{"id":80145,"date":"2025-09-29T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=80145"},"modified":"2025-10-02T17:57:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T21:57:46","slug":"an-innovator-in-pest-control-has-her-sights-on-invasive-species","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/an-innovator-in-pest-control-has-her-sights-on-invasive-species\/","title":{"rendered":"An Innovator in Pest Control Has Her Sights on Invasive Species"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pam Marrone of Invasive Species Corp. was recently inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. (Credit: Courtesy of Pam Marrone)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After 35 years of working in organic pest control<\/a>, serial entrepreneur Pam Marrone<\/a> is on a new mission to eradicate invasive species using alternatives to terrible chemicals. In particular, she’s on a quest for what she calls “the holy grail” \u2013 an eco-friendly herbicide that will zap out non-native weeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We have the team that can really execute it,” says Marrone, whose 2-year-old startup, Invasive Species Corp.<\/a>, known as ISC, is already helping<\/a> the state of California find a sustainable way to deal with golden mussels, which clog waterways and damage water treatment facilities. “There’s nobody doing exactly what we’re doing with invasive species.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it’s the product that specifically knocks out invasive weeds without damaging the environment that has the potential to be a blockbuster, Marrone says, especially as weeds have evolved to tolerate even harsh chemicals. In the U.S. alone, invasive weeds are responsible for over $30 billion<\/a> in damages each year and cover 100 million acres<\/a>, about the size of California. More startups are now in a hot race to develop bioherbicides \u2013 derived from natural materials, such as bacteria or fungi \u2013 but not many have made it to market, as the process is expensive and time-consuming. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Related<\/h4>\n <\/div>\n \n
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\n \n An Insect Lover Builds an $18 Million Natural Pest Control Company\n <\/a>\n <\/h3>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

And that’s where Marrone believes her new Davis, California-based company has an advantage. It has raised $3.25 million and identified several bio-based herbicide candidates that will be field-tested in the next year. That research will be funded in part by two products that ISC has already developed, Zequanox (which targets invasive mussels) and Piscamycin (which controls invasive fish). Plus, there’s Marrone herself, who was recently named to Forbes’ \u201c50 Over 50: Innovation<\/a>\u201d list and inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame<\/a> (she holds more than 400 patents). “We can do it faster than anybody,” she says. “Nobody is taking the approach that we’re taking.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solving Big Problems <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When talking to Marrone, it’s hard not to get excited about agricultural\/aquatic pest control \u2013 a topic this reporter, a longtime New York City dweller and former English major \u2013 doesn’t think about all that much. But Marrone, an entomologist by training who frequently wears insect-themed jewelry<\/a> (today she’s wearing a butterfly necklace and earrings) can speedily and enthusiastically talk about invasive species and ways to control them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Asian citrus psyllid<\/a> came in from China and spread citrus greening disease<\/a>. Spotted winged drosophila<\/a> invaded fresh berries,” she says, without skipping a beat. Weeds are considered a “pest” in agriculture as they compete with crops for water, nutrients and sunlights, leading to diminished yields. “The worst weed, Palmer pigweed<\/a>, is \u2026.resistant to all the chemical herbicides,” she says. “That’s why everybody’s trying to control it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before ISC, Marrone had started her own organic pest-control company, Marrone Bio Innovations Inc., which she successfully took public in 2013. By 2020, the company’s stock price had dipped, and Marrone and another executive, Jim Boyd, left. They co-founded ISC after a three-year non-compete agreement expired. (Marrone Bio has since been acquired<\/a> by Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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