Pests are more than just a nuisance; they can cause property damage and pose health risks. They may carry diseases such as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, leptospirosis and salmonella.
Fortunately, there are a number of pest control methods that can help you keep your garden and home healthy and free of harmful insects. These include physical, biological and chemical techniques. Contact Pest Control Eagle Idaho now!
Pests are more than just a nuisance; they can destroy buildings and cause health problems for people. For example, rats can chew through wires and bring diseases like hantavirus, leptospirosis and Salmonella into homes. Similarly, mice can carry fleas and cockroaches can contaminate food and pose health risks to building occupants with their droppings, saliva and excrement.
Preventing pest control problems is easy, and most often involves keeping the area around a structure clean and free of debris. Clutter, wood piles, trash and other clutter provide rodents and other pests hiding places to hide and a route to get into the building. Keep trash cans closed at all times and move them outside as soon as possible to eliminate the scent of food and other substances that attract pests. Keep wood piles away from the house and trim shrubs and trees to prevent them from providing a highway into the house.
Store food in sealed containers to deter ants, rodents and other pests from entering. Stored food should be kept in the refrigerator or in sealed jars or Tupperware to keep it from being exposed to insects and other pests. Remove bird feeders and baths from the home, as these can also attract pests. Keep compost areas and garbage cans covered or in a shed to deter rodents and other pests. Keep lawns mowed and weeded to reduce the number of hiding places for rodents and other pests.
Biological Pest Control
Biological methods are often the best choice for preventing pest infestations, especially those that occur in agriculture or residential settings. Biological pest control uses natural predators and parasites to eliminate the problem, rather than spraying toxic chemicals into the environment. Biological pest control is more effective than chemical controls and generally has less impact on the environment, although it may take longer to produce results.
Keeping doors and windows shut is one of the most effective ways to prevent pests from entering homes and businesses. Pests are attracted to open spaces and can enter through small cracks, crevices and holes in exterior walls. Sealing these gaps with caulking can stop pests in their tracks. If sprays and other chemical products are used, they should be targeted at specific stages of pest development. This will minimize off-target damage and reduce the need for more costly measures.
Suppression
Pests are unwanted organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, insects, nematodes, weeds, or vertebrates (rats, mice, flies, squirrels, birds, and snakes) that damage or devalue crops or plant products, displace native species, or disturb the natural balance of local habitats. They can cause diseases in humans or livestock and impact human health, food security, and economics. Pests also can alter environmental factors such as soil health, nutrient content, water availability, or fire events to further displace native species and disrupt ecosystems.
Pest control aims to reduce the numbers of pests to below levels that cause unacceptable damage through use of natural, biological, cultural, physical, or chemical controls. Threshold-based decision-making involves scouting and monitoring to determine when pest activity warrants action.
Some pests are continuous, requiring regular management to keep them below damaging thresholds. Others are sporadic or migratory, needing to be controlled only periodically. Still others are potential pests, meaning that they could become damaging under certain conditions. Preventing these pests from becoming problematic is the most desirable course of action.
Prevention can be accomplished through simple assessments and actions such as removing objects that attract pests, using baits or traps to lure them away, or restricting access to areas where they can breed or harbor. It can also be achieved through limiting the movement of wood that may be infested with tree-killing insects, or by stopping the transfer of plants that have been infected with disease.
Chemical pest control can be used to rapidly reduce a large outbreak, and is typically applied when a pest population has reached unacceptable levels. It is important to use the safest chemicals possible, and follow all label instructions and safety warnings. It is also important to apply only the amount of chemical required, as overuse can create its own problems.
Biological pest control relies on a plant or animal’s own natural enemies, such as parasites or predators, to help suppress the problem. These methods often take some time to work, as there is a lag between a pest population increase and the corresponding increase in its natural enemies. Biological control can also be enhanced by releasing more of the enemy, or by genetically altering the pest.
Eradication
Pest control is the removal of unwanted creatures such as rats, mice, cockroaches, bed bugs and spiders. These creatures can cause a lot of damage both to people’s homes and businesses, but also to the environment. They can also pose serious health issues as they carry microbes and other pathogens that are potentially harmful to humans.
The most common form of pest control is through the use of chemicals or insecticides. This is usually done through spraying an area where pests are located with a chemical that will kill or repel them. This method is a quick and easy way to deal with pest problems but it is important to note that it can be dangerous if not used correctly. For this reason, it is important to always follow the label instructions when using chemical pest control products.
Other methods of pest control involve removing the food or water sources that attract pests. For instance, rodents are attracted to food. You can reduce the risk of them entering your home by storing food in sealed containers or on high shelves where they are less likely to be reached by children and pets. It is also important to regularly clean kitchens and storerooms and to keep garbage bins tightly closed.
Many pests are also attracted to warmth and moisture. You can reduce the risk of them invading your home by ensuring that all pipes and gutters are properly sealed and that any woodpiles are a good distance from the house. You can also ensure that all windows and doors are properly screened and by keeping vegetation trimmed back.
Physical traps and barriers are another effective method of pest control. These can include putting up traps to capture the pests and using fences to block them from accessing certain areas of your property. Physical traps and barriers are often non-toxic and are very effective for small-scale pest problems. However, they do not address all types of pests and are ineffective for some species such as caterpillars and hornets.
Finally, some people choose to use biological methods of pest control. These include using a bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis to create proteins that are toxic to pests such as caterpillars when ingested. Other natural biological pest control agents are nematodes and ladybugs.
Monitoring
Even the most sanitary and well-maintained buildings can experience pest infestations. An infestation is the presence of any species in numbers that cause damage or have health implications for building occupants.
A key to avoiding pest infestations is monitoring. Continual inspection and scouting throughout the growing season allow pest managers to detect problems and act quickly. Observing pest populations also provides critical information for determining what action thresholds should be used for each inspection zone.
Monitoring can include visual inspection and the use of traps and glue boards. In addition, a pest log should be maintained to record any insect activity within and around a facility. This helps in detecting any sudden or significant increases in pest activity and also enables a pest management professional to identify the most likely sources of an outbreak.
Various types of pheromones can be helpful in assessing pest populations. These pheromones, which mimic the female insects’ mating signals, can be placed in traps or other types of monitors to estimate pest numbers. Some pheromones, such as those that confuse males and prevent mating, can be applied directly to soil or food to reduce pest numbers without using chemical control agents.
For plants that produce a product or are a food processing facility, pests can be a serious health and safety issue. They can disrupt production and cause damage to equipment. Additionally, a pest outbreak can cause poor customer reviews and loss of revenue.
To avoid these issues, pest management strategies can be designed to prevent or limit pest infestations by excluding them from the plant, repelling them with non-chemical deterrents and destroying them with physical controls. Examples of excluding pests from the plant can include screens, caulking and other simple repairs, as well as removing potential nesting sites and storing products in pest-resistant packaging.
Biological pest control uses nature’s own predators to manage pests, such as ladybugs that eat aphids. This type of pest control can be a great way to minimize the use of chemical controls, but it must be done correctly in order to be effective. Incorrectly deployed techniques can actually increase pest numbers and require the use of more chemicals to get them under control.