Beneficial bugs protect stored grain

Intentionally placing bugs in grain and food processing facilities to help manage pests is a tough idea to swallow in Canada, but the practice has been used in Central Europe since the mid-1990s.

Vincent Hervet, an entomologist with Ag Canada in Winnipeg, conducted a literature review on the use of biological controls in stored products including grain, processing facilities and warehouses. He said the practice is already commonplace for many vegetable growers.

“It’s widely used in horticulture, especially in greenhouses. Pretty much all the greenhouses out there use biological control,” he said.

Biological control is the use of living organisms to suppress pest populations and reduce the damage they cause.

“They have issues with aphids, thrips, scale insects and white flies and if they aren’t controlled, they get out of control in the greenhouse,” Hervet said. “So, they need the solution and a lot of people choose biological control solutions.”

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