Choose a pest control company with a good reputation and years of experience. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations – but also read online reviews.
Remove food, water and shelter to prevent pests from breeding. Use physical controls such as sticky barriers and traps to kill or capture pests. Microorganisms like nematodes, which are sprayed on the soil, can be helpful if the right kind are used. Click Here for more details.
There are many ways to prevent pest infestations, with the simplest being to keep doors and windows closed. Inside, it is important to store food in sealed containers and to wipe down counters, floors, and other surfaces on a regular basis. This helps to reduce the build-up of crumbs and other attractants. It is also a good idea to have screens on windows, and to use bug zappers around the house.
Outside, it is essential to remove piles of debris, wood, and brush from near the home. This eliminates the shelter provided to rodents and other pests, and also reduces the likelihood of fires caused by rodent gnawing of wires and other items. It is also important to cut back bushes and shrubs that touch the foundation, and to trim branches and tree limbs that might fall onto the roof of the house. This is also an opportunity to create a more pleasing landscaping, while decreasing the chances of pest invasions.
It is also important to inspect the property regularly for possible points of entry, and to repair them as soon as they are noticed. Cracks in the walls, loose shingles, and open vents are all invitations to pests, so it is vital to be proactive in this area.
Indoors, a clean and organized workplace is a less inviting environment for pests. Keeping storage areas free of clutter, and removing old newspapers and magazines can help to decrease the chance of rodents and other pests taking up residence in these spaces. This will also allow for easier inspections and detection.
In food processing environments, it is often necessary to use pest control techniques in order to maintain quality and safety. Pests can cause contamination of foodstuffs by spreading disease causing organisms on their bodies or droppings, by physically damaging products or packaging, and by directly contaminating foodstuffs through inhalation of fumes produced by some pesticides.
In outdoor pest control situations, eradication is rarely the goal, but it may be needed in certain cases to protect valuable crops. In some enclosed environments, however, eradication is the primary objective, especially in areas where a particular pest has become established and widespread.
Suppression
Pests are organisms that negatively impact plants, animals or human structures and activities. They can damage buildings, food stores, lawns and gardens, as well as displace native plant species and alter the environment by altering soil health, water availability or temperature. In addition, many pests spread diseases or carry parasites that can threaten human and animal health.
Prevention and suppression are the first steps in controlling a pest infestation problem. Preventive measures are economical and environmentally responsible and include avoiding or changing conditions that promote pests, such as frequent cleaning to remove food, water and shelter.
Suppression methods restrict pest activity and limit population growth by quickly applying control measures while pest numbers are low. These controls can include removing or modifying the pests’ habitat, destroying their eggs and larvae, or spraying to kill them. Chemical treatments must be used carefully to minimize risks to people, beneficial insects and the environment.
Biological pest control uses organisms that naturally injure or kill unwanted organisms to manage pests. These natural enemies can be predators, herbivores, pathogens or symbionts. Classical biological control involves importing and releasing natural enemies in an area to augment the existing ones, either in small, repeated batches or in one large-scale release. This method typically requires more time to work than other methods.
Physical and mechanical pest control are devices, machines and barriers that kill or block the pests or make the environment unsuitable for them. These controls can also include steam sterilization of soil, pheromones and other chemicals that influence the behavior or physiology of pests. They can also include the use of traps or barriers such as fences, screens and walls.
Regulatory control involves enforcement of laws and regulations that prevent pests from spreading or causing severe damage. This can involve quarantine or eradication programs at the local, state or federal level.
Eradication
The goal of eradication is to remove all signs of pests from an area, making them impossible or very difficult to return. This is a rare objective in outdoor pest situations, where prevention and suppression are usually the goals. However, eradication is an important part of some indoor pest control programs. These include efforts to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit fly, gypsy moths and fire ants.
Eradication can be a tricky concept to grasp. Infectious disease anthropologist Thomas Aiden Cockburn defined it as “the total elimination of the pathogen in the natural environment, and consequently the total extinction of the disease.” Eradication is an ambitious goal. It is not always possible or practical to eradicate a pest, even in an enclosed space like a home, school, office or hospital. However, if the pest is not eliminated, it will continue to pose a threat and must be controlled through a combination of methods.
The first step in eradicating pests is to close off access points where they enter and live. This includes sealing cracks in walls and other surfaces with caulk, using steel wool to fill crevices and repairing leaky pipes. It is also important to regularly clean and sanitize the house. Overripe or rotting fruits and vegetables attract flies and ants while piles of garbage can bring in rodents and cockroaches. Garbage should be disposed of on a daily basis.
Eliminating pests may require the use of chemical products. Care should be taken to select the least toxic methods and chemicals whenever possible. Baits, traps and crack and crevice treatments are relatively safe and effective if used correctly. When applying any product, carefully read and follow the label instructions and safety warnings.
When choosing chemicals, consider the environment in which they will be used and the risks to children and pets. Try to avoid spraying directly on people and pets. If sprays must be used, avoid spraying near doors and windows. Whenever possible, apply surface sprays along skirting boards and in other out-of-the-way places where the spray cannot easily reach people or pets.
IPM
IPM is an environmentally sensitive approach to pest control that minimizes the use of chemical sprays. IPM programs utilize regular monitoring and inspection of plants to determine whether treatment is needed. Treatments are applied only when the resulting damage or nuisance levels reach unacceptable thresholds. Treatments are a combination of cultural, physical, biological, and educational methods. Chemical controls are used in site-specific combinations and only when necessary, in the lowest-toxic formulations available that are effective against the target pests.
IPM begins with preventive measures, such as selecting plants adapted to your climate and soil conditions, and using proper watering and fertilizer practices. It continues with cultural strategies, such as removing weeds before they become a problem, and physical controls, such as mulching and mowing. In addition, IPM includes the deliberate release of beneficial insects (including predators and parasitoids) to control pest populations.
When pests do appear, scout and monitor them regularly to determine the type and severity of the infestation. Accurate identification is a key step, as is establishing an action threshold that will indicate when pest control is necessary. This threshold will vary by pest and plant. For example, a homeowner may choose to tolerate some level of leaf or flower skeletonizing by Japanese beetles but will not tolerate an invasion that degrades the overall appearance of their lawn or garden.
Integrated Pest Management programs also include the use of traditional or synthetic pesticides to quickly control outbreaks when other methods fail. Sevin brand insecticides, for example, are a time-honored product that can be used for many different pest problems. These products are formulated with safety in mind and should always be used according to the label.
A well-established IPM program can help keep invasive pests under control, while protecting the environment and your health. Be patient – IPM requires an ongoing commitment and can take some time to establish. Don’t give up, however, because IPM is one of the best means to achieve sustainable gardening success. As you begin to adopt these practices, you can look forward to healthy landscapes that are as attractive to people as they are to nature’s creatures.