http://greenmethods.com/site Biological Pest Control and Integrated Pest Management Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:01:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.11 en This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to copyright and fair use. http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/07/the-art-of-finding-spider-mites/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/07/the-art-of-finding-spider-mites/#comments Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:01:00 +0000 Mike Cherim Best Practices IPM Savvy http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/07/the-art-of-finding-spider-mites/ Locating spider mite colonies early on during scouting is important, no, essential, to gaining the upper hand in your attempt to keep them off your pest list. But this can be challenging, especially since they aren't usually detected on sticky traps and other scouting tools. In fact, even the most diligent pest scouts have difficulty locating spider mites before they reproduce into more significant -- and difficult to control -- numbers. To find mites more quickly, there are things you can do.]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/07/the-art-of-finding-spider-mites/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/its-summer-vacation-time/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/its-summer-vacation-time/#comments Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:01:41 +0000 Mike Cherim Site News Company News http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/its-summer-vacation-time/ Well, it is for us next week. Specifically we will be closed the week of June 29th through July 3rd. Make that the 27th through the 5th if you count weekends. We do -- it sounds better. We're nuts to do this, we know, but we're too small and too lean a company to even let one person take the week off while trying to keep the doors open. Instead, since sometime in the late nineties, we just close the doors, pull the shades, and put out the Gone Fishin' sign.]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/its-summer-vacation-time/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/ladybugs-on-sale-again-because/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/ladybugs-on-sale-again-because/#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:55:08 +0000 Mike Cherim Site News Specials http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/ladybugs-on-sale-again-because/ Well, because we'll be closed from June 29th to July 3rd (from the the 27th to the 5th actually) and it means that some orders will be delayed. And since ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) are the easiest critters for us to deal with in terms of fast order fulfillment due to being drop-shipped, we can respond quickly upon our return and make sure everyone gets what they need without too much of a delay. We don't want to encourage you to purchase a bug we might not be able to ship for two weeks. For more about our scheduled one-week closure, please stay tuned. The official announcement will appear here in five days (the 26th).]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/ladybugs-on-sale-again-because/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/packaging-biocontrols-for-shipment/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/packaging-biocontrols-for-shipment/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:01:53 +0000 Mike Cherim Industry News Best Practices http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/packaging-biocontrols-for-shipment/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/packaging-biocontrols-for-shipment/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/because-reuse-is-better-than-recycling/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/because-reuse-is-better-than-recycling/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:01:46 +0000 Mike Cherim General News Company News http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/because-reuse-is-better-than-recycling/ A few weeks ago we were at the Nottingham Recycling Center -- billed as the oldest consecutively operating center in the nation -- in the town of Nottingham, NH. We were taking our sorted cardboard and cans, glass and plastics, and placing them in bins to be properly recycled and eventually made into new products. While there we noted one woman, a Nottingham resident and employee of Portsmouth Regional Hospital, getting ready to throw away a sturdy, styrofoam box. We got her attention before she let go of the item. We asked: Can we have that?]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/because-reuse-is-better-than-recycling/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/aphid-midges-on-sale/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/aphid-midges-on-sale/#comments Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:01:38 +0000 Mike Cherim Site News Specials http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/aphid-midges-on-sale/ If your weather has been nice like ours up here in new England has been, and if you have trees or tall greenhouse crops like tomatoes that can get aphids, then you may be happy to know we've put our popular and very effective aphid midges, Aphidoletes aphidimyza, on sale. Most people think of using midges in the greenhouse, but they really are number one for aphid control in orchards and trees.]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/aphid-midges-on-sale/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/how-to-release-ladybugs-or-not/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/how-to-release-ladybugs-or-not/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:01:16 +0000 Mike Cherim Best Practices IPM Savvy http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/how-to-release-ladybugs-or-not/ Back in the mid-nineties we were approached by a major television network's gardening show staffers. They were going to do a segment on "beneficial insects" but knew nothing about the subject. They needed a few good bugs, some ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens), specifically, and whole lot of advice. We provided both in generous quantities, unfortunately while one was coveted (the bugs), the other eschewed; our advice wasn't followed. ]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/06/how-to-release-ladybugs-or-not/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/understanding-insecticidal-soaps-and-detergents/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/understanding-insecticidal-soaps-and-detergents/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 04:01:49 +0000 Raymond A. Cloyd Contributors IPM Savvy http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/understanding-insecticidal-soaps-and-detergents/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/understanding-insecticidal-soaps-and-detergents/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/insecticidal-soap-sale/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/insecticidal-soap-sale/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 04:01:02 +0000 Mike Cherim Site News Specials http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/insecticidal-soap-sale/ Please be sure to see an important note about Memorial Day weekend at the end of this entry. Our ladybug sale ends later today (though stocks still exist) and our next scheduled article will cover in-depth information about insecticidal and non-insecticidal soaps and their usage. In light of this, we decided a soap sale would be a timely discount offering. And if you must have something in a bottle in your pest control arsenal, soap is a decent choice. Regarding the article, look for it in five days.]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/insecticidal-soap-sale/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/plant-identification-course-available-in-nh/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/plant-identification-course-available-in-nh/#comments Sun, 17 May 2009 04:01:30 +0000 Mike Cherim General News Resources http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/plant-identification-course-available-in-nh/ We thought this was interesting and wanted to share it with any readers within an hour or so drive of Durham NH. It's a comprehensive plant identification course offered by the New Hampshire Landscape Association (NHLA). Some may feel it's a bit pricey, but for thirteen weeks it's a bargain. Moreover, it also sounds like an excellent opportunity for anyone wanting to have more knowledge of their flora. This is a copy of the announcement we received [edited].]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/plant-identification-course-available-in-nh/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/winter-ladybugs-on-sale/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/winter-ladybugs-on-sale/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 04:01:58 +0000 Mike Cherim Site News Specials http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/winter-ladybugs-on-sale/ According to our Californian ladybug collectors, we have more ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) left over from the winter collections than we normally do. Sales have been fine, but collections were better than normal. Thus the overage. We want to sell out of those so as to make room for the summer-collected bugs when they become collectible. To help get 'er done as some might say, we've decided to have yet another ladybug sale.]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/winter-ladybugs-on-sale/feed/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/good-bugs-for-the-president/ http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/good-bugs-for-the-president/#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 04:01:19 +0000 Mike Cherim General News http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/good-bugs-for-the-president/ With the help of 26 fifth-graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington, D.C., our First Lady, Michelle Obama, has started a vegetable garden on the White House South Lawn, as reported in the WSJ (Wall Street Journal) Blog, Washington Wire. This is good stuff. A great example to the American people. There hasn't been a vegetable garden at the White House since the days of Eleanor Roosevelt's Victory Garden during WWII.]]> http://greenmethods.com/site/weblog/2009/05/good-bugs-for-the-president/feed/