Large scale pesticide/insecticide?

[ShowroomShine]

I have about 20 acres of grass pasture around my new house I’m building in Virginia. It is just eat up with little flying gnat/fly type bugs. In the summer it’s almost unbearable to stand outside on the farm.

Any large scale insecticide I can apply with a sprayer that would help knock that bug population down some?

 

[workinonit]

A pyrethrin product would be good but even Malathion would probably help. I spray my entire place every year for fire ants and that pretty much takes care of most of the ground insects. Gnats and mosquitos are our nuisance. Lime in the ditches helps with the mosquitos. Not much you can do for these sand gnats.

 

[oosik]

I have cliff swallows and bats. I have 400 to 500 cliff swallows that build mud nests on the vertical cliffs around my lake. I probably have 15 to 20 bats that nest somewhere. They pick up the load from the swallows when the sun goes down.

It's been years since I got a mosquito bite when outside. Those few that sneak into the house may find me when I snooze in my recliner.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Something like this that can be put in the back of a UTV should work well.

https://www.forestrydistributing.com/mag-ulv-fogger-sprayer-london-fog

There are also some backpack foggers in the $350 price range, but it would be hard to walk 20 acres with a backpack.

 

[gsganzer]

I have about 20 acres of grass pasture around my new house I’m building in Virginia. It is just eat up with little flying gnat/fly type bugs. In the summer it’s almost unbearable to stand outside on the farm.

Any large scale insecticide I can apply with a sprayer that would help knock that bug population down some?

Before applying your insecticide on that scale, you might want to check around to see if you have any bee keeping folks nearby. Some insecticides are devastating to bee's. Product selection, application and timing could be coordinated.

Generally, granular pesticide application during non-foraging times (very early morning or very late in day) are preferred to safeguard honey bee's.

 

[ponytug]

When we quit spraying, the bird population went up and the mosquitos went away.

We have swifts and barn swallows in the barn, and bats in many crevices around the buildings. Out in the pastures, we have blue birds and other insect eating birds. Don't overlook having bat boxes. A few bats really cuts into mosquito populations. Purple martins are great for mosquitos and midges if you have a pond.

I would have a chat with your county agent to see what they might recommend. Having birds and bats is a lot cheaper than spraying.

I would suggest building or buying nest boxes and poles as starters. Then perhaps planting some shrub areas for nesting sites.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Wolverinefarm22]

I use Ike’s total pest control it’s 7.9% bifenthrin and works like a charm. And a gallon covers over 10 acres

 

[nyone]

Simply mowing will keep the bugs down.

 

[geteh]

When we quit spraying, the bird population went up and the mosquitos went away.

We have swifts and barn swallows in the barn, and bats in many crevices around the buildings. Out in the pastures, we have blue birds and other insect eating birds. Don't overlook having bat boxes. A few bats really cuts into mosquito populations. Purple martins are great for mosquitos and midges if you have a pond.

I would have a chat with your county agent to see what they might recommend. Having birds and bats is a lot cheaper than spraying.

I would suggest building or buying nest boxes and poles as starters. Then perhaps planting some shrub areas for nesting sites explore.

All the best,

Peter

How did you do it? Is it an instant cold turkey approach and hope for the best? Those of you who tell us you haven’t used insecticide for years, when you took on new land, did you treat it any different? It’s a constant battle of wills with the agronomist here, he understands my strong desire to stop using them but it comes up every week about putting an insecticide on wheats. Last year the OSR and beans were insecticide free and they’ll be the same this year. Barley variety this year is BYDV resistant/tolerant and most of the wheat was drilled mid Oct onwards so I’m happy with all that but there is some early Oct drilled wheat that is apparently a concern. It’s worth too much to accept crop failure so what would you do?

 

[ponytug]

How did you do it? Is it an instant cold turkey approach and hope for the best? Those of you who tell us you haven’t used insecticide for years, when you took on new land, did you treat it any different? It’s a constant battle of wills with the agronomist here, he understands my strong desire to stop using them but it comes up every week about putting an insecticide on wheats. Last year the OSR and beans were insecticide free and they’ll be the same this year. Barley variety this year is BYDV resistant/tolerant and most of the wheat was drilled mid Oct onwards so I’m happy with all that but there is some early Oct drilled wheat that is apparently a concern. It’s worth too much to accept crop failure so what would you do?

We were not huge users to begin with, just pyrethrin based insecticides around the barn for the most part to control flies, along with some fly attractant traps. We just stopped, cold turkey, partly due to personal human health concerns about piperonyl butoxide (a potentiator mixed into many insecticides), and changes in our animal care. It did seem that no matter what we did, it was not making much of an impact with the sprays and traps.

There were some more flies the first year and better the second, and much better the third year. However, the climate here is quite variable rainfall in particular, so, it is a little hard to be definitive about the shifts on any given year, as wetter years have more insects for longer. We no longer have more than an occasional fly near the house, and very rarely even a yellow jacket. We have at least two pairs of house finches on the house, with more on the various outbuildings, plus the barn swallows and swifts. In former times, I was emptying a yellow jacket trap or two a week at the house; I haven't emptied one yet, as they are both still empty. So, generally, just fewer insects. We do have many many more birds. This year, as the second year in a row with wet winters, has at least five pairs of bluebirds around the barn and along the driveway. We will see how it is next year...

All the best,

Peter