Tag: pest control

Identifying pests allows you to tailor control methods to the kind of organism you are dealing with. This helps reduce the chances of off-target impact. Contact Pest Control Bakersfield CA now!

Threshold levels have been determined for many pests, defining their presence at unacceptable levels based on esthetic and health concerns.

Pheromones can be used to monitor pest populations; and juvenile hormones can be applied to prevent some pests from maturing into adulthood.

Many pest control strategies focus on prevention. Preventative measures aim to change the conditions that favor a pest’s presence and abundance, such as providing an alternative food source or changing the moisture level in an environment. They also aim to alter the population of predators and parasites that feed on pests.

When a pest infestation is still in its early stages, preventive methods often prove most effective. These can include sealing off points of entry, such as repairing cracks in walls and caulking leaky pipes, or making it more difficult for pests to find their way inside by removing attractants such as water, food, shelter or light.

Clutter is a common attractant for pests, including rodents, spiders and insects. Eliminate wood piles and debris near your house, and trim back shrubs and bushes that might give pests access to the foundation. Ensure that there is a clear path of at least 18″ around the foundation of your home to deter pests from entering.

Indoors, be sure to store all foods in tightly sealed containers, and remove trash regularly. Keep indoor garbage cans closed and sanitized, and don’t place them right up against the house. Don’t let dishes and utensils sit out overnight, and clean up spills or crumbs as soon as they happen. Keep humidity levels low by adjusting air conditioning settings and using dehumidifiers.

Rodents and bugs need water to regulate their bodies, and they will enter a home or building seeking it, particularly in warm weather. Make it hard for them to find their way in by closing doors and windows, utilizing bug zappers or screens on windows, and cleaning up bird feeders and baths regularly.

Some pests may be more easily controlled by preventing their access to food or water sources, but others cannot be prevented altogether. When this is the case, prevention must be followed by suppression or eradication.

Suppression

Pests can be controlled by preventing them from getting what they need to live and reproduce: food, water, shelter, and air. Eliminating these factors also stops them from spreading and causing damage. The simplest form of suppression is to use a barrier such as a fence or net to keep out pests. More sophisticated methods include the use of traps and baits to kill or capture the pests. Chemical controls may be applied directly or through barriers such as sprays, fogging, or vaporizing insecticide.

Some types of pests are a continuous nuisance and require regular control; others are sporadic or migratory, and only need to be controlled occasionally or intermittently. A pest’s potential to cause significant harm is what determines whether it should be controlled.

Preventive pest control is generally preferred, but when the threat of disease or physical damage to people or property cannot be ignored, pesticides may need to be used. The best approach is to minimize the need for pesticides by removing food, water and shelter from the environment and by cleaning up refuse and other sources of infestation. Other preventive measures include storing foods in sealed containers, and making sure garbage cans are tightly closed, and that trash is removed regularly. Closing off places pests can enter and hide, such as caulking cracks, plugging holes with steel wool, and fitting screens on doors and windows, is also helpful.

Regulatory pest control uses quarantine and eradication strategies to contain large pest problems. This type of control is often necessary for agricultural crops, and it is used in health care, food processing, and commercial storage facilities. The goal of eradication is to eradicate the pest completely; however, this can be difficult in outdoor settings.

Biological pest control is the conserving or releasing of natural enemies to reduce pest populations. This includes predators and parasitoids of the pest, such as mites that feed on mite pests in orchards or nematodes that kill harmful soil grubs in greenhouses, and wasps that attack greenhouse whitefly. These natural enemies can be purchased commercially and released to supplement preventive controls.

Biological Control

Biological control, also called biorational pest control, involves using non-toxic predators or parasitoids (insects that kill the pest insects that they attack) or disease organisms (fungi, viruses) to reduce unwanted insect pest populations. In a typical biological control program, the goal is to get pest population levels below an economic threshold without damaging the crop. Biological control can be used to manage all kinds of plant pathogens and unwanted plants (weeds) as well as insects.

Several different types of natural enemies (including insects, fungi, and bacteria) are effective at controlling pests. Many of these are found in the home garden or in agricultural fields and are adapted to local environments. Examples include lady beetles, lacewings, hover fly larvae, and parasitized aphid mummies. Unfortunately, most of these are not used as pest control agents and their activities often go unnoticed.

When they are successfully used, biological control can replace chemical pesticides and can be cost-effective and sustainable if properly managed. However, there are many factors that must be considered when managing any kind of biological control agent. The proper selection and timing of biological control agents, their introduction, and the management of the host plant can all influence how effective they are.

There are two general approaches to biological control: conservation and augmentation. Conservation biological control is practiced by encouraging and protecting natural enemies in the landscape through changes in landscape management practices. This is a practice that can be readily applied in the home garden and in commercial production systems.

