Generally, Pest Control involves identifying the pest, then choosing techniques that will control it with as little harm to everything else as possible. It can be divided into three broad categories: prevention, suppression and eradication.
Clutter provides hiding and breeding places for pests, so get rid of things like stacks of newspapers or empty containers. Use traps to lure pests away from areas where they’re most likely to cause damage. For professional help, contact Kansas City Pest Control.
Pests are organisms that contaminate food, damage plants or interfere with people’s activities. Pest control practices are aimed at preventing or eliminating them. They may be natural or man-made. Natural methods of pest control are often preferred, especially when the environment or human health is at risk. Sanitation practices, such as removing debris and other places where pests hide, can prevent many infestations. Good sanitation also helps reduce carryover of pests from one crop to the next. In addition, planting weed-resistant varieties of fruit trees and vegetables and selecting pest-resistant ornamental species can help eliminate the need for chemical controls.
Preventive measures may include inspections of food processing environments for pests, such as rodents or insects, that enter the premises through doors, windows and vents, and may be associated with raw materials, often termed store product pests. Regular inspections by employees should be complemented by a pest sightings register to record dates, pest types and locations. Plants can be used as natural barriers to pests by growing species such as serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), that are attractive to insect predators and parasitoids, or by incorporating pheromones into irrigation systems to control certain moth populations.
In some situations, pests already are present and cause unacceptable harm. Suppression of those pests reduces their numbers to an acceptable level, while taking care not to adversely affect beneficial organisms. Pesticides are often used for this purpose, but it is important to understand that few pesticides kill all pests they target. Some kill only the adult pests; others destroy only the eggs, larvae or nymphs. This is why it is so important to inspect and monitor pest populations regularly.
Other control measures include removing habitat that attracts or shelters pests, changing environmental conditions to discourage them or to make them more difficult to live in, or attacking them directly. Traps and baits are effective in many situations, but the use of these chemicals must be carefully monitored to avoid adverse effects on beneficial organisms. Other physical controls, such as barriers, fencing and radiation, are sometimes useful. Altering the environment, by increasing or decreasing temperature, moisture or light, can also be helpful in controlling some pests.
Suppression
Pests cause harm by spoiling products or damaging the environment. To reduce the amount of damage they do, a control strategy may be needed. Control practices fall into three categories: prevention — keeping pests from becoming a problem; suppression — reducing the pest population to an acceptable level; and eradication — eliminating the pests. Threshold-based decision-making is the key to choosing and applying control tactics. Noticing a few wasps buzzing around your porch probably doesn’t require any action, but if you notice their numbers increasing, it might be time to locate and destroy their nest.
Prevention and suppression are more common goals in outdoor environments, while eradication is a rarer goal in enclosed spaces such as homes, offices, schools, health care facilities, or food preparation areas. In these settings, pests are often more troublesome than in open fields and landscapes because they are able to get into buildings more easily, where they can cause damage.
Biological pest control uses natural enemies — parasites, predators, and pathogens – to keep pest populations below an acceptable level. This approach is often less expensive and more environmentally sustainable than chemical controls. However, it can be more difficult to design and put into practice. There is also a lag between pest population increase and the emergence of natural enemies. Also, the effectiveness of some natural enemy species varies by location and even between different individuals within a species.
Mechanical or physical controls kill a pest directly or block the pests’ access to their environment. Examples include traps, screens, barriers, and fences. In addition, radiation, heat, and electricity sometimes can be used to alter the environment so it’s unsuitable for pests.
In the field, microbial pest control uses microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi to suppress pests. A popular example is the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae, which is sprayed on soil to kill flea beetles, grubs, and other insects that damage crops. These and other biological pest control agents are usually safe for people, pets, beneficial insects, and the environment, provided they are applied properly. That means the soil must be well cultivated, moist, and aerated.
Eradication
Pest control practices are designed to manage the existence of certain species that have been deemed harmful or undesirable. These organisms may spread disease, contaminate food or cause structural damage. A variety of different methods are available for pest control, and some are more effective for specific types of pests. Some of these methods include baiting, trapping, nematicides and fumigation. The practice of pest control is often carried out by professionals in industrial or food production environments.
In outdoor settings, eradication is usually not a primary goal because it can be difficult to achieve. Instead, prevention and suppression are the main objectives. In enclosed areas, however, eradication is sometimes a more realistic goal. For example, in operating rooms and other sterile areas of health care facilities, there is zero tolerance for the presence of bacteria. Consequently, routine pest control is necessary to keep these organisms from entering and thriving.
Many of the same methods used for indoor pest control can be used for outdoor pest control as well. For example, traps and baits can be set to catch or kill rodents such as mice and rats. Baits can also be used to control insect pests like cockroaches. Cockroaches are a common nuisance and can contribute to asthma attacks in humans because they contain allergens. Moreover, roaches can also contaminate foods and cause damage to buildings by chewing through drywall. Signs of a cockroach infestation include droppings, gnaw marks and a foul odor.
A pesticide is an effective means of controlling a pest population but it can be dangerous to humans and other animals. This is why it’s important to read the label carefully when using a pesticide. It will contain detailed instructions on how to use the product safely and effectively.
A successful eradication program requires careful consideration and planning. In addition to the obvious technical challenges, eradication efforts can be complicated by social and political problems. For example, a nonhuman host may be discovered (as happened with yellow fever) or vaccine strains can revert (as has occurred with the polio eradication effort). The cost and benefits of an eradication initiative must be carefully weighed. Ideally, the long-term benefit of eradication would be measured in terms of avoided future infections and vaccination costs.
Controlling Natural Forces
Many pests are controlled naturally by predators, parasites, pathogens, or other organisms that kill them or slow their growth. Ecological practices that increase biodiversity in crop fields and noncrop habitats can also promote natural pest control. However, biological pest control is often limited by the availability of food, water, shelter, and other resources for the natural enemies of a particular pest, as well as the occurrence of barriers such as mountains or large bodies of water that limit pest movement.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods aim to keep pest populations below action thresholds, or levels at which an undesirable effect becomes unacceptable. Thresholds may be based on esthetic, health, or economic concerns. In commercial situations, only those pests that cause unacceptable injury or harm can require action.
IPM methods are generally less damaging than chemical pesticides, because they do not disrupt natural systems. They include preventive and nonchemical approaches such as planting resistant crops, removing food or water sources for the pests, blocking their access to plants, eliminating overwintering sites and places to hide, cleaning up waste piles, and preventing their entrance into buildings or homes.
Physical controls include trapping, baiting, and removing breeding grounds. Some of these methods may also use biological controls, such as releasing natural enemies of a pest or manipulating its behavior with pheromones or other hormones.
Pesticides can be used as part of an IPM program, but only after examining all other options. They should be selected to minimize the likelihood of adverse environmental impact, and applied at low rates with proper timing and placement to avoid reducing the population of natural enemies. In addition, IPM programs should consider how to reduce the need for pesticides, such as by using cultural or other nonchemical methods to reduce pest damage, by applying pesticides only in areas of high pest density, and by using spot applications or treating alternating strips of field.
Pests that are continuous pests, such as Mediterranean fruit flies and gypsy moths, require regular control, while sporadic and migratory species usually need periodic or cyclical control. Eradication is rarely a goal in outdoor pest situations, but it is sometimes attempted for certain invasive alien species.