The goal of pest control is to manage pest populations to acceptable levels. This can be accomplished through prevention, suppression, or eradication.
Physical controls include traps, barriers, screens, fences, radiation, heat, and chemicals. Changing the environment can also help — altering food, water, and shelter are often necessary. Examples include repairing leaky plumbing and keeping garbage cans closed. Contact Wildlife Control Plano now!
Pests cause damage, reduce productivity and spoil products in agricultural, residential and commercial settings. They also pose a health risk and spread diseases and other ailments. They can be rodents, insects or diseases transmitted by these animals.
Pest problems are preventable by learning about the pests and options available to control them. It starts with observing and monitoring the environment where pests occur to identify the factors that are encouraging them to exist. This can be done on a daily to weekly basis depending on the pest and the location. Scouting and monitoring helps us understand whether a pest problem exists, how serious it is and what control measures are needed to address it.
The first step is removing food, water and shelter sources. Store food in sealed containers, and dispose of garbage regularly with a tightly closed lid. Reduce moisture in the environment by fixing leaky pipes and ensuring that air conditioning or dehumidifiers are working properly. Clear clutter that can serve as a hiding place for pests, and close off spaces where they can enter the home by caulking cracks and crevices.
Changing the environment can also help prevent pests, especially in an urban setting. Landscape features such as hills and bodies of water limit the spread of many pests. Cleaning up weeds and overgrown grass eliminates nesting spots, and keeping trees, shrubs and bushes properly trimmed can keep them from providing shelter.
Biological pest control uses natural enemies to control pests through predation, parasitism, herbivory and other mechanisms. This type of control is typically combined with chemical controls to achieve optimum results. Using predators and other natural organisms that naturally occur in an area is one of the most environmentally sound ways to control pests, and should always be considered before resorting to chemicals. In addition, the use of beneficial insects is an effective way to reduce the need for chemical controls. Biological controls can include the use of nematodes, rotifers, mycoplasmas, juvenile hormones and pheromones. These methods are usually incorporated into IPM programs. They can be used on a small-scale for routine inspections, or in a large-scale release of organisms such as nematodes and mycoplasmas to control specific pest species.
Suppression
Pests can cause costly damage to crops and property. They can also pose health problems for people and animals. If you find you have a pest problem, it is important to address the issue promptly before the situation worsens. Pest control professionals can help you identify and implement the best pest management strategy for your particular situation.
Using the least toxic methods first is usually the best approach to pest control. This includes removing any conditions that attract or encourage the pests, such as debris or trash that provides hiding places or food sources. Clutter, such as stacks of newspapers or cardboard, can also offer hiding spots and shelter for pests. In indoor environments, minimizing clutter can make it easier to see pests and close off areas where they may be living or hiding.
Chemical controls include the use of sprays, baits, dusts, fumigants, and other products that kill or disrupt the pests’ life cycles. Pesticides should always be used according to the product label and with proper safety precautions. When using any pesticides, it is important to wear personal protective equipment (PPE), including long-sleeved shirts, pants, closed-toe shoes, gloves, and face and eye protection.
Many pests are naturally controlled by birds, insects, amphibians, mammals, and other organisms that feed on or parasitize them. Changes in climate can also affect pest populations, either by killing or suppressing them. For example, sudden cold temperatures can kill or suppress a plant-eating pest population by interrupting their normal growth patterns.
In integrated pest management (IPM), pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates that they are needed according to established guidelines. Treatments are made with the goal of removing only the target organism and avoiding injury to beneficial and nontarget organisms.
Eradication is a rare goal in outdoor pest situations, but it can be necessary for indoor environments, such as warehouses or health care facilities. When eradication is attempted, the IPM system should be designed to prevent the pests’ return and avoid contamination or disease in other plants or animals. This may involve using different IPM tactics, such as altering cropping or cultural practices or introducing resistant varieties of the targeted organism.
Eradication
Pests have the potential to cause major damage to homes and businesses. They may carry diseases that can affect human health, and they can also cause structural damage to buildings. For this reason, pest control is a vital aspect of home and business maintenance. Pest infestation often leads to expensive repairs, so it’s important to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
The most effective way to keep pests out of your house or office is to deny them the food, water, and shelter they need. Start by removing all weeds and debris from the exterior of your property. You should also regularly clean up spills, crumbs, and trash around your premises to deprive pests of their food sources. Additionally, keep your house free of clutter by selling or throwing away unused items such as cardboard boxes, baby toys, and clothing.
Next, examine the inside of your home for cracks and crevices that pests could use to enter. Be sure to caulk these areas, as well as around utility channels such as cable wires and electric lines. In addition, make sure to regularly inspect your home for leaking roofs and drains. Leaking pipes can attract termites and other pests that feed on rotting wood.
If you do find a problem with pests, try to solve it using non-chemical methods. These include traps and baits, which don’t require chemicals to be effective. If you must resort to chemical controls, choose ones with a low risk of exposure to humans and pets. Fogging devices are another option, although they should be used only when necessary.
Some people prefer to use natural methods of pest control, such as buying and raising predators that will hunt the pests in your yard. However, this method is not always practical, and it can be difficult to find good predators for some types of pests.
Eradication is generally not the goal of pest control in outdoor situations, as it can be hard to achieve without harming the ecosystem. It is more common in enclosed spaces, such as residential and commercial properties. Eradication can also be the goal of pest control when a specific pest has caused severe problems, such as invasive species such as Mediterranean fruit flies and gypsy moths.
IPM
IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is an alternative to eradication or suppression. It is a systemic approach that reduces pest populations to tolerable levels through a combination of biological, cultural, mechanical and chemical tools. IPM relies on knowledge of a pest’s life cycle, its susceptibility to certain controls, and the environment in which it lives. This allows you to determine whether action is needed.
IPM includes preventive measures, such as growing crops in locations that provide the least food for pests or choosing disease-resistant varieties. This also may involve correcting environmental conditions that make a plant more vulnerable to attack, such as providing adequate water and nutrients or caulking cracks that could allow pests to enter buildings.
When a pest does occur, IPM focuses on sampling and accurate diagnosis in order to decide whether or not control is necessary. For example, a gardener might use a sticky trap or inspection checklist to determine whether a plant is being damaged by a particular pest. This monitoring may be done on a regular basis to assess damage or to detect new infestations.
If it is determined that action is needed, the IPM strategy will usually begin with the least toxic methods. This can include the introduction of natural enemies, such as predators or parasitoids that feed on pests. This method of control is very effective and often less expensive than using chemicals.
In addition, a gardener can take steps to increase the effectiveness of a treatment by combining different control strategies. For example, a gardener might plant a trap crop such as soybeans to attract and kill Japanese beetles before they damage other plants in the garden. Or, a gardener might spray a chemical insecticide after releasing parasitoids to kill off beetles that would otherwise destroy the crop.
Finally, gardeners should keep records of inspections and monitoring results to evaluate the success or failure of the various strategies. If necessary, the gardener can then implement more robust and perhaps more toxic control methods. The IPM strategy will be constantly reevaluated, since factors such as weather, soil conditions and plant growth can have an effect on how well prevention and control methods work.