eChipmunks

non chemical/non lethal pest control?

In commercial growing, is there such a thing as alternative or non-chemical pest control? I would like to know if in all commercial growing (fruit & vegetables, plant nurseries, garden centre stock, ornamental trees, etc) the crops are routinely sprayed with pesticides/insecticides/and other chemicals or poisons to kill pests. I hear sometimes of "organic" control, but I assume that means the toxins used are not harmful to OTHER animals, rather than non-lethal at all. I know in gardens and such, predators are encouraged, but I can't imagine this would be practical or foolproof in large scale commercial enterprises, and I expect that in all these places, horticulturists regularly lay down chemicals or spray lethal substances on crops? I would like to hear if there are alternative practises.

Public Comments

1. There are Organic and Non-Poison treatments out there. One of the biggest is in the form of Hydroponic and Aeroponic gardening. Developed in the 1970's Hydroponics has introduced large scale commercial growing, in a controlled environment. I would assume you're thinking of the hundreds of thousands of acres of crops such as Corn, Barley and Wheat. To date, there are no large scale hydroponic systems for these crops. All natural insecticides, such as predators, are much more effective in a hydroponic environment. The largest Hydroponic grow I know of is in South America, with nearly 200 acres of tomatoes in a controlled "greenhouse". I grow Hydroponically in a spare bedroom in my home, and use only ladybugs to ward off any pests that may appear, which is very very rare. To learn more about alternative insect and disease control, I would recommend reading reports from other countries. Many have made the lead to learning about these things, but the US makes more from regulating the chemicals in fertilizers and pesticides to want organic compounds to become mainstream. At's all about the almighty dollar.