Augmentation biological control is the mass production and periodic release of biological control agents to provide effective levels of pest suppression. The most widely augmented species of natural enemy is the endoparasitized wasp Trichogramma, which has been used in classical biological control programs for over 70 years. In a typical augmentation program, the number of Trichogramma wasps is increased in an insectary and then released in crops or forests at times when the number of target pest eggs is high.

Successful biological control requires detailed research on the biology of the pest, its natural enemies, and their possible interaction. Once an appropriate natural enemy is identified, it must be studied, quarantined to ensure it will not introduce pathogens to native species, and then approved for use.

Natural Forces

Some pests are controlled naturally by predators, parasites, diseases and other organisms that compete for resources or kill the organism. These natural forces, known as natural enemies, are an important part of the ecosystem and play a role in keeping pest populations low. Natural predators and competitors can also restrict the growth of some pests by limiting their food or shelter supplies. Geographical features such as mountains and large bodies of water limit the spread of some pests.

In some situations, a threshold level is defined at which action must be taken to control pests. This may be based on esthetic, health or economic considerations. For example, the presence of rats or cockroaches in homes and food preparation environments usually forces action to be taken to prevent infestations. In outdoor settings, eradication is rarely a goal except where the pests pose a threat to human health, as in the case of rabies and some other diseases.

Mechanical or physical controls include traps, screens, barriers and fences that block pest access to food or shelter. Altering the environment by limiting resources can also be effective. Temperature, light and humidity can all influence pest population levels. Physical controls such as these are sometimes combined with chemical solutions to enhance their effectiveness.

Chemicals can contaminate the environment or cause health hazards when used incorrectly, so care is required to limit exposure. In addition, the use of chemicals often carries the risk of pesticide resistance. For these reasons, most pest control methods involve the use of prevention and suppression rather than eradication.

Other methods of control include the use of pheromones and juvenile hormones to control insect pests. Pheromones are chemicals that attract and confuse male insects, preventing them from mating and thus reducing the number of pests. Juvenile hormones are chemicals that reduce the number of immature pests by disrupting their development cycle.

Classical biological control is the introduction of one or more natural enemy species of foreign origin to control a pest that is also of foreign origin (often called exotic, invasive or alien). For example, decapitating flies are used to control fruit flies, and stem borers are used to control alligator weed. This approach to pest control is generally conducted by scientists and requires substantial funding.

Most pests seek shelter, food, and water. Limiting these sources and eliminating their hiding places can drastically reduce pest populations.

Remove clogging materials from areas where pests breed and hide. Clean up and seal cracks, crevices, and holes that they use to enter a home or building. Properly use traps and baits to kill existing pests. Contact Pest Control Malibu now!

The age-old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies especially to pest control. A preventive approach to pests reduces the need for reactive treatments and often saves money. Pests are more than just a nuisance; they can cause health and structural damage. In addition, some pests, such as rodents and cockroaches, carry allergens that can affect people’s health and cause discomfort or pain.

The best way to keep pests at bay is a combination of good site sanitation and maintenance, improved building design and construction, and effective monitoring. Using specialized storage containers and careful handling of artifacts can also help reduce the risk of pest infestation.

Generally, pests enter buildings through open windows and vents, sewer access points, and cracks in walls, doors, or floors. They can also be carried in by staff or entered on loaned artifacts, merchandise, or equipment. Good site sanitation, regular inspections and cleaning, quarantine and isolation of affected artifacts (with low or high temperature exposure or controlled atmosphere fumigation as needed) all contribute to reducing the threat.

Clutter provides hiding places for pests and gives them easy access to the home. Keeping garbage bins tightly closed and removing waste regularly helps to prevent pest infestations. Clutter should be removed from the outside of the home as well, including wood piles that can be used as nesting areas. Screening vents and ensuring that doors have functional sweeps and are sealed is another great way to prevent pests from entering the house. The perimeter of the home should be kept clear of bushes, plants, and shrubs that can provide pests with an easy path from the garden to the home.

It’s also a good idea to regularly sanitize items in storage that are susceptible to pests such as woollen clothing or books. Thoroughly washing or dry-cleaning these items before storing them will make them less attractive to moths, silverfish, beetles and other pests. Thoroughly vacuuming rarely-used cupboards and storage spaces and cleaning under furniture several times a year can also reduce the chances of an infestation.

Pest Identification

Pest identification is an important first step in any pest management program. Whether it is an insect, weed, plant disease or vertebrate animal, the pest must be identified in order to develop an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy. Accurate pest identification provides key information such as food, habitat and harborage preferences, life cycle stages and other biological traits that are useful in selecting cultural practices, tools or pesticides for control.

