Articles, Growing, Pest Management
Pest Prevention: The Best IPM Routines For Cannabis Plants
Feb
Whether you’re growing indoors or outdoors, preventing pests from establishing themselves on your crop should be a priority. The best way to do this is through routine IPM (Integrated Pest Management) routines that seek to be proactive and prevent infestations before they occur.
By acting first and not allowing pests to establish colonies on your plant, you can greatly reduce the risk of losing your harvest. Especially as many pests are challenging to get rid of once their population grows to high levels.
How Integrated Pest Management Works & Their Frequency
IPMs are implemented by growers as a matter of procedure, and done routinely to prevent the establishment of pests. The exact frequency varies depending on the pests you’re looking to prevent as well as personal preference, but generally, IPMs are done every one or two weeks to once a month, depending on the method being used.
The process involves adding biologicals, organic deterrents, or chemical pesticides to kill off pests that can potentially damage your crop.
By doing this regularly, it prevents these pests from establishing their colonies. Once a pest colony is established and eggs are laid, it is much more difficult to get rid of the infestation. The process of removing an established colony can also be harsher on the plants, not to mention the inherent stress that pests cause to cannabis in general.
IPMs Take Various Forms, Ranging From The Introduction Of Living Insects To Systemic Chemical Pesticides
Most growers have their own individual routine of pest management, with some strictly using organic methods, while others feel more comfortable using chemicals. While there’s no right and wrong way to do it, every cannabis cultivator must understand the potential health hazards with the approach they take.
These are the most common methods for pest prevention, the types of pests they protect against, how often they are typically used, and some basic health considerations that should be understood:
Whether you go with ecological pest control (the safest option), an organic approach, or a pure chemical approach the (least safe) – the option is ultimately yours. However I’d recommend trying the organic and ecological method as a preventative, and if that fails and you still end up with a pest problem – then consider the harsher options. Always make sure not to spray dangerous chemicals on plants that are in flower, and pay close attention to half-lives to ensure a systemic spray doesn’t persist through the flowering period.
The Importance of Safety When Performing IPMs
Safety should always be your primary focus when dealing with any pesticides. Exposure to pesticides through spraying or smoking the harvest can sometimes take years before the symptoms are experienced. Much of this risk can be mitigated by understanding the compounds you’re working with and ensuring you follow best practices.
- Wear a mask when spraying any pesticides.
- When spraying indoors, turn your fan off when spraying to prevent it from blowing into your face.
- Do NOT spray more than is required, and ensure you research the correct dosages.
- Take note of half-life and ensure it doesn’t exceed the time until harvest.
- Be aware of potential health risks for each pesticide used.
- Consider how combustion can affect the compounds and change them into new, potentially hazardous compounds.
- Avoid spraying anything on cannabis in the flowering stage, but if you do – opt for a natural deterrent with a short half-life.
Be Cautious Of Emerging New Pesticides That Seem Too Good To Be True
I’ve recently noticed some new pest control products on the market and would advise against using anything that hasn’t undergone long-term clinical trials. Silica-based nanoparticles, for example, are something offered locally by a company I won’t name. And I strongly urge growers to avoid these types of control methods, and here’s why…
These types of controls, while effective, have very limited health data behind them. Although this is already a concerning fact, it becomes even more critical when the companies suggest you spray it on at any time, including flowering or after harvest.
While there may be nothing inherently toxic in the mixture, compounds change when they combust and without years, or even decades of data – there’s a lot of mystery around what happens to the human body when absorbing these compounds.
Nanoparticles themselves are concerning, as they’ve been shown to bypass the lung protection mechanism and enter directly into the alveoli.
Any pesticides that state they are long-lasting, should never be sprayed on plants. And while some growers are willing to take the risk, it’s the consumer that is likely to bear the brunt of the long-term effects – once known.
