History
WyeBugs is an independent partnership of professional scientists, based in Kent.
They specialise in providing insect diagnostic and support services to the horticultural and agricultural industry, as well as solving problems associated with insects in the domestic environment.
Their services should be of particular interest to the producers of chemical pesticides and biocontrol agents; their distributors; growers using or planning to use IPM; those interested in trapping and repelling insects, including blood sucking arthropods; and those in the field of compost and manure management.
They have extensive DEFRA and PSD approved experimental facilities available including laboratories; glasshouses; field plots; and controlled environments ranging from incubators to medium scale insectories.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s the Entomology Group at Wye College, University of London distributed biological control agents produced as part of their research projects to professional growers and amateur horticulturalists. These biocontrols were mainly predators and parasites of mealy bugs and soft scale insects, in particular the Australian ladybird Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and the parasitoid wasps Leptomastix dactylopii and Metaphycus helvolus.
In the late 1980s the group had the vision of biocontrol being used as a first choice for pest control by amateur gardeners - but that required a source of reasonably priced biocontrols packaged in quantities small enough for even a single 10' x 8' greenhouse. In 1991 we launched WyeBugs at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, offering a full range of biocontrols by mail order for as little as £3 per pack. We produced the renowned WyeBugs Biological Control Handbook, which demystified the science behind the technique and gave home horticulturalists access to some of the knowledge previously only enjoyed by professionals. Our service to commercial customers was also enhanced, offering despatch direct to their customers under their own brand names.
Once the retail biocontrol market had been proved viable, due in no small part to WyeBugs, other companies joined the scene and offered glossy catalogues and credit card facilities. As we still had our main task of scientific research, we handed over the retail side of WyeBugs to those better able to cope with the burgeoning demand. WyeBugs continued, as it still is today, to be a major producer and distributor of biocontrols for mealy bug, scale insect and other pests, supplying both professional and retail outlets.
It wasn't only biocontrol that occupied the entomology team at Wye during this period, however. They also built excellent links with non-agricultural industries, doing experimental work on insect repellents and attractants. This work encompassed the fields of domestic pests and life-threatening disease carriers such as mosquitoes. The group gained a reputation for producing commercial information rapidly and cost-effectively, but with scientific thoroughness and accuracy uncompromised.
In 2000 Wye College was merged with Imperial College London and became the Wye Campus of that institution. In summer 2002 the entomologists responsible for WyeBugs decided to leave higher education and launch a fully fledged commercial enterprise. WyeBugs is based on the Imperial College campus at Wye, with access to the College's glasshouse and experimental facilities as well as their own.
The development of WyeBugs as a comprehensive entomological research and development service was further enhanced in the summer of 2005 when we were granted certification by the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) as an 'Officially Recognised Testing Facility / Organisation' (ORETO 190). With the expansion of our team we are now able to offer our clients a pesticide efficacy evaluation trials service able to evaluate a wide range of plant protection products.
The Explore
We Visited here 1 rainy day back in December last year, sadly didnt have time to do the main college as had others we wanted to see.
Was decent enough with easy access and parking right next door which is a bonus.
The labs are in a bad way & decaying rather nicely with some ready to fall in on them themselves but sadly going by previous reports a lot has now gone including some of the bugs maybe they came back to life and ran off lol although its more than likely some weirdos stoll them.
Still plenty to see here although not sure if its going to be demolished along with the main college
WyeBugs is an independent partnership of professional scientists, based in Kent.
They specialise in providing insect diagnostic and support services to the horticultural and agricultural industry, as well as solving problems associated with insects in the domestic environment.
Their services should be of particular interest to the producers of chemical pesticides and biocontrol agents; their distributors; growers using or planning to use IPM; those interested in trapping and repelling insects, including blood sucking arthropods; and those in the field of compost and manure management.
They have extensive DEFRA and PSD approved experimental facilities available including laboratories; glasshouses; field plots; and controlled environments ranging from incubators to medium scale insectories.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s the Entomology Group at Wye College, University of London distributed biological control agents produced as part of their research projects to professional growers and amateur horticulturalists. These biocontrols were mainly predators and parasites of mealy bugs and soft scale insects, in particular the Australian ladybird Cryptolaemus montrouzieri and the parasitoid wasps Leptomastix dactylopii and Metaphycus helvolus.
In the late 1980s the group had the vision of biocontrol being used as a first choice for pest control by amateur gardeners - but that required a source of reasonably priced biocontrols packaged in quantities small enough for even a single 10' x 8' greenhouse. In 1991 we launched WyeBugs at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, offering a full range of biocontrols by mail order for as little as £3 per pack. We produced the renowned WyeBugs Biological Control Handbook, which demystified the science behind the technique and gave home horticulturalists access to some of the knowledge previously only enjoyed by professionals. Our service to commercial customers was also enhanced, offering despatch direct to their customers under their own brand names.
Once the retail biocontrol market had been proved viable, due in no small part to WyeBugs, other companies joined the scene and offered glossy catalogues and credit card facilities. As we still had our main task of scientific research, we handed over the retail side of WyeBugs to those better able to cope with the burgeoning demand. WyeBugs continued, as it still is today, to be a major producer and distributor of biocontrols for mealy bug, scale insect and other pests, supplying both professional and retail outlets.
It wasn't only biocontrol that occupied the entomology team at Wye during this period, however. They also built excellent links with non-agricultural industries, doing experimental work on insect repellents and attractants. This work encompassed the fields of domestic pests and life-threatening disease carriers such as mosquitoes. The group gained a reputation for producing commercial information rapidly and cost-effectively, but with scientific thoroughness and accuracy uncompromised.
In 2000 Wye College was merged with Imperial College London and became the Wye Campus of that institution. In summer 2002 the entomologists responsible for WyeBugs decided to leave higher education and launch a fully fledged commercial enterprise. WyeBugs is based on the Imperial College campus at Wye, with access to the College's glasshouse and experimental facilities as well as their own.
The development of WyeBugs as a comprehensive entomological research and development service was further enhanced in the summer of 2005 when we were granted certification by the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) as an 'Officially Recognised Testing Facility / Organisation' (ORETO 190). With the expansion of our team we are now able to offer our clients a pesticide efficacy evaluation trials service able to evaluate a wide range of plant protection products.
The Explore
We Visited here 1 rainy day back in December last year, sadly didnt have time to do the main college as had others we wanted to see.
Was decent enough with easy access and parking right next door which is a bonus.
The labs are in a bad way & decaying rather nicely with some ready to fall in on them themselves but sadly going by previous reports a lot has now gone including some of the bugs maybe they came back to life and ran off lol although its more than likely some weirdos stoll them.
Still plenty to see here although not sure if its going to be demolished along with the main college
