Accurate pest identification is the first step in any effective control program. Identification allows you to determine basic information about the pest, such as its life cycle and the time of year it is most susceptible to being controlled.
Physical or mechanical controls include sticky barriers, heat killing, netting, and traps. Altering the environment by draining swamps or eliminating weeds and debris can also deter pests. Contact Meridian Pest Control now!
Prevention is a major goal in pest control. Preventive methods such as sealing entry points, keeping garbage cans covered and properly disposed of, and cleaning up food sources will reduce the number of pests around. A clean home and yard also provide fewer places for pests to breed and hide.
Often, preventing pest problems is less expensive than treating an existing infestation. For instance, if your home or business has a crack in the foundation that allows mice to enter, sealing it with caulking will reduce the need for more extensive and costly repairs. In addition, keeping clutter to a minimum and storing foods in sealable containers will reduce the likelihood of a pest problem.
Pests can be dangerous, causing disease in humans and pets and deteriorating plants or food. In some cases, they may even carry pathogens that can cause serious illness in humans or animals if eaten or inhaled. Pathogens include fungi, bacteria and viruses, which can be spread by pests like rats, cockroaches or mosquitoes.
The first step in preventing pest problems is to conduct a thorough inspection. This will allow a pest professional to identify the type and severity of your problem and to develop a treatment plan. This plan will likely involve both interior and exterior treatments, depending on the pests and your specific needs.
Suppression is the next goal in pest control, and it involves reducing the population of a pest to an acceptable level. This is usually accomplished by targeting the specific pests and their habitats. It may include spraying, baiting or trapping.
Eradication is a rarely used goal in outdoor pest situations, although it has been successfully achieved in some areas for such insects as the Mediterranean fruit fly, gypsy moth and fire ants. In indoor environments, eradication is often the primary objective of pest control programs.
Pesticides are sometimes necessary to control pests, but the right pesticide and application method is essential. Always choose a pesticide that is designed to target the specific pest you are trying to control, and use it according to the label. This will help minimize the amount of pesticide that is absorbed by the environment or passed into your home.
Suppression
Pests are organisms that damage or degrade crops, forests, or home landscapes. They may also pose a health risk or contaminate food. Pest control strategies include prevention, suppression and eradication tactics. Prevention tactics keep pests from becoming a problem; suppression reduces pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level; and eradication destroys the entire pest population.
Preventive actions, such as frequently cleaning areas where pests are likely to live, help prevent pest infestations from occurring in the first place. Infestations that develop can be controlled with suppressive methods, such as removing food sources or restricting water access, which slow the growth of existing pest populations. Suppressive measures are most effective when they are applied before the pest problem becomes a serious threat to human safety or enterprise.
Certain features of the environment limit the growth of some pest populations, such as mountains or large bodies of water that restrict pests’ roosting and water supplies. Other environmental factors, such as the availability of overwintering sites and shelter, can also limit the survival and activity of some pests.
Threshold-based decision-making focuses on monitoring and scouting to determine when the pest problems become severe enough to require action. For example, a few wasps in the garden might not be a problem, but several hundred could require physical removal or a targeted insecticide application.
Monitoring pests includes observing the number and severity of pest damages, checking environmental conditions that favor pests or their control, and examining trapping, scouting, or observing bait stations to see if pest populations are increasing or decreasing. It’s also important to consider what “harm” is being caused by the pest and what the costs of controlling the pest would be.
In some cases, pests are so dangerous to human safety and/or enterprise that they must be eliminated. Eradication techniques, such as quarantine or eradication programs, use federal and state laws to improve management practices, limit the spread of an invading pest and/or restrict movement of infested materials.
Eradication
The eradication of pest problems involves finding and applying effective control methods in large enough quantities to eliminate a target organism. Typically, this is achieved through the combined use of biological and chemical controls. Eradication requires a commitment of large resources at local, national, and international levels. It is usually a long-term process and a complex mix of factors determines success or failure.
Biological control is the use of natural enemies (parasites, predators, or pathogens) to suppress the growth and/or spread of pests. The goal is not always eradication, but rather to reduce the population below damaging levels. This is done by introducing additional enemies or supplementing existing ones, such as through the release of sterile males, or with the use of pheromones or juvenile hormones.
Chemical pest control methods involve the use of synthetic chemicals to kill or deter pests. They can include repellents, which work by making the environment unwelcoming to pests; insecticides, which kill the pests; and fumigation, which works by sealing a space and filling it with a poisonous gas to eradicate the infestation. These methods can have environmental and health hazards, especially if they are not used correctly or if resistance to them develops.
Physical traps and netting provide a way to capture or block pests without using harmful chemicals. These methods can be effective at controlling some pests, but are only useful in the short term as most pests will quickly re-establish themselves. Other physical pest control measures include keeping outdoor areas clean and securing trash cans, trimming back bushes and clearing away debris to make it difficult for pests to nest, as well as crack and crevice treatments, which can prevent entry into buildings.
Often, the best way to prevent an infestation is to contact a professional pest control company. These experts will carry out an initial inspection to identify the problem and create a customized treatment plan. These plans can include indoor and outdoor treatments, and may involve spraying, baiting, or dusting depending on the type of pest and the severity of the infestation.
Biological Control
Biological control uses natural enemies of pests to suppress their populations and limit their damaging effects. These organisms are generally predators, parasitoids or pathogens. Biological controls are usually safer than chemical pesticides, which have the potential to be persistent in the environment or cause other environmental damage. Biological control agents are also less costly than many conventional pesticides. Biological control is an integral part of integrated pest management (IPM) programs.
Unlike chemical pesticides, which are often applied to provide a knock-down effect when a pest outbreak occurs, a biocontrol treatment is most effective when used preventatively. A number of practices can be employed to encourage the development of biological control agents, including crop rotations, cover crops, vegetative buffer zones and preserving habitat for natural enemies. The use of less-persistent pesticides may also reduce the likelihood that the application will be toxic to natural enemies.
Biocontrol agents are released in one of two ways: Inundative release or inoculative release. Inundative releases introduce a large population of the biocontrol agent at once, such as releasing ladybugs to control insect pests. This approach aims for quick control of the pest but might require repeated applications. Inoculative releases introduce a small population of the biocontrol agent, such as introducing bacteria to control plant diseases. This method aims for long-term control by establishing a permanent population of the biocontrol agent.
In some cases, a biocontrol agent might need to be supplemented with conventional pesticides. This is called augmentative biocontrol. Augmentation can be achieved by importing exotic natural enemies and introducing them in the area of pest infestation (classical biological control), by increasing the population of existing natural enemies (conservation biology), or by mass rearing and periodic release of naturally occurring natural enemy species, such as predators, parasitoids, fungi or pathogens, into the field. Researchers look for organisms that are highly specific to attacking only the target pest to avoid disrupting ecosystem balance.
Biological control is a complex, knowledge-intensive strategy. The successful implementation of a biological control program requires thorough consideration and modification of existing production practices, understanding the ecology of the target pests and their natural enemies, and extensive trial and error. However, if used as a component of an IPM program, biological control can create significant economic benefits and improve ecological sustainability.