Termite Inspection Orange County Termite Terry Pest Control

Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, South Orange County, Long Beach Area

Legalized Pot Creates Demand For Pest Control

Pot smokers finally got what they wanted and Cannabis production is now legal in Colorado and WashingtonStates.

In the past, Cannabis growers faced criminal charges for growing the mind-altering crop and they weren’t all that concerned with pesticide regulations. The growers would simply spray a crop with any type of pesticide they wanted to and when a person lit up, he or she may have been inhaling a lot more than just “THC,” the psychoactive ingredient.

Now that Cannabis is legal for recreational use, states are planning to start testing the finished product for pesticides. This will force the growers to seek out expert advice on pest management.

Cannabis growers face a number of unique challenges when it comes to pest control. Some of them are:

 

  • There are currently no pesticides registered for use on Cannabis.
  • Federal regulations prohibit registration of pesticides for use on Cannabis.
  • State universities are not allowed to conduct research or extension activities on it.
  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture is not permitted to do research on Cannabis.
  • The IR-4 Specialty Crops Project cannot conduct studies on it.
  • Cannabis cannot be certified as organic.
  • New state requirements require that growers must use pesticides according to label instructions.

 

There are no known legal means of controlling insect pests of Cannabis and farmers are literally in the dark as to how they will develop a viable pest management plan.

In WashingtonState, the legal Cannabis crop is expected to quickly surpass $1 billion. The Washington State Liquor Control Board estimates that production could surpass $2 billion within 5 years. That would make it the most valuable crop in the Pacific Northwest. When you consider how many pounds of pot can be produced on an acre, it is easily the highest value crop produced on a per acre basis. Some growers are estimating a gross of over $100,000 per acre. Indoor cultivation estimates are as much as $6 million per acre, due to the fact that it will allow the harvest of six crops per year.

Mites, thrips and aphids are major pests of Cannabis and can easily render a crop unmarketable. The Washington State Department of Agriculture has developed a list of 216 products that it believes can legally be used on Cannabis. The efficacy of many of these products for insect control on Cannabis is unknown.

Anyone sitting on $6 million an acre is going to want to protect their investment. Can you imagine all of the millions of dollars that will be poured into private research and paid for pest control services to solve this problem?