Could weak plants be used as bait to help control insect pests in a greenhouse? I came up with this idea upon discovering the latest spider mite infestation amongst a batch of seedlings. Of the nine plants in the batch the two that were infested were the smallest and weakest of the entire batch. With the hypothesis that pests are more likely to attack weak and susceptible plants, could we not raise such plants for the sole purpose of attracting pests? Bait plants, raised to be weak and stressed, can then be stategically placed in the greenhouse and replaced on a schedule. This would obviously not work too well for winged insects but should work, in theory, for less mobile ones like spider mites. Has this form of pest control been the subject of research? If so, what were the results and where can they be found?
