Curative Control

Plants in pest control

1. Neem
2. Mammey

Pathogens in pest control

Bacillus thuringiensis

Spray plants thoroughly with BT when larvae are less than 5 mm long. The larvae are not killed instantly. The pests have to ingest BT first. It takes about 2-3 days for the pests to die.

In the hot tropics, it is more effective to spray BT in the late afternoon as there are longer and cooler hours ahead. BT remains longer on the leaves' surfaces and survives better in cooler temperature. Spraying in the morning provides a shorter and hotter environment.

Do not spray BT on wet days.

Keep BT formulations in cool storage places.

Some BT products available in the markets are Bactur, DiPel, Forté, Delfin, Novosol Biological Insecticide, Biobit, and Thuricide (Endersby; Ridland, 1997:1999). Regardless of what your choice is, read the label and follow instructions carefully before using. Or for ask assistance from your local agriculturist when using BT for the first time.

Physical control

1. Cut off webbed leaves and kill the caterpillars inside.
2. Screen seedling beds when seedlings are about 15 cm high. See to it that the seedlings are growing vigorously (Martin Kessing; Mau, 1992).