Pests can damage structures, threaten human and animal health, and contaminate food. Hiring a pest control company can help lower these risks. Contact Pezz Pest Control now!

Correct pest identification is necessary for an effective pest control program. Certain geographic features, such as mountains and large bodies of water, restrict pest movement.

Resistant varieties of plants, animals and woods can keep pest populations below damaging levels. Pheromones can also be used as a control tool.

Pest Identification

Correct pest identification is a necessary first step in any effective integrated pest management (IPM) program. Identification can be done visually or by trapping and scouting for insects, mollusks, weeds, vertebrates, or microscopic organisms such as nematodes and pathogens. Incorrect identification can result in selecting inappropriate control tactics, which can cost time and money as well as expose people or the environment to unnecessary risks.

For IPM programs, monitoring of pest populations is conducted to determine whether damage occurs or pest numbers reach threshold levels that require control. Monitoring pests can also include examining environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, which may affect population growth or increase the susceptibility of crops or collections to a given pest.

Field scouting is often the most important monitoring tool for pests in a crop. Monitoring methods vary by pest type, but scouting generally involves walking through the field and looking for signs of infestation. Scouting early in the season and concentrating sampling in fields where pests have historically occurred tends to detect pests before they reach damaging numbers or spread.

Insect identification is usually based on the order to which an insect belongs, such as Lepidoptera or Coleoptera. However, a more detailed level of identification is required for use of some biological insecticides, such as Bacillus thuringiensis products that work on a specific insect order or species like Chrysanthemum leafminer (Liriomyza trifolii).

Once monitoring, identification, and action thresholds indicate that pest control is needed, IPM programs evaluate the proper control method both for effectiveness and risk. Less-risky controls, such as pheromones to interrupt mating or mechanical and physical control, are considered before the application of more-potent chemicals, such as insecticides or herbicides.

If you are unsure of the identification of a pest, contact your local County Extension Service or a pest control professional. Many of these professionals have experience with a wide variety of pests and can assist in proper identification as well as develop an effective treatment strategy. Other options for identifying pests include the Internet and various pest identification guides. Some of these guides are free, while others require payment for a subscription.

Prevention

Prevention is a proactive approach to pest control that focuses on denying pests the things they need to thrive. It includes sanitation and cleaning practices, sealing entry points and eliminating attractants like food sources. It also includes regular inspections and monitoring. The goal of preventative pest management is to reduce reliance on, and the associated risks of, chemical pesticides. This is sometimes called integrated pest management (IPM).

Pests can pose a health threat to humans and pets. Many carry disease-causing pathogens, allergens and toxins. They can also cause damage to wood, fabric, wires and personal items. Pests can also create unpleasant odors and stain or discolor surfaces.

Insects are the most common pests that pest control companies deal with. These include ants, cockroaches, bed bugs and fleas. Rodents are another frequent pest problem that pest control professionals deal with. Other insects that are problematic include silverfish, earwigs and millipedes. Fungus and molds are often considered to be pests, as well.

Keeping a home or business free of pests can help preserve its value, and it can also protect the people living there from a variety of threats. Pests can carry and spread disease-causing pathogens, allergens or toxins, and they can damage property with their burrowing and chewing habits. They can also damage wood, fabrics and other items in homes and offices.

Physical pest control measures, such as traps and baits, are often used to remove pests once they are present. However, this is only effective in the short term and it may not prevent future infestations. Preventative pest control, on the other hand, can be more long-lasting.

It can involve sealing the smallest cracks and crevices that pests might use to gain entry into buildings. It can also include ensuring that garbage receptacles are securely closed, and that landscaping is maintained in ways that doesn’t encourage pest pathways. Regular inspections by pest management professionals can identify and resolve problems early.

In addition, a preventive pest management plan might include the introduction of natural enemies to a targeted pest population. These might include parasites, predators or other organisms that will feed on or attack the pests. The goal of biological pest control is to increase the number of natural enemies so that the level of pests in an area declines without the need for any chemical treatments.

Treatment

Pest control is a practice that seeks to manage the presence of different types of pests in order to minimise the impact they have on our lives and the wider environment. Pests can cause disease, damage property and disrupt food chains or habitats. They can also frighten or upset people, for example by their fierce, scary or grotesque appearance (like spiders, silverfish and earwigs) or by biting, stinging or scratching (like fleas, cockroaches and cluster flies).

Pesticides are often used to kill or repel pests. Some pesticides are sprayed onto surfaces, whilst others are injected or poured into spaces. There are also a number of ‘non-chemical’ pest control methods that can be used, such as traps and baits, to discourage or kill pests and their offspring.

It is important to know that pesticides can be dangerous, especially to children and pets. Therefore, if you choose to use pesticides yourself, make sure you do your research and select the right product for your needs. If you are hiring someone to apply chemicals on your behalf, be sure they have a pest control licence and always follow their advice carefully.

Regular inspections by a professional can help you to identify and monitor pest problems, allowing them to be managed before they become a major issue. Typically, scouting (searching for and identifying pests) or trapping will be conducted to determine how many pests are present and what damage they have caused. Monitoring usually takes place on a routine basis, such as weekly or monthly for insect and insect-like pests, fortnightly or bi-monthly for mollusks, and weekly for weeds.

Sanitation practices can reduce the number of pests by removing their food sources or hiding places. These include improving rubbish collection, cleaning up spills and removing waste material from outdoor areas, and preventing water leaks in buildings and structures. The use of clean seeds and transplants can also reduce the carryover of pests between crops. Control of pests in livestock and agricultural situations can be achieved by careful management of manure, reducing feed waste, and decontaminating equipment before moving it from one area to another.

Eradication

Eradication is the elimination of a pest population to the point that it can no longer recolonize an area. It can be accomplished through the use of natural enemies such as parasites, predators and pathogens; or by introducing enemies that were not present in the area before, such as insects repelled by pheromones and hormones. Eradication may also be achieved by altering the environment to make it less suitable for the pest, such as by eliminating habitats or destroying the food supply that it needs to survive.

A number of factors influence the success of eradication campaigns, including reaction time, the extent and spatial structure of the infested area and the implementation of critical sanitary measures. The probability of successful eradication was significantly higher when the campaign was initiated within 11 months after the first sighting, and for outbreaks in man-made habitats, e.g. greenhouses, a high level of eradication was achieved (Terminal Node 2). Eradication campaigns were more likely to be successful at local rather than at regional or international scales. This is likely a result of the fact that control efforts can be more efficiently coordinated at local scales.

Whether to implement an eradication program or a suppression strategy depends on the amount of damage caused by the pest, the cost and difficulty of eradicating it, and the value of not having it around. The cost of future infections and vaccinations is projected forward, and these values are discounted to give an estimate of the “dividend” that eradication would provide. If this dividend is greater than the costs of eradication, it would be considered a sound investment to eradicate the pest.

Some invasive foreign plants are exceptionally detrimental to agriculture and to wildlands. These include weeds that overrun fields and pastures, and those that invade forests, riparian corridors, estuaries and other natural areas. In California, for example, a special eradication program has targeted these noxious weeds that taint hay and other crops and rob the native vegetation of nutrients.

Eradication is difficult, and most attempts fail. Some reasons for failure include the speed at which a pest breeds, the difficulty of monitoring an infestation, policy and funding issues that slow the response to an outbreak, and insufficient knowledge about the biology and ecology of the pest.