Pests are not only a nuisance but can also damage your home and health. Rodents like rats and mice can chew electrical wires and spread diseases such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, leptospirosis, and salmonella.
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Pest control is a proactive approach to protecting people, plants, and property from damage caused by insects, rodents, and other unwanted organisms in the environment. This approach is generally less expensive and less stressful than the reactive treatments necessary to combat an existing pest infestation. It is also environmentally friendly and more effective than simply killing the pests with pesticides.
Preventative measures include inspecting the facility for signs of pest activity, sealing cracks and crevices that could serve as entry points and implementing best practices to prevent food contamination and other attractants. Pest prevention is a great way to avoid costly pest infestations, which can cause damage to wood, linens, wiring and more.
A pest infestation can occur in a wide variety of environments and in both indoor and outdoor spaces. In general, the term “pest” refers to any animal that may reasonably be expected to cause biological/physical contamination or to adversely affect a product’s wholesomeness. This includes any animal that can potentially be a vector of disease or that consumes and damages food products, such as rats, mice, cockroaches, ants, fleas, flies, moths, bees and wasps. In addition, certain vertebrates such as birds and seagulls can also be considered pests when they enter commercial facilities to roost or feed.
Some pests, such as aphids, beetles and caterpillars, are continuous pests and require regular control, while other pests, such as plant diseases, can be sporadic or cyclical and may only need to be controlled intermittently. For this reason, a pest management program should be adapted to local conditions and the specifics of each situation.
There are a number of factors that influence pest populations, including climate, natural enemies, availability of water, shelter and food supplies. It is important to be able to identify the life stages of each pest species, as interventions may be more effective at different stages of development. In order to understand this, it is important to conduct regular monitoring of pests and their activities. This information can then be used to develop preventative strategies for the control of pests.
Suppression
The goal of pest suppression is to lower the population below the level that causes unacceptable damage. This usually requires a combination of control methods.
In natural environments, insects and other organisms that eat or compete with pests help keep them at low levels. Some of these organisms are natural enemies, such as parasites, predators, and pathogens, that reduce pest populations by attacking or killing them. Others, such as weather conditions and barriers, suppress pests indirectly by affecting the growth or development of the pest or its hosts.
For example, heavy rain or freezing temperatures can kill the eggs of a pest or reduce its reproduction. Barriers, such as fences and weed mats, can prevent the movement of pests or their prey. Many growers and green industry professionals use physical controls (traps, screens, barriers, fences, nets, radiation, or electricity) to prevent the spread of pests from one area to another.
Many people also use biological control agents, such as predators, pathogens, and nematodes, to reduce the number of pests in their gardens or fields. These organisms are often mass-reared in insectaries and then released into the field to attack specific types of pests. Biological control agents can be used to supplement or replace chemical controls.
Sometimes, the natural enemy of a pest is so effective that it can completely eliminate the pest from an area. This is known as eradication. The use of biological control agents for eradication usually involves a long-term, continuous effort.
Some pests recur regularly and must be controlled at regular intervals. These are called continuous pests. Others are sporadic or migratory and require regular monitoring but do not necessarily need immediate control. This approach is called integrated pest management or IPM.
Some pests cause unacceptable damage to crops, ornamental plants, lawns, or trees. This damage can devalue crops, interfere with the beauty and value of homes, or disrupt the ecology of the ecosystems in which they occur. Pests can be unwanted insects, mites, diseases, nematodes, fungi, weeds, or vertebrate animals. In addition to damaging crops and greenery, they can displace native species, contaminate soils, and disrupt terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Eradication
In eradication, the goal is to completely destroy a pest population. This is often achieved with chemicals, which either kill or control the growth or movement of the pest species. It may also be accomplished by physically removing the pest, or by altering the environment so that the pest cannot survive or reproduce.
Eradication programs must be well planned and executed to ensure success. They must be implemented at the local, community, regional and national levels and include a variety of elements such as surveillance, prophylactic measures, tracing and treatment of infected persons, monitoring for new infections, eradication of vector populations, and vaccination. Eradication programs should be evaluated on a regular basis for their impact and effectiveness.
Biological pest control is an ecological process which relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory or other natural mechanisms. It requires extensive research to determine the biology of a particular pest, potential natural enemies and their populations. The natural enemies are then collected and studied under controlled conditions to ensure that they are safe for release into the field. They are usually released in small batches and in a manner which takes into account their life cycle and the pests’ life cycles as well.
Chemical pest controls are the fastest way to control a problem, but they can have detrimental effects on other organisms and the environment. They may also be less effective in the long run than non-chemical methods. For example, a bird that eats a spider killed by an insecticide could be poisoned and become sick or even die. This is why it is important to select the right insecticide for the job and use it sparingly.
Integrated pest management systems (IPM) are a combination of practices that reduce the use of toxic substances while increasing plant productivity and reducing damage caused by pests. These systems use a mix of methods such as natural control, cultural control, and genetic engineering. For example, natural control includes introducing predators or parasitoids into the landscape to reduce pest populations and genetic control involves planting crops that are resistant to specific pests by inserting genes from other plants or from bacteria into the crop.
Monitoring
Pest monitoring is the regular inspection of areas where pests are most likely to occur. This enables a trained employee to detect early outbreaks and assess the damage they are causing. It also allows for the evaluation of control tactics and develops site history information to anticipate future problems.
Observation and detection techniques include scouting, trapping, and insect sampling. Observation is the most important tool for pest control. Observation requires familiarity with the pest’s life cycle, damage potential, and behavior. Observations should be made at the time and place of pest activity or the onset of damage, or at appropriate times in a pest’s life cycle. It is also necessary to understand that a single observation may not be sufficient to warrant treatment. Therefore, a pest log should be kept to record observations and provide insight into the frequency and distribution of pests.
Traps are effective tools for monitoring and should be placed in areas of interest, such as near entry points, harborage, or feeding sites. They can be passive or baited. Passive traps use a physical structure to capture pests, while baited traps attract them with the use of an attractant or pheromone. Using a mix of trap types is a great way to monitor for multiple pests. For instance, you might use glueboards and multi-catch traps in a warehouse to monitor for both cockroaches and rodents. Adding a pheromone or attractant to the traps can increase effectiveness, especially in the case of German cockroaches and stored product pests.
Sometimes the environment can be changed to help prevent or suppress pests, such as changing the amount of water available. Screens, barriers, fences, radiation, and other physical controls can be used to prevent pests from getting into an area. Occasionally, heat, cold, or chemicals can be used to control or alter an environment.
Sampling techniques complement visual monitoring and help to assess pest population levels, damage potential, and resistance status. Disclosing solutions can flush surface-active insects from the turf, while cup cutting and soil diggings can determine the presence of soil-inhabiting pests (such as scarab grubs). Some pests cannot be sampled directly but are monitored for through their damage to crops or other property. In these situations, action thresholds have been established for certain pests that define the point at which pests become unacceptable based on esthetic or health considerations.