28 THE CAAR COMMUNICATOR PESTICIDES The young remain until they reach their third juvenile stage, then leave the host body to continue the cycle. For a parasite, beneficial nematodes are an excellent form of pest control, attacking and consuming insect pests without harming crops, animals, humans, or beneficial earthworms. It’s a nice natural environmental solution. Not all nematodes are considered equal. There are over 30 different species of entomopathogenic nematodes, each preferring a specific unique insect host, such as caterpillars, cutworms, crown borers, grubs, corn rootworms, crane flies, thrips, fungus gnats, and beetles. Of course, we have written this noting that there are many different types of beneficial nematodes, which implies there are nematodes that are not beneficial, such as those that are plant parasites causing damage to crops or other plants. For best results, farmers need to know what insect they are targeting and introduce the proper nematode into their field. But what if you have more than one type of pest? Strangely enough, you can add different types of nematodes because they will not harm each other or cancel one species out. Some packages of nematodes for sale come with multiple species inside, so one application can target a larger swathe of pests. Farmers might introduce EPNs into their soil through a liquid formulation, offering a pesticide-free method of pest control. So what’s so new about nematodes During the field trials in Rwanda, farmers applied the hydrogel containing the living nematodes to the whorls of individual con plants as a green pesticide. Photo by Patrick Fallet of the University of Neuchâtel
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