Plants Can 'Bite Back' When Bugs Attack Them ITHACA. A commercial method of enabling plants to "bite back" when attacked by bugs was announced an-nounced by Cornell university. Dr. W. E. Blauvelt of the university's uni-versity's entomology department, said three years of research on an old discovery had enabled him to control a number of important pests on florists' crops without the usual sprays and dusts simply by having the plant themselves supply the poison. Here's how it's done: ' Sodium selenate, a white powder," is mixed with water and certain concentrations applied to the soil where it is taken up by the roots of the plants and accumulates in the sap, foliage and buds. "The bug bites the plant and the plant bites back," Dr. Blauvelt explained. ex-plained. "In the process of getting its food the insect also gets the poison, and the result is automatic; continuous pest control, with the plant doing the work."