stored grain
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ATTRA is the national sustainable agriculture information service operated by the National Center forAppropriate Technology under a grant from the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, U.S. Department
of Agriculture. These organizations do not recommend or endorse products, companies, or individuals.NCAT has offices in Fayetteville, Arkansas (P.O. Box 3657, Fayetteville, AR 72702), Butte, Montana,
and Davis, California.
INTRODUCTION
By Preston Sullivan
NCAT Agriculture Specialist
July 2002
S TORED GRAIN P EST
M ANAGEMENT
Effective control of stored -grain pests w ith minim al pes-
ticide u se requires an IPM app roach combining sanitation,
mon itoring, and other p reventive practices. Sanitation in-
volves cleaning bins, elevators, and other conveyers before
new grain is put in storage—the goal being to eliminate
insect eggs, pupae, and dormant adults that will eat and
grow in the stored gra in. Traps are excellent for mon itor-ing pest levels. Many trap s contain pherom one (sex scent)
lures. At least one comp any su pp lies insect traps for mon i-
toring insects in stored grain (1).
Proper id entification of pests is essential for effective con-
trol. For assistance with insect iden tification , contact the
Cooperative Extension Service or visit the w ebsites listed a t
reference 2.
“Stored Grain Advisor,” a comp uter p rogram for stored-
wh eat managem ent, is a decision-supp ort software program
used to identify pests, pred ict infestations, and recommend
preven tive or remedial action. The program can be dow n-
loaded from the website of its developer, the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center inManhattan, KS (3).
Amon g the n on-toxic treatments th at can be used on stored grain is diatomaceous earth (DE), a
silica prod uct comp osed of the fossilized cell walls of ancient sea algae. This material is mined ,
groun d into a flour, and u sed as an insecticide against a variety of pests. The sharp ed ges of DE cut
the pest’s cuticle covering, resulting in death by dehyd ration. One stored -grain DE produ ct, Insecto™,
is used to top off a grain bin filled w ith fresh grain. The supp liers recomm end cleaning out th e bin
prior to filling it with new grain, then also du sting some Insecto throu gh the fan system. The top
dressing of Insecto™ prevents new infestations from en tering the grain. Insecto™ is a formu lation
of DE plus a feed ingred ient to attract the insects to their death. I have enclosed information on the
use of Insecto™ for controlling stored-grain pests.
Three more m ethods for controlling stored-prod uct pests are cooling, heating, and using carbon
dioxide a s a fumigant. Because m any of the p ests originated in the trop ics, they are susceptible to
cold temp eratu res. Most require temp eratures above 60°F to reach dam aging popu lation levels;
CURRENT TOPIC
NON-TOXIC TREATMENTS
Drawing courtesy of Cooperative Ext ension Service
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BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
some need temperatu res above 70°F. Therefore, storing grain in a cool place will slow pest develop-
ment. Very cold tem peratu res can be u sed to kill pests; storage at 0°F for 4 days w ill destroy some
species. Heating is also effective; exposure for 30 minutes at 130°F will kill many sp ecies. Two of
the enclosures (Fields, 1999; Gannon, 2000) provide more details on using temperature for pest
control.
Carbon d ioxide can be u sed to fum igate over a period of two to five days; it kills the insects by
dehyd ration by causing their breathing app aratus to stay open. See the two enclosed articles “Throw-
ing Out th e Garbage” and “Of Bugs an d Borders.” The use of carbon d ioxide to kill stored-grain
pests can be more effective and more economical than other fumigants.
Research is un derw ay on the u se of botanical prod ucts. To date, cham omile, dill, elder, and
wormwood have all shown promise (4).
Oklahoma State University (5) has published the Proceedings of the 4th National Stored Grain
Integrated Pest Management Workshop (circular E-946). It can be ord ered d irectly throu gh the ento-
mology dep artm ent for $6.00. Finally, most state and coun ty Extension offices offer pu blications on
stored-grain pest m anagement.
Biological control using na tural enemies is anoth er option. The enclosed ar ticles, “Bring on the
Bugs” and “Replacing Fumigants with Beneficial Insects,” detail the use of beneficials for control-
ling pests of stored p rod ucts. You might wish to contact Biofac Crop Care, Inc. (6) f or specifics on
using beneficials for stored-grain p est control. Biofac sells several species of beneficial insects that
attack the major pest insects in stored grain, including granary weevil, rice weevil, maize weevil,
rusty grain beetle, lesser grain borer, confused flour beetle, sawtooth grain beetle, Angoum ois grain
moth, and Indian meal moth. More information on these pests and the beneficials that control
them can be seen at the Biofac website and in the enclosure from their w ebsite.
The bacterial pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) can be used during grain storage to kill moth
caterpillars that hatch after the grain is stored. B.t. is effective only against the larval stage of
insects in the moth family, such as grain moths and Ind ian meal moths. Eggs, pup ae, and adu ltsare not affected. The produ ct must be ingested by the caterpillar in order to work. B.t. kills cater-
pillars by dam aging their d igestive tract over a period of two or m ore days. There are several
product formulations of B.t., including Dipel™ and Javelin™.
In sum mary, there are several viable alternatives to pesticides for m anaging stored -grain p ests.
These include beneficial insects, temperature extremes, carbon dioxide fumigation, and diatoma-
ceous earth. These intervention methods, coup led with sanitation and mon itoring, can compr ise a
successful stored -grain IPM program.
From left to right: Confused Flour Beetle, Angoumois Grain Moth, Granary Weevil, Lesser Grain Borer.Photo courtesy of A gri-Marketing Services
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Anon. 2000. Throwing out the garbage. Fumigants and Pheromones. Spring. p. 1.
Fields, Pau l G. 1999. The control of stored -prod uct insects and m ites with extrem e tempera-
tu res. Fum igants and Pheromones. Fall. p. 8–9.
Gann on, Bobbie. 2000. Heat treatm ent checklist. Fumigants and Pherom ones. Spring. p. 2.
Kinzel, Bru ce. 1991. Replacing fumigants with beneficial insects. Agricultu ral Research. Feb-
ruary. p. 14-16.
Anon . No da te. An Insecticide for Control of Grain Insects. 4 p. Accessed Jun e 2002.
<http:/ / ww w.insecto.com>.
Olkowski, William. 1989. Update: New d evelopm ents in non -toxic pest control for stored food
products. The IPM Practitioner. February p. 1-9.
Pow ell, David . 1992. Of bugs and bord ers. Synergy. Winter. p. 27-30.
Shirley, Chr istopher . 1991. Bring on the bugs. The New Farm . July–August. p. 10-13, 16, 17.
ENCLOSURES
The electronic version of Stored Grain Pest Management is
located at:HTMLhttp://www.attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/storedgrain.html
PDFhttp://www.attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/storedgrain.pdf
By Preston Sullivan
NCAT Agriculture Specialist
Edited by Richard Earles
Formatted by Ashley Hill
CT 174