Tools to monitor pests

Tools assisting growers to monitor pests

TOOL

MYPESTGUIDE REPORTER APP FOR SMART PHONE

WHAT DOES IT DO

REPORT PESTS TO EXPERTS TO GET HELP AND ADVICE

YELLOW STICKY TRAPS SURVEILLANCE OF PESTS

WHO WOULD USE IT

HORTICULTURE GROWERS AND GARDENERS

THE COST

FREE

LESS THAN $1/PIECE

BY TRUYEN VO | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, VEGETABLESWA

MORE INFORMATION

www.agric.wa.gov.au/apps/ mypestguide-reporter www.agric.wa.gov.au/news/ media-releases/adopt-trapsupport-surveillance-effortsagainst-insect-pest

MANAGEMENT OF PESTS and diseases on a vegetable farm requires regular inspections to determine signs of infection or pest population levels to improve management decisions.

Monitoring and surveillance across a farm involves looking for and recording the presence, absence and population levels of pests. Conducting regular monitoring is a fundamental part of farm management practice and gives the best chance of spotting a new pest soon after it arrives.

Surveillance at the farm level contributes essential information to regional biosecurity efforts and ultimately to the national status (presence/absence) of a pest. There are two useful tools that effectively help growers monitoring and surveillance across a farm which are also either free or not expensive and easy to apply. These tools complement each other in helping growers monitoring and surveillance of both flying insects and diseases.

MyPestGuide Reporter

MyPestGuide Reporter is a tool for everyone to report pests1 . The MyPestGuide family of free support tools includes a dedicated Reporter App plus three (3) pest identification field guides (iOS Apple and Android), which operate alongside the community website. MyPestGuide helps bring people together who have similar pest problems in their local area creating a collaborative network. MyPestGuide Reporter lets you quickly report your observations to the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Everyone can help map pests by using their phone to make reports with up to four photos from their camera or gallery including gps coordinates with accuracy. Experts at DPIRD will attempt to identify your pest and reply back to your device. The report may be return to you within hours. You can then share report to social media. You can also create reports online using the MyPestGuide website.

By using the MyPestGuide suite of apps you will be supporting your local community and helping to defend Western Australia’s primary Helping to defend Western Australia’s primary industries and environment. industries and environment. This is an important step in managing invasive species, stopping disease outbreaks, supporting our quality food producers and accessing trade markets. This app available at https:// apps.apple.com/au/app/mypestguidereporter/id1032560930

Yellow sticky traps

Yellow sticky traps are pieces of yellow coloured plastic or cardboard, coated with a thin layer of glue. Once you peel back a protective layer to expose the sticky surface you can then place them vertically in a paddock, veggie patch or on fruit trees with a twist tie or attached to a stake or fence post.

As they are non-selective, a range of insects such as aphids, trips, fruit fly, leaf miners, and whitefly are caught. In Australia, sticky traps may only be sold or used if they are not capable of trapping an animal (birds, micro bats, rodents etc). All sticky traps sold must have a cage, barrier, cover or other design features which will prevent an animal from coming into contact with Yellow sticky traps are a the adhesive surface. commonly used method for The fact is that insect pests population monitoring of are usually seasonal, and many pests. In recent decades, studies of these traps mainly focused on how The main purpose of these traps is to monitor flying adult insects. coloured sticky traps can help you to assess when flying insect pest numbers are increasing or decreasing. By monitoring to use them to monitor your sticky traps and populations of pest species improving your knowledge such as tomato potato psyllids, when to expect seasonal whiteflies, leaf miners, and aphids. visitors you can decide on what In recent years, yellow sticky traps have management tactics to use before pest also been used as a method for the feeding damage becomes too high. control of some pests, especially for the control of whitefly. Yellow sticky traps are sold at agricultural supplier shops or even The main purpose of these traps, which in general hardware stores such as you can find at most plant nurseries, Bunnings. is to monitor for flying adult insects.

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MORE INFORMATION

Truyen Vo, Regional Development Officer, phone (08) 9486 7515, 0457 457 559 or email truyen.vo@vegetableswa.com.au

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