Eco-Friendly Pest Control Has Ancient Roots
Eco-friendly pest control is not new. In fact it is quite ancient. Early man fought insects even before agriculture. After the beginning of agriculture the fight turned into a war. Hundreds and thousands of years ago, there simply were no pesticides to fall back on. And the early farmers were seriously motivated. The failure of a single crop could bring the threat of starvation.
Early farmers were observant and quickly learned how nature handled pest control. They duplicated what they saw and were not afraid to experiment. Ancient writings of Rome, China, Sumaria and Egypt contain evidence of pest control techniques. Some techniques worked well and were passed on.
Pest control techniques used by early farmers included: Using other critters such as frogs, birds and even other bugs help control pests Using sanitation and rotating crops to help control pests Using traps, baits and even fire to burn crops after harvest Using pest resistant plants
Many cultures burned the remains of a crop after harvest to kill insects, larva and eggs as well as weed seeds. This pest control technique is mentioned by the ancient Chinese nearly 3000 years ago and by the Roman Virgil, 1000 years later. Even today some farmers still burn their crop residue although climate change concerns may change that.
Burning of fields after the harvest interrupts the lifecycle of pests and decreased the number of their offspring. Ancient cultures also observed that rotating crops was an effective pest control technique for preventing pests from getting a foothold in an area. Pythagoras in ancient Greece was credited for eliminating malaria from a town by disrupting the lifecycle of mosquitoes. Stagnant water was pumped out of a nearby swamp which reduced the spread of the disease.
The Chinese especially became adept at pest control using beneficial species. For example, 3200 years ago ancient Chinese texts note the use of predatory ants to protect citrus groves from caterpillars and wood boring beetles. Later on officials prohibited the removal of eggs and the hunting of both frogs and birds as these species consume vast numbers of insects. Praying mantis was released in gardens among the chrysanthemums to devour leaf-eating insects.
In Europe the invention of traps as physical pest control began with Dr. Bruckmann in the 16th century, who built the first fly trap. It was a simple wooden box with a spring loaded top designed to trap flies. The insects were lured into the box by sweet bait. He also created flea traps designed to be worn around the neck. They proved popular with the aristocracy at the time.
Eco-friendly pest control techniques are not new. They have been refined and proven over thousands of years. For the most part they were cheap, simple and safe. After decades of using chemical pesticides, the tide began turning back to more natural methods. These techniques are collectively known as Integrated Pest Management, and they are the future of pest control.
