Monitoring garden symphylan (Scutigerella immaculata) by essential oil-based pesticides in vegetables

Garden symphylans or garden centipedes, Scutigerella immaculata, are occasional pests that feed on young roots of all plants and decaying organic matters.  Their feeding on crops can stunt and kill the plants that cause no yield in patchy areas of fields.  The reasons of “why and when” that causes outbreak of the pest in different sites of fields are still not fully understood.  The only strategy for managing the pest is conducting preventive tactics with pesticides in suppressing their activities to maintain the potential yield of crops.  Studies were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of essential oil-based, EPA exempt pesticides for the management of symphylans on perennial artichokes, tomatoes, and leafy vegetables.  The results of the studies demonstrated that soil applications of those essential oil-based pesticides at 2-3 week intervals could reserve more than 82% the potential yield of artichokes or no symphylan outbreaks in vegetables.  The strategies for managing symphylans and other soil insect pests by the oil-based pesticides will be discussed.