Pest control is an essential part of agriculture. Indeed, pests can reduce food security, having a severe impact on yields. While pesticides are commonly used to treat various types of pests, these substances have also been shown to be quite harmful to plants, in some cases even killing them. An abuse (overuse) of pesticides can even pollute water supplies while having a negative impact on the overall health of the farmers.

For the above reasons, some farmers opt for alternative pest control methods such as crop rotation. This involves occasionally alternating between different crop species in order to stop the pests from getting used to the same types of plants. This method also has the advantage of encouraging soil fertility through nitrogen diffused from the roots.

Alternatively, some planters also choose to go for polyculture instead of pesticides. This entails growing different types of crops in the same space, which has been known to increase local biodiversity while reducing the crop’s susceptibility to different types of pests and diseases. On the flip side, polyculture does require more manpower and maintenance.

Other viable pest control options include setting sticky traps up, or planting banker plants, which, in addition to polyculture, is a form of companion planting.