Pest control is necessary when a pest population becomes too large and causes unacceptable damage. Many pests have threshold levels based on aesthetic, health, or economic concerns.
Natural forces that affect pest populations include climate, natural enemies, and barriers such as mountains or rivers. Pheromones and juvenile hormones also can be used to reduce pest numbers. Contact Rodent Retreat now!
The primary goal of preventative pest control is to avert problems before they occur, thereby lessening the need for more drastic and frequently expensive reactive treatments. The most effective preventative pest control strategies involve a combination of thorough property inspections, knowledge of pest behavior, and timely use of both structural and chemical prevention measures.
Sanitation Standards
Food, water, and shelter are the primary things that draw most pests, and sanitation standards can significantly reduce these attractants. Strictly following cleaning guidelines for both the interior and exterior of homes and businesses ensures that pest-attracting conditions are not created. Tightly sealed trash containers and regular garbage removal are key to preventing pest infestations. Properly storing and disposing of food, removing pet waste from the home regularly, and removing clutter are other preventative steps that can be taken to discourage pests.
Structural Prevention
Effective structural preventative measures include caulking and sealing cracks, crevices, and holes that are commonly used as entry points by pests. Routinely checking and repairing leaky faucets, and securing all outdoor entry doors and windows can also help to deter pests. Keeping moisture at bay is another important preventive measure, and this can be achieved by controlling humidity levels. Using dehumidifiers, caulking wet regions, and attaching door sweeps to bottoms of doors can all help prevent moisture from entering confined areas where pests may live and breed.
Chemical Preventative Measures
Chemical and natural repellents can be used to deter pests before they have a chance to establish themselves. However, it is vital to only apply these repellents according to specific recommendations in order to avoid harming humans and pets.
A well-established system of preventative pest control can greatly diminish the need for costly and harmful reactive treatments, allowing customers to rest easy knowing their pest issues are in good hands. Combined with an environmentally conscious approach to treatment, preventative pest control can be the most effective way to ensure long-term protection from unwanted visitors. To learn more about the different preventative measures available, or to schedule an appointment for an on-site inspection, contact us today!
Suppression
Once pest populations build up to the point where they are causing unacceptable harm, their numbers must be suppressed. Suppression is accomplished by any number of control methods. However, a good rule of thumb is to always attempt to use the least toxic control method available.
Natural enemies (predators, parasites, and pathogens) can be used to reduce pest numbers. This approach is known as biological control. It may involve introducing predators or parasites to the pest population, or it may include directly managing the environment to reduce pests’ food sources or shelter (e.g., changing irrigation practices to prevent water-logged soils that encourage root diseases).
Chemical controls can also be effective at reducing pests. These include insecticides that are used in a spray or fogging form. Generally, these chemicals are safe to use if they are used according to the manufacturer’s instructions and safety warnings.
Sometimes pests cannot be controlled using other methods, and eradication may be necessary. This is typically the case when a health risk or serious economic damage is imminent. In this situation, a pesticide can be used to kill the existing pests and to prevent their return. This is usually the last resort and should be done only in the most severe situations.
The key to successful eradication is to be thorough. Inspect all parts of the facility and surrounding area for signs of pests. This includes a review of the entire production process to determine what factors are contributing to the pest problem. For example, in a food processing facility, the problem might be caused by poor storage or handling of raw materials. The pest problem might also be the result of inadequate cleaning or maintenance procedures, or it might be related to a structural failure in the facility.
Maintaining a pest-free facility requires ongoing effort, regardless of the type of pest involved. This is especially true of invasive species, which can rapidly spread to new areas where they have not been previously introduced. Therefore, a comprehensive pest management plan should be developed, including monitoring and prevention strategies.
Eradication
Eradication is the ultimate goal of pest control. It requires strengthening control efforts to the point that the population of a disease is below the threshold where it can no longer sustain transmission, and then eliminating the microbe from the environment and all its reservoirs. This is a major, complicated effort that must be implemented on a global scale. It is one of the most difficult and costly of all control efforts, but it may be the only way to achieve complete peace of mind from infectious diseases.
Eradication strategies require extensive knowledge of the ecology of a pest and its vectors, intermediary hosts, and humans, and an understanding of the interaction between these elements. It is a complex process that depends on a large number of variables, and it must be carried out at local, community, national, regional, and international levels. It can fail for a variety of reasons. A microbe’s reproductive rate may be too high (a problem today with yellow fever); resistance to the tools of eradication may arise (insecticides in the case of malaria and drugs in the case of guinea worm); political problems and civil strife can prevent an eradication program from reaching critical areas where a disease makes its last stand (a problem today for poliomyelitis eradication).
It is essential that all pest control methods be evaluated on their ability to reduce the threat to human health and the natural environment. The key to evaluation is correct identification of the pest. This information can be used to develop control methods that are effective, economical, and environmentally safe.
There are four terms commonly associated with pest control: exterminate, extirpate, eradicate, and uproot. The term exterminate means the extinction of a race, family, or species; extirpate is a more general term that refers to the removal or destruction of an organism or doctrine; and eradicate and uproot both mean the dispersal or expulsion of a pest.
A common pest control mistake is to apply pesticides before the organisms have reached a level that causes economic injury. This leads to the use of unnecessarily toxic chemicals and to wasted money and resources.
Integrated Pest Management
The goal of integrated pest management is to use all methods available to reduce the amount of pesticide needed to control a problem. This is accomplished through monitoring, identification and the use of preventative steps such as plant selection and cultural practices. It also incorporates the manipulation of environmental factors to make it harder for organisms to thrive. This can include avoiding nutrient deficiencies, providing the right amount of moisture, keeping weeds from competing with crops for water or sunlight and using physical barriers like fences and screens to keep out insects.
Preventative measures are the first step in integrated pest management. Denying a pest the resources it needs for survival, growth and reproduction reduces or eliminates the need for chemical controls. This can include denying a crop or weed the food it needs by using mulches and other physical controls, reducing the available water by planting drought-tolerant plants and preventing the sun from reaching the foliage by planting shade trees or using dense shrubbery. It can also mean depriving a pest of the conditions it requires to survive, such as denying a disease organism the full sun that it needs to infect leaves with fungal spores by using soil amendments and other techniques.
If a problem is detected, identification of the pest is important to determine whether it is harmful and needs to be controlled. This helps to ensure that only the correct treatment is used. It also allows for monitoring to see if the pest is declining naturally or has reached an action threshold where further damage becomes intolerable. Monitoring can also help to identify the best time to apply a pesticide.
Once a pest has been identified, the next step is to look at what natural enemies it has and how best to employ those methods. This can include introducing biological predators or parasitoids or releasing natural predatory or disease organisms such as the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis and Bt to kill or suppress unwanted insects. It can also involve cultural methods such as soil conditioning, tillage and irrigation.
Chemical controls are a last resort. When pesticides are applied, they are usually targeted to the specific organism and chosen with the least possible hazard to human health and non-target plants or animals.