As consumer demand for safer and greener products in pest control continues to rise, more and more businesses are hoping to get certified under the USDA BioPreferred® Program. These biobased products can either be industrial or commercial goods made in large part with biological materials from agriculture, forestry, intermediate, or feedstocks. For these products to then be certified, they must reach or exceed the minimum biobased content percentage for their product category.
Animal repellents are products made to keep away animals that could be harmful for people, plants, and property. These products are generally designed to exploit what animals would instinctively and naturally avoid in the environment. For instance, the scent of a predator’s urine could evoke fear to its prey, repelling them from a particular area.
This common household supply is included in the USDA BioPreferred Program product categories with a minimum biobased content requirement of 79%. The BioPreferred Catalog currently has 130 animal repellent products listed including insecticides. The catalog also includes fungicides and products for weed control.
Insects can cause damage in households, spoiling food and transmitting various deadly viruses. In farmlands and gardens, they feast on crop and fruit endangering the agriculture, leading to loss of potential revenue. These repellents combat different insects including bed bugs, termites, mosquitos, lice, roaches, flies, and other kinds of infestation.
The BioPreferred Catalog includes biobased insecticides. According to manufacturers, all ingredients are completely biodegradable and safe for use in the presence of humans without exposing them to any form of health risks. The environment is also spared from pollution and contamination that traditionally come with toxin-reliant insecticides.
Weeds compete with other plants, often crops for the same light, space, nutrients, and water provided to them. For this reason, it is very important to control the aggressive reproduction of weeds.
Typical herbicides are often sprayed in a large targeted area of agriculture. This means that the dangerous toxins and chemicals meant only for weeds also affect crops. Biobased weed control products get rid of all the harmful ingredients that find its way into crops.
One of the primary causes of plant disease and death is fungi. Similar to animals and insects, these parasitic organisms attack its hosts which is often agriculture. People use fungicides in the form of toxic liquid chemical sprays to rid their farms and bigger animals from these organisms.
There are now ready-to-use non-toxic fungicides in the market that promote sustainability and proper disease control in plants. These same biobased products ensure leaves and lawns are not burned after use.
There have been numerous innovations for pest control products such that they do not come in any prescribed shape or form. Some of the leading manufacturers in pest control produce easy-to-use household liquid sprays while others have more novel ideas that achieve the same result.
The USDA BioPreferred Program is hugely beneficial for the pest control industry. Businesses and manufacturers are now leaning more and more to creating products that have less chemicals which have been proven to be as harmful to humans and the environment as it is to the targeted pests.
It is still important for consumers to note that the USDA Certified Biobased Product label is not an immediate guarantee of safety. What can be ensured is that the makers of these biobased products have modified the production process to use more renewable resources while decreasing petroleum consumption. This then reduces its carbon footprint, significantly helping the environment and people’s overall health.
Beta Analytic is not affiliated with the USDA BioPreferred Program. The ISO 17025-accredited lab welcomes inquiries on ASTM D6866 biobased content testing as part of the Program. Please contact the lab for turnaround time and price inquiries.
This entry was posted on Monday, January 22nd, 2018 and is filed under Biobased Products, USDA Biopreferred Program .
