Backie, a pesticide-free snail trap, allows for sustainable snail control in horticulture. The trap is developed by Studio Catch Horticulture Solutions, and its market launch will take place next year. The trapt represents the next step in sustainable pest control.
The trap was originally designed to combat the Spanish Slug in the Cut-Cymbidium cultivation. Here, the slug annually causes up to €5 of damage per square meter, as proper protection was not available. Effective pest control has become significantly more difficult due to legislation on previously used pesticides. Other options such as biological enemies and catching slugs manually are not adequately preventing plant damage.
Joost van Santen, Jaco de Vries ( Houweling), Benjamin Aartsen, Sarit Wienke, Laura Drost (Studio Catch)
Backie was developed in response to this problem. This trap uses wheat bran as bait to catch slugs sustainably without additives. Its shape is optimally designed to promote a large attraction radius and to hold many slugs. Tests showed that the trap is not only effective in the Cut-Cymbidium greenhouse but that it's also applicable to other cultivations, such as Alstroemeria and Gerbera.
The trap is designed by Studio Catch Horticulture Solutions. They started in 2022 from a collaboration between design students from TU Delft and cymbidium growers. After creating Backie, the need for sustainable pest control and adaptation in the horticulture sector became even clearer. As a result, the designers eventually founded Studio Catch HS, a design firm that aims to prepare the horticulture sector for the future in collaboration with growers. "We see that horticulture has many opportunities to embrace innovation; we eagerly accept this challenge !" says Benjamin Aartsen, CEO of Studio Catch HS.
Collaboration
Aside from the collaboration with the growers, Studio Catch receives a lot of support from Houweling Horticulture. The collaboration between Studio Catch HS, Houweling Horticulture, and the growers created Backie's success.
Houweling HortiCulture is responsible for the production and sales of the Backie snail trap. "Through this collaboration, we can jointly make horticulture a bit more sustainable," says Joost van Santen, account manager at Houweling Group. "That's a great feeling."
For more information:
Houweling Horticulture
Joost van Santen
Tel.: +31 88 1210 590
joost.vansanten@houweling.nl
www.houweling.com