean up insect pests. The
Furrow (Valley edition). March-April. p. 22.
McHugh, Jennifer. 1991. Vacuum up pests. Greenhouse Grower. August.
p. 54, 56, 58.
Moore, Jim. 1990. Insect vacuums hit the market. Ag Consultant.
June. p. 18.
Moore, Jim. 1990. Sweeping fields controls some pests. American
Vegetable Grower. March. p. 10-11.
Ogden, Frank. 1998. This vacuum does lettuce. Lessons From the
Future—Volume 8. www.drtomorrow.com/lessons/lessons8/05.html.
Pickel, Carolyn, Frank G. Zalom, Douglas B. Walsh, and Norman C.
Welch. 1994. Efficacy of vacuum machines for Lygus hesperus
(Hemiptera: Miridae) control in coastal California strawberries.
Horticultural Entomology. Vol. 87, No. 6. p. 1636-1640.
Pickel, Carolyn, et al. 1995. Vacuums provide limited Lygus control
in strawberries. California Agriculture. March-April. p. 19-22.
Stockwin, Will. 1988. Sweeping away pests with BugVac. American
Vegetable Grower. November. p. 34-38.
Street, Richard Steven. 1989. The bug sucker. Harrowsmith. January-February.
p. 122.
Traupman, Michael. 1990. Sweeping the bugs out. The New Farm. July-August.
p. 27-30.
Williams, Greg, and Pat Williams. 1999. Modified vacuum machine
for snag-free bug collection. HortIdeas. November. p. 131.
Williams, Greg, and Pat Williams. 1991. “Houdini” hand-held
vacuum for insects. HortIdeas. July. p. 82.
Williams, Greg, and Pat Williams. 1989. A hand-held insect vacuum
(more or less). HortIdeas. September. p. 107.
Zalom, F.G., P.A. Phillips, N.C. Toscano, and S. Udayagiri. 2001.
UC Pest Management Guidelines: Strawberry: Lygus Bug. Publication
3339. University of California Department of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Berkeley, CA. February. http://axp.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r734300111.html.
Bug Vacuums for Organic Crop Protection
By George Kuepper & Raeven Thomas
NCAT Agriculture Specialists
Richard Earles, Editor
Cole Loeffler, HTML Production
IP 194
Slot 183
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