# Biosecurity Basics: A Bit Beyond Sanitation

- Link: https://rd2.co.nz/biosecurity-basics-a-bit-beyond-sanitation/
- Published: 2023-03-21T21:37:23+00:00
- Author: RSF Admin

Written by Donald Lester

A lot has been said about how important it is to sanitize a grow room to keep problems
at bay.

Here are five ways to implement a mindset of biosecurity to make your next grow 
even more secure from disaster.

When we speak of biosecurity, we generally think about protecting our society against
biological attack from other countries, or even terrorists. But in the context of
growing, biosecurity is the exclusion (not sanitation) of disease-causing organisms
that can destroy an operation. Biosecurity is a larger issue than a normal sanitation
program. Biosecurity looks at controlling sources of disease from outside of a facility
rather than simply cleaning up equipment and work surfaces. As the old saying goes,
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Sanitation works within a facility.
Biosecurity is an extra ring of protection outside of the facility.

Indoor growing systems are touted as being more immune from disease, especially 
soulless systems because growers have effectively cut out the possibility of infection
by a large number of soil-borne diseases by removing the soil. However, once a room
is sterilized and operating, disease-causing organisms can gain entry via avenues
a grower probably did not anticipate.

Organisms can hitchhike into a facility in many ways. Bacteria travel and live primarily
in water. This makes bacteria especially troublesome in hydroponic and aquaponic
environments. Whatever you can do to keep bacteria from entering your water system
will save you from tremendous headaches and loss. Fungi spores can be moved in many
ways as well—carried by people or animals, moved into a facility in soil or by bringing
in infected plant material. For example, let’s say a delivery truck has been driving
around in an infected field before it comes to a facility to drop off supplies. 
The supplies might be perfectly fine.

But what about the pathogen-infested mud that falls off of the truck and is tracked
into a facility by workers? Have a plan to make the trucks deliver products away
from the main entry point.

There are many things you can do to make your operation more insulated from disease
causing organisms. Here are five key areas:

## Number One

Do not allow tours of the facility. It is easy to have a soft spot for school children
who want a field trip, or curious relatives that want a guided tour. Don’t do it.
Put in windows that visitors can look through. Tire shops and other industries use
viewing windows in their operations because of insurance and liability concerns 
so customers are used to this type of restriction on tours. Visitors often want 
to touch everything and this is how diseases are transferred.

In aquaponic operations, fish will often get spooked by visitors and some will even
jump out of the tank onto the floor. Banging on the tanks, flash photography and
even splashing the water can cause fish to panic. Fish, like any other animal grown
for meat, will lose weight if spooked or stressed too much. And it is not rare to
see fish jump out of the tank when they are spooked. It is natural for people to
want to pick up a fish and put it back into the tank. If they did this at another
facility before coming to yours, you can be asking for trouble.

Never give tours to other people in the business. Their standards of cleanliness
might not match your own. Another example is the visitor who smokes and rolls his
own tobacco. He can inadvertently transmit tobacco mosaic virus to your tomatoes.
Tobacco mosaic virus is easily spread by direct contact with tobacco products on
the hands, clothing and tools of those who have handled tobacco products. All of
these problems can be avoided by using visitor windows for viewing the facility.

## Number Two

Have workers frequently wash their hands and dip their shoes in sterilizing solution
before entering the facility. Have everyone working in the facility change clothes
before each work day so as not to spread disease that might have hitched a ride 
on clothes. Because densities of plants and fish are so much higher in indoor operations,
this makes the spread of disease faster and potentially more catastrophic.

## Number Three

Control the weeds and vegetation around the facility. Oftentimes diseases, insects
and even rodents live on weeds and secondary hosts and then move into the facility
when their food sources start to diminish or the weather turns cold.

## Number Four

Have a secure source of water. Know the chemical analysis of the water and its bacteria
counts. Have a way to treat the water to purify it and sanitize it. Don’t use the
results from just one analysis because things might change over time. Consistently
monitor the water in order to catch and flag items that need attention before they
become a problem.

## Number Five

Always source your plants, fish and other growing materials from reputable growers
who practice biosecurity measures in an effective manner. And never get free materials
from a friend—no matter how well intentioned—if they do not practice effective biosecurity.

## A Final Thought

You have done a good job sanitizing everything in your facility and keeping problems
at bay.

Now, make your operation even more secure from disaster by implementing a mindset
of biosecurity. The Secret Service places several rings of security around the president.

Shouldn’t you be doing the same for your operation?

To view the original paper click [here](https://rd2.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Biosecurity-Basics.pdf).