Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) promotes healthy, pest-free crops with scientific and experience-based techniques through our best-practices approach of integrated systems to prevent and treat pests.
urban-gro provides a variety of products and solutions to promote a pest-free Cannabis crop. Through the prevention, exclusion, treatment and monitoring of pests, IPM takes a low-toxicity approach to preserve the marketability of your crop.

More importantly, these low-toxic solutions are now required by law, while use of many common (but illegal) chemicals is no longer permitted. As the laws continue to change as to what are acceptable solutions, our IPM services can keep you both compliant and pest-free.

PESTICIDES

Developed from an analysis of your current pest control tactics and outcomes, our comprehensive pest management package is a holistic, individualized pest prevention spray and drench program. Once a plan is developed, we train your employees in our exclusive prevention methods (including exclusion and routine scouting) to help you avoid future pest outbreaks.
We provide you with the required documentation you need to avoid an independent health and sanitary audit, helping you stay compliant and prevent government seizure or shut down.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROLS

Biological controls (aka, biocontrols) are living organisms used as a method of controlling pests. The types of pests that biocontrols can treat include insects, mites, and plant diseases. Biocontrols rely on a human management role for predation, parasitism, competition, or other natural mechanisms.

At urban-gro, we believe that biocontrols can be an important component of integrated pest management (IPM) programs. To be most effective at controlling a pest, a biocontrol agent requires a colonizing ability, which allows it to keep pace with the pest.

Inundative release involves the repeated release of a biocontrol. This tactic is appropriate for high income crops like Cannabis, and works best for controlling pests in an enclosed space.

When should you consider a biocontrol program for your Cannabis crop? Biocontrols are most effective when they are introduced prior to the appearance of major pest infestations. Most biocontrols reproduce faster than pests, and soon overtake the pest infestation. But if pests have a head start, crop damage can occur before the biocontrols catch up. When pest populations are high, we knock them back with the use of organic pesticides, and then introduce high levels of biocontrols to prevent their return.

Contact urban-gro to discuss a biocontrol program for your Cannabis cultivation facility.

LARGE-SCALE PESTICIDE APPLICATORS

Many Cannabis cultivators have grown from small operations over the years. As they have grown, they have kept application processes that are out-of-date and inefficient for larger-scale operations.

For example, some cultivators may be using a home paint sprayer or series of backpack sprayers to apply pesticides. What they don’t realize is that they are wasting time and product, while not achieving complete coverage.

At urban-gro, we advise our Cannabis cultivator customers to use the right tool for the job. Our commercial pesticide applicators are made in America and built by farmers. They are a must-have for commercial Cannabis facilities utilizing high pressures and special spray nozzles that help get under the leaves where pests like to hide.

urban-gro is an exclusive distributor of the heaviest duty sprayers on the market. We have demo models at our Lafayette, Colorado facility. Schedule an appointment, and we’ll show you how our sprayers can save you time and money.

AIR SANITIZERS

Many states require commercial cannabis to undergo microbial testing for live mold and mildew spores. Your financial success is dependent on having “clean” results.

Producing cannabis crops free of live fungus and mold spores can be a challenge. In addition to the highly-prevalent powdery mildew, there are hundreds of natural fungus spores in the air that we are breathing – and which land on our plants – all the time.

Air sanitizers are one of the most effective methods of reducing the spread of fungus spores. Our air sanitizers are installed in your HVAC system and produce gaseous hydrogen peroxide-like molecules. The molecules are distributed throughout the production facility, and sterilize fungus spores with which they come in contact – both in the air and on the plant. We have seen a drop in the microbial testing failure rate by 80% and more at facilities using our air sanitizers in their flowering rooms.

While air sanitizers are a significant investment in your Cannabis crop, at urban-gro, we have evaluated and chosen the most economical and efficient air sanitizers on the market.

Air sanitizers are another tool in your tool box – but not a silver bullet. Air sanitizers do not kill the powdery mildew in the plant, they simply prevent it from spreading. To kill powdery mildew inside the plant, urban-gro sells Procidic, an organic-approved systemic fungicide.