Identifying the pest correctly is essential to developing an effective control strategy. Monitoring pest populations allows you to determine if their numbers have exceeded acceptable thresholds.
Mechanical and physical controls kill or block pests, such as traps and barriers. They can also alter the environment so that it is unsuitable for pests, such as using mulches for weed management or steam sterilization of soil to reduce disease. Contact Seaside Pest Control now!
Pests can spoil food, damage buildings and create health hazards. They may annoy people by their presence, especially when they bite or sting, such as with bed bugs, fleas, hornets and wasps. They can carry diseases and contaminate food, such as bacteria and viruses, like salmonella, Listeria and rotavirus. They can also degrade materials, causing stains or odors, such as in the case of mold and mildew.
Preventive strategies include blocking the entry of pests, such as sealing cracks and gaps in walls and other structures, and keeping doors and windows closed as much as possible. Inspecting food shipments and keeping floors clean can also help prevent infestations. Eliminating sources of food, water and shelter for pests, such as storing food in sealed containers and removing garbage on a regular basis, can also be effective.
Monitoring the activity of pests is another important part of prevention. This involves checking a field, landscape, building or other site on a regular basis to identify which pests are present, how many there are and the extent of any damage they have caused. The information gathered from monitoring can help determine whether the pests are just an occasional nuisance or should be controlled. The information also helps decide the best control methods and when to use them.
Physical or mechanical controls are methods that physically exclude pests, such as traps, screens, barriers, fences and nets. They can also be used to alter the environment, such as heat, cold or electricity, which sometimes suppresses or eliminates pests.
Chemical pesticides are the most common method of controlling pests, but they can be harmful to people and other organisms, including beneficial ones. Therefore, the choice of a chemical should be made carefully and only after considering its effectiveness and hazards. For example, using a bait rather than a spray can decrease the amount of pesticide that is emitted into the air.
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is an ecosystem-based strategy that uses natural pest control methods such as biological control, changing cultural practices and habitat manipulation, before resorting to chemicals. It also focuses on long-term prevention of pests and their damage by selecting and using resistant varieties of crops, plants and animals. When pesticides are needed, they are applied according to established guidelines that minimize risks to humans and the environment.
Suppression
Natural forces influence pest populations and may help or hinder human efforts to control them. For example, climate affects how fast a pest population grows and what its maximum size is. So do other organisms in the environment, such as predators, parasites, disease agents and competitors. The location and availability of food, water and shelter can also influence pests. Some pests are sporadic, only occurring in certain places at specific times. Others are continuous pests that require regular control, such as rodents and plant diseases.
Preventive measures are the first line of defense against pests and should be used whenever possible. They include planting pest-free seed and transplants, preventing weeds from growing, using irrigation scheduling that avoids situations conducive to disease development, cleaning tillage and harvesting equipment between fields or sites, practicing field sanitation procedures and removing alternate hosts or breeding sites for insect pests and plant diseases.
Mechanical or physical controls kill or block pests directly or make their environment unsuitable for them. For example, traps for rodents and barriers such as fences, nets or screens keep pests out of a garden. Mulches, steam sterilization of soil and other cultural practices likewise reduce the occurrence of some pests.
Chemicals may be used to suppress or destroy pests when preventive techniques fail. The aim is to do so with minimal harm to other organisms or the environment. The use of chemicals should be limited, however, to when it is necessary for achieving the desired outcome.
The threshold for when pests are controlled should be established by monitoring and scouting. The number of pests should be compared to an economic or aesthetic limit and the damage caused by the pests should be assessed. This information should be the basis for decisions about suppression methods to be employed.
Biological control exploits nature’s own organisms to manage pests. This can mean releasing natural enemies that are bred in the laboratory and then introduced to the field, or it can involve augmenting existing natural enemies in a particular area by adding more of them (often in a single, large-scale release called “inundative”). The latter approach typically involves introducing organisms that are known to have a positive impact on the pest, such as the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae, which devours grubs.
Reduction
When pest populations reach damaging levels, a variety of techniques are available to reduce them. These reduction techniques can be cultural, biological or chemical. They may also be used in combination. A thorough pest management program includes prevention, suppression and reduction, often with the goal of eliminating the need for any chemical treatment.
Reducing the population of pests deprives them of a food source and provides other factors that make them more susceptible to control methods. Changing environmental conditions may also help to reduce pest populations. For example, plowing, crop rotation, removing infected plant material, cleaning greenhouse and tillage equipment, and managing irrigation schedules to prevent long periods of high relative humidity can all disrupt the environment for pests.
Physical barriers can also inhibit pests. Netting in orchards, screens in greenhouses and enclosures for vegetable fields can prevent insect damage. Mulching with organic matter or other materials can prevent weeds, and barriers such as traps, dikes and wires can keep birds away from crops.
Natural enemies are organisms that prey on or parasitize pests and can be conserved and released to help control pests. These can include predators such as mites that feed on fruit-munching insects, parasitic nematodes that kill harmful soil grubs or wasps that parasitize greenhouse whitefly.
Using biological control agents is more sustainable than using chemicals, but it can take some time to work. Natural enemy populations must be built up to the point that they can effectively control the pests, and this can only be accomplished by conserving or releasing sufficient numbers of the natural enemy species.
Chemicals can be used to control pests when necessary, but care must be taken to minimize the impact on beneficial organisms. Selecting a pesticide that is highly targeted to the particular pest, using spot applications, treating alternating strips within a field and other methods can all reduce the amount of pesticide that comes into contact with natural enemies. Knowing the biology of the pest helps to identify those life stages that are most vulnerable to a chemical, and limiting the areas treated can further reduce their exposure.
Management
A pest problem must be managed by using a combination of control methods. The objective of management is to reduce the level of a pest to a point where it no longer causes unacceptable harm. Suppression and prevention are often interrelated, so it is important to understand the nature of a pest’s life-cycle before choosing a control method.
A variety of biological, cultural, chemical, physical and genetic control techniques are available for pests. Biological controls use natural enemies to injure or consume pests, and typically involve an active management role by humans. Chemical controls use poisonous substances to kill or control pests, and may be applied by spraying, baits, dusting or dipping. Physical and mechanical controls are devices and tools that physically control or alter the environment by limiting or restricting access to resources that promote pest growth or that support pest populations.
Biological and cultural techniques help prevent and limit pest infestations before they occur. Physical controls include sealing cracks, caulking, and other measures to make a structure less welcoming to pests. Clutter can provide hiding places for pests and may allow them to spread more easily, so reducing or eliminating clutter can help prevent pest problems.
The most effective approach is an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. IPM begins by identifying the pests, then monitoring their presence and taking appropriate action to prevent or eliminate them.
Pests are organisms that damage, devalue or spoil crops, gardens, turf, livestock, and other property; interfere with human activities, such as eating or playing; and/or cause adverse health effects or discomforts. Some pests are invasive and displace native species; others affect the health of the environment by disrupting habitats or introducing diseases.
IPM is an ongoing process that involves making continual improvements to the management of pests. Preventive steps are usually the first priority, and should be followed by a treatment plan to reduce or eliminate them as soon as they appear. The best control methods are those that target the pest in the earliest stage of its life cycle and avoid off-target impacts. When pesticides are used, it is important to select the most targeted option possible – for example, a bait rather than a direct spraying.