Florida's Predatory Stinkbug, Natural Pest Control in the Hemp Garden

 Euthyrhynchus floridanus, commonly known as the Florida predatory stink bug, is a species of predatory stink bug in the family Pentatomidae. Like other predatory stink bugs, it can serve as a natural form of pest control in gardens due to its predation on various garden pests.

Adult predatory stinkbug on a hemp leaf

Here are some key benefits of having the Florida predatory stink bug in your garden:

1. Predation of pests: Florida predatory stink bugs are voracious predators. They feed on a wide variety of insects that are considered pests in gardens and agricultural fields, including caterpillars, beetles, and other bugs. This can help keep pest populations in check, thereby reducing damage to your plants.

2. Natural pest control: By serving as a natural form of pest control, Florida predatory stink bugs can reduce or even eliminate the need for chemical pesticides in your garden. This can benefit the environment by reducing the amount of toxic chemicals released into it.

3. Biodiversity: Having a variety of different species in your garden, including predatory stink bugs, can help increase its biodiversity. This can lead to a healthier and more resilient ecosystem.

4. Balance in the ecosystem: Predators such as the Florida predatory stink bug can help maintain balance in the ecosystem by controlling the population of pests. This can help prevent pest outbreaks that can cause significant damage to your plants.

5. Cost-effectiveness: Since the Florida predatory stink bug feeds on various pests, encouraging their presence in your garden could potentially save you money on pest control efforts.

Predatory stinkbugs eat caterpillars, slugs, beetles and other garden pest insects

As with any form of biological control, the key is to maintain a balanced ecosystem where no single species becomes too dominant. If the predatory stink bug population grows too large, they might run out of prey and start feeding on your plants.

Predatory stinkbug nymph

So while they can be beneficial, it's still important to monitor their population and the overall health of your garden.

Asian Lady Beetles and Organic Hemp (Cannabis) Cultivation

 I've been seeing Asian lady beetles, Harmonia axyridis, almost everywhere lately (early February 2022).

Asian Lady Beeetle, Harmonia axyridis, exotic insect and Organic Hemp Cultivation

Though they do little direct harm to cultivation (they do eat aphids) these exotics can cause serious nuisance issues around plants and especially in buildings. They certainly are not my preference for natural IPM across the hemp farm as they compete with native lady beetles.

Asian Lady Beetles on pepper plants at a local Tallahassee Nursery

Mostly, I tend to ignore them because they do not rise to the nuisance level of a 'key pest'. Beware though the Asian lady beetles can bite humans and they do leave a yellowish staining, foul smelling excretion when congregating in and around building windows.

Asian Lady Beetles should be monitored however across the hemp farm for potential damage

All in all, I'd rank them as a low species of concern, one worth notation (I certainly would not want too many of these insects foraging in plant flowers and buds) but not worth immediate worry over, across the hemp farm.

Hemp Pest Control; Begin With Cleanliness

 The basic number one rule of effective pest control for hemp cultivation is cleanliness.  Cleanliness in all stages of hemp growing is essential.

A clean hemp cultivation area requires;

1. Floors free of dirt & planting media, debris, trash or litter

2. Sterile planting media

3. Employee education concerning cleanliness practices

4. Shoe sterilization devices at entryways to greenhouses and production rooms

5. Regular trash receptacle maintenance and disposal practices

6. Proper use of disinfection media such as hydrogen peroxide and bleach

7. Education about pest vectors and implementation of immediate pest removal

8. Clean water program

9. Clean growing container program

10. Ongoing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) education and practice implementation

11. more

Clean growing practices is essential for a successful hemp cultivation program.

A good place to start is with the development of a cleanliness mission statement and written practice policy.  We will cover these more in the next few posts.