Associates Insectary

Associates Insectary is a grower-owned cooperative dedicated to providing complete pest control services to commercial citrus and avocado farmers throughout much of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Associates Insectary has been located at its current site in Santa Paula, California since 1928. The company raise a variety of beneficial organisms... to help the company's grower-members fight destructive pests, which threaten citrus and avocado crops. The production of beneficials at Associates Insectary is a continuous process, producing up to two million insects and mites each and every day. These beneficials are liberated regularly on over 10,000 acres of orchards owned by the company's grower-members. The company's Insectary was originally established to raise a ladybird Beetle: Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, which feeds voraciously on citrus mealybugs. In addition to raising Cryptolaemus beetles, the company also raise the Rumina decollata, a predacious snail that feeds on its own cousin, the brown garden snail. To help avocado growers control the Persea mite, Neoseiulus californicus predatory mites are reared at Associates Insectary. The company also help farmers tackle California Red scales with the beneficial wasp, Aphytis melinus. Biological control alone may not provide 100% economical control of certain pests at all times and certain destructive pests have no effective natural enemies. To maintain high quality crops in these cases, the company's grower-members use the company's beneficials as part of an Integrated Pest Management program. This program greatly reduces the need for highly toxic pesticides to control pests. When Associates Insectary must resort to the controlled spraying of pesticides, only materials approved by the Environmental Protection Agency are used. The company's staff of California licensed Pest Control Advisors recommend treatments using oils, insect baits and other selective materials which target pests and minimize the disruption of natural predators. Associates Insectary is ...Read More