The identification of a pest can be as simple as observing the typical damage caused by the pest, examining tracks or droppings left behind by the pest and looking for the typical behavior of the pest. Often it is helpful to have a picture of the pest available, although some pests are difficult to identify from photos alone. In some cases, precise identification may require consulting with an expert or sending samples to a specialized laboratory.

Some pests have a repulsive appearance, such as earwigs, silverfish or bed bugs. Others bite or sting, such as mud dauber wasps or yellow-jackets. Some pests cause diseases or damage to plants and property, such as mice, rats and cockroaches. Others contaminate foods and produce odors, such as pine seed bugs and cluster flies. In addition, some pests carry allergens or irritants that can trigger allergic reactions and sensitivities, such as ants, flies, fleas, wasps, hornets, clothes moths and spiders.

Observing where the pests are found can also be very helpful in identifying them. Look for muddy trails, gnawed wood or other signs of the pest’s presence. For example, a nest of mud dauber wasps may be located in an old stump, and cluster flies tend to overwinter in attics or wall voids warmed by sunlight.

Proper pest identification is especially critical for making chemical treatments effective. Many times, a pesticide application will fail because the wrong pest is being targeted and because the pest is in an environment or life stage that is resistant to the pesticide being used. Incorrect pest identification can also result in unnecessary risk to people and the environment from using excessive or inappropriate chemicals.

Pesticides

A pesticide is a chemical substance or mixture of chemicals that prevents, destroys or controls unwanted species of plants and animals. It can also be used to control diseases and weeds in agricultural crops.

There are many different types of pesticides, including synthetic and organic. Synthetic pesticides are made in industrial laboratories, while organic pesticides are made from naturally occurring materials. Ideally, a pesticide should kill its target with minimal effect on humans, other non-target plants or animals, and the environment. However, no pesticide is perfect and all have side effects.

Pesticides can be applied to the soil, air or water. They can also be sprayed on or around crops or on plant parts that are infested with pests, such as leaves, fruit, buds, stems, roots, bulbs, seeds or flowers. Pesticides can be biodegradable, meaning they break down in the environment into harmless compounds, or they may persist for months or years before breaking down into less toxic substances.

Some pesticides attract and poison or paralyze the pests, while others affect the pests’ ability to reproduce or grow. Those that kill the pests are called insecticides, herbicides or fungicides. Some pesticides have a specific purpose, such as to control blights or mildews on fruits and vegetables. Others act as a defoliant to help with harvesting or promote growth of certain crops.

Other pesticides are designed to change a plant’s physiology. For example, plant growth regulators alter the expected rate of growth, flowering or reproduction, which can reduce a crop’s yield or increase its quality. They can also cause plants to produce more fruit or seed, make it easier to pick, or slow the plant’s maturation from the pupal stage into adulthood.

People can be exposed to low levels of pesticides through eating or drinking contaminated foods, breathing in vapors or touching contaminated surfaces. These exposures can lead to a variety of health problems, from mild rashes or allergies to more serious illnesses such as cancer and reproductive disorders. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) publishes lists of pesticide residues on produce, such as its “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen.” Eating a diet full of fresh, whole fruits and vegetables can decrease the amount of pesticides in your body.

Suppression

Pest control is a process that reduces pest numbers to an acceptable level, but causes as little harm as possible to people, property or the environment. It involves prevention, suppression and eradication.

Ideally, preventive measures will keep pests from entering a building or causing damage in the first place. They are also cheaper than pesticides, especially when done on a regular basis, and do less damage to the environment.

However, not all pests can be prevented, or they may be difficult to keep away for one reason or another. For example, some pests have a repulsive appearance or a strong smell, and can be frightening to children or pets, like spiders, silverfish and earwigs. Others bite or sting (real or perceived), like bed bugs, fleas and wasps and cluster flies. Still, other pests are harmful because they contaminate food, destroy plant material or cause diseases in humans and animals, such as fungi, bacteria and viruses.

For these reasons, pest control is often required. It can also be necessary when a pest has escaped into a home or business, like cockroaches, mice, rats, ants, termites and clothes moths.

Threshold levels based on esthetic, health or economic considerations have been established for many pests. Action thresholds are used to define the level at which a pest’s population must be reduced by pest control methods, and they are based on the amount of harm caused by a particular pest.

Some natural forces affect pest populations, including climate, enemies, the availability of shelter and water and the presence of natural barriers. Some of these factors are predictable, but others occur only in certain environmental conditions and can be unpredictable.

Natural predators, parasites and pathogens often suppress pest populations. Biological controls, such as the release of new, disease-causing organisms or sterile males to disrupt reproduction, can also be effective. However, the degree to which they control a pest depends on a number of variables and there is often a time lag between the increase in the population of a pest and the corresponding increase in its enemies.