Pests can damage property, degrade crops and plants, transmit disease, negatively impact our environment, and cause serious reputational damage.
Eliminating the food, water, and shelter that pests need to survive helps eliminate them. Practice good sanitation and dispose of garbage in tightly sealed containers. Clutter also provides places for pests to hide. Contact Pest Control Overland Park now!
Pests can carry disease, ruin crops and contaminate food. They can also cause property damage and disrupt business operations.
Fortunately, there are a number of different pest control methods available on the market, and the best method for controlling each type of pest depends on the environment in which it lives and its impact on humans and other animals.
Prevention is the most humane way to control pests, and it can be achieved by eliminating their food sources and shelter. This can be as simple as placing bird feeders in rodent-proof containers and regularly clearing up fallen fruit from the garden. It can also involve creating barriers to entry, such as fencing and netting.
Physical controls include traps and bait stations, which work by luring the pest with a food source and then snaring it on its regular path. They can be very effective, but they need to be checked regularly and any dead pests removed.
Chemicals and insecticides can also be used to kill pests, but they should always be applied carefully. They can be dangerous for both people and other animals, so they must be sprayed with great care and in a well-ventilated area. It is essential to read the label of any product that you are using for pest control, as it will contain instructions on how to use it safely and effectively.
Biological pest control uses natural predators and parasitoids to destroy harmful pests. This can be as simple as releasing ladybugs to eat aphids, or it can be much more sophisticated, such as introducing nematodes to the soil to attack grubs and other plant-feeding invertebrates. This is a popular and environmentally friendly form of pest control, but it can be limited by the effectiveness of natural predators and by the fact that parasitoids tend to target only specific species.
The Food Safety Act 1990 and the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 compels establishments that handle food to employ pest control experts to ensure any pest problems are dealt with promptly and thoroughly. Failure to do so could result in a company being shut down temporarily or even permanently.
Suppression
Pests may cause a range of problems for humans. They can damage property, like houses, crops and gardens, contaminate food or water, or create a health hazard through their feces and secretions (such as spiders, cockroaches, mice and fleas). Some pests have a fearsome or repulsive appearance or odour, while others bite or sting. Other pests spread disease, such as rodents, ticks and house centipedes.
A number of physical methods are used to control pests, such as traps and bait stations. However, these must be monitored and the pests removed regularly. Physical methods also include “pest proofing,” which means removing the pests’ breeding sites or creating barriers that prevent them from entering a building.
Chemical pesticides are another way to kill and control pests. These are often used in agriculture to protect crops from insects, fungi and diseases. In homes, they can be found in the form of sprays or powders. They can also be used to control indoor and outdoor pests, such as ants, mosquitoes and termites. In extreme cases, pesticides can be pumped into rooms or buildings to eradicate them completely.
Some plants, animals and fungi are natural pest control agents. Some of these naturally destroy or deter pests, while others attract and feed on them. For example, the dung of wild rabbits can help improve soil quality, and some birds, such as ducks, geese, and herons, eat ticks and other harmful insects.
Other natural pest control organisms are predators, parasitoids or pathogens. Parasitoids are insects that lay eggs inside their host and then feed on the host, killing it. Some parasitoids are flies and wasps, while others are bats that carry the European Bat Lyssavirus (EBL).
Microbial pest control uses microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses or fungi to suppress insect populations. A microbial pesticide is sprayed on soil, and when the insects ingest it, they die from the inside out. The microorganisms used in biological pesticides are generally considered to be safer than traditional chemical pesticides. However, the microbial approach can take longer than conventional chemical pesticides to work and it requires expert application.
Eradication
Eradication is the elimination of a pest or disease from a geographic area. This can be accomplished by destroying the pests in the wild, through poisons and other chemical control measures or by physical removal of nests, burrows, or roosts. This is a very difficult form of pest control and requires a huge amount of human effort, often spanning generations, to be successful. Eradication can also be achieved by introducing natural enemies to the area to destroy the pests, such as predators or parasites.
The ancient Egyptians used cats to kill rodents in their houses and fields and this is still a common way to keep some pest populations under control. Other animal predators, such as birds and bats, can also be helpful in keeping pest populations under control.
Many different types of traps and baits can be used to capture pests, including fish-baits, owl pellets and lizard carcasses. There are many commercially available chemicals and insecticides that can be used to kill pests, but it is important to always read and follow the label of any product you use. Using the correct concentration and applying it at the right time can maximize its effectiveness and minimize the risk to people and the environment.
Other control methods involve:
- Modifying the environment in which pests live, such as blocking access to food or water.
- Changing the amount of sunlight or temperature.
- Reducing the availability of shelter and overwintering sites.
The natural features of an area, such as mountains and lakes, can restrict the movement of some pest species, while barriers and fences can prevent others from moving into an area. Changes to the amount of water or the presence of humidity can affect some pests as well.
Other forms of pest control are more invasive than removing a nest or spraying poison, and include the use of predators that prey on pests such as birds, bats and frogs; the introduction of nematodes that feed on the roots of plants, killing them; and the breeding of sterile males to reduce the number of mating insects in a population. The use of biological controls may take longer than the use of other pest control methods, and can be expensive, but it has the potential to eradicate a problem more quickly and completely than other types of control.
Integrated Pest Management
Integrated pest management uses preventive and corrective tactics that minimize harm to the environment. It combines all appropriate techniques for managing the pests, and the use of chemicals is limited to a control measure when other measures are ineffective. Pesticides used for IPM are typically non-toxic to people and the environment.
The first step in an integrated pest management program is problem assessment, which determines if the infestation is damaging crops. Pest monitoring and identification follow. If pest populations are at an unacceptable level, the next step is to decide whether to treat or not. An action threshold must be set that defines what damage is acceptable before treatment. The threshold may be economic or aesthetic.
Preventive measures include crop rotation, planting pest-resistant species and using pre-treated seeds. Biological pest controls also can help. They are usually disease-causing organisms, such as the bacteria Bt israelenisis and Bt kurstaki that target caterpillars.
Other agronomic practices such as water conservation, soil drainage and tillage to disrupt root development can be effective prevention tools in some situations. Soil heating, which destroys eggs and larvae of many pests, is another preventive option.
Once the infestation is detected, a variety of control methods can be employed. The goal is to reduce the population to an acceptable level, without damaging the surrounding habitat. Chemicals are used sparingly, and they must be effective, well-chosen and properly applied. Relying on chemicals alone can cause the emergence of resistant pests, as well as cause environmental pollution and injury to surrounding areas.
Scouting is an important part of an IPM program to identify pests and their damage. It also helps to develop a monitoring plan and establish an action threshold for when a treatment is needed. IPM programs can be used to control insects, weeds and vertebrates. There are numerous different IPM strategies for each type of pest, such as physical, cultural, biological and chemical controls. IPM is also widely used in urban settings to manage invasive plants and rodents. IPM also can be used in agriculture to manage aphids, fleas and mites.