Guardian Harvest employs certified Pest Control Applicators, licensed by the State of California, to oversee crop protection programs. Using the latest Integrated Pest Management techniques, we first employ all methods possible to deter pests.

• Clean orchards.  The absence of weeds means one less place for pests to hide.  Old, dried fruit from the previous season is removed to prohibit a breeding ground for decay spores.  Proper pruning  to remove branches or vines that may be infected with insects or disease.
• Mating disruption. The larvae of moths are what cause most damage to crops, so the goal is to keep moths from breeding. Through the use of pheromone mating disruption – female pheromone is constantly disbursed throughout the orchard during the mating cycle. The male moths are confused, unable to find a female, and most die naturally without successfully mating.

In the past, it was common practice for farmers to apply broad spectrum pesticides designed to kill any and all bugs, based on little more than the time of year and regardless of whether pests were even present.  Not only is this approach detrimental to the environment and the health of the orchard, it’s very expensive. Guardian Harvest uses a variety of methods to track and monitor pest activity.    When pest control is needed, we now have a vast arsenal of bio-rational, reduced-risk materials at our disposal.  A thorough analysis of the pest and related conditions determine what material will be utilized, if any.  The pest control solution will always start with the lowest-impact materials and move up until the right balance of impact and efficacy is achieved.  

• Natural predators such as parasitic wasps, lacewings and lady beetles are used for control of many common pests.
• Oil sprays without additional chemicals have also proved highly effective.
• Chemical applications are only used when absolutely necessary and are applied at the lowest rate needed for control of the pest