Pigs Instead of Pesticides
Posted on April 20, 2008 Comments (9)
Apple Farmers Use Pigs Instead of Pesticides [the broken link was removed]
Now he has a group of pigs who shuffle through the orchards when the apples infected with beetles start to fall. They eat the apples and the eggs that would have spelled disaster for next year’s crop, and clear the ground and eat weeds in the process. The pigs make short work of an apple orchard, eating every last contaminated apple. Once the pigs have solved the beetle problem, Koan plans to sell them as organic pork.
Very nice. I like the idea of reducing the use of chemicals in general and it is especially nice when the solution shows that one person’s problem is a pig’s food.
via: It’s the Only One We Have [the broken link was removed], where the photo is from also
Related: Peak Soil – Bed Bugs, Science and the Media – animal related posts
9 Responses to “Pigs Instead of Pesticides”
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April 22nd, 2008 @ 7:40 pm
Great article! It really good to hear a story about how people are finding nature pest control methods. The Pigs will also provide a good natural fertilizer for the apple trees!
Great Blog.
April 25th, 2008 @ 4:42 am
Monoculture is stupid. Throw rocks at it…
May 26th, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
Wow, pigs sound like a great alternative to pesticide. We have a couple of acres here in Rincon Puerto Rico and I work at least 20 hours a week cutting down the weeds and vines from the property surrounding our house. We don’t want to use pesticides either. We thought about goats, but I think they eat good and bad plants, we have mango trees, but I don’t think they’ll drop enough fruit to feed pigs. I think we are going to go with a few Mini-Donkeys after we fence off about an acre…do you have any thoughts that might help us out?
September 7th, 2008 @ 8:32 pm
Farmers say eating fish helps their animals grow to that wonderfully ample size consumers want. Because of this, we’re accidentally destroying an ecosystem. It’s the story of stories…
May 16th, 2009 @ 11:33 pm
I’m in Michigan and he is thinking along the right path. Natural insecticides and alternative pest control is the way to go. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (Yooperland), we also have a natural freeze that takes place which is natures ultimate insecticide!
May 20th, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
“Problems with the herbicide emerged late last year, when some commercial potato growers reported damaged crops. In response, Dow launched a campaign within the agriculture industry to ensure that farmers were aware of how the products should be used…”
May 20th, 2009 @ 9:39 pm
“Once farmers grasp the concept that their ‘winged’ neighbours can help to solve rodent damage if they stop using poisons, Barn Owls and Kestrels will be able to rise to the occasion and control rodents…”
April 14th, 2011 @ 8:34 am
Video by the Singapore National Park Board, on creating your own pesticide with just water, dish-washing liquid, chili, garlic and cooking oil.
September 1st, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
Those crops are special cases in which the ants are vastly superior. But in many other cases ants are as effective and much cheaper than chemical options…