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Thresholds are levels of pest populations below which action is not necessary. Monitoring and scouting are essential in pest control. Physical and mechanical controls include barriers, traps, soil solarization, cultivation, radiation, and heat treatments.
Pests can damage crops, contaminate food, or make people sick. They can also cause problems for the people living in homes and businesses that they infest, such as worsening asthma or allergies, destroying furniture, contaminating garbage and creating fire hazards by chewing through wires. Pest control is a complex effort, but the goal should be to keep pest populations below acceptable levels with as little harm to other organisms as possible.
Pest prevention is most effective when the underlying conditions that favor pests are changed. This can be accomplished through environmental management, such as removing the food, water or shelter that attracts them. It can also involve introducing natural enemies of the pest, such as predators, parasites or diseases. Biological controls usually do not achieve the same level of control as chemical or physical methods, and there is often a time lag between the onset of pest infestation and the occurrence of adequate numbers of natural enemies.
Other ways to prevent pest problems include storing foods in airtight containers, keeping trash cans tightly closed and putting out garbage regularly, fixing leaky pipes and not leaving pet food or water outside. Getting rid of standing water is also important, since pests like frogs, beetles and mosquitoes breed in it.
In outdoor areas, prevention is the main focus of pest control programs. Eradication is very rare in outdoor pest situations, but it can be attempted where the pests are causing unacceptable harm. Eradication is less common in enclosed areas, such as in dwellings; schools; office buildings; and health care, food processing, or grocery stores.
In general, preventing pests should include a combination of techniques, such as habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices and use of resistant varieties. This is called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). It can help reduce pests without using hazardous chemicals, and it is an important part of any comprehensive pest control program. When chemical treatments are used, they should be designed to minimize risk to human health and the environment. They should be applied only when monitoring indicates that they are needed, and they should be used in a way that will avoid unnecessary exposure of humans and pets to the chemicals.
Suppression
Pest infestations can be prevented by taking steps to eliminate the food, water, and shelter that attract them. These steps include regularly cleaning and storing food in sealed containers, keeping trash cans closed tightly, and sealing cracks around doors and windows. Eliminating clutter and reducing places where pests can hide can also help prevent pest infestations, as well as identifying and fixing any potential entry points into homes or offices.
Many pests are introduced into human environments by people, either intentionally or unintentionally. For example, rats, mice and other rodents that enter buildings or homes in search of food or shelter can cause damage by chewing and gnawing, and they may carry fleas, ticks and diseases that affect people and pets.
Other pests, such as insects and weeds, can be brought in by people as a result of improper handling or shipments. Biological pest control involves the use of living organisms to target specific species of pests without harming beneficial insects that help pollinate crops and other plants. These organisms may be predators, parasites, or pathogens and can be incorporated into crop protection programs in the field or applied to structures for residential or commercial pest control.
Chemical pest controls, such as sprays and traps, kill the target organism or change its environment so that it becomes unsuitable for reproduction or survival. These methods can be effective in the short term but require careful management to avoid damaging other organisms and to ensure that a pest population does not rebound.
Cultural controls include practices such as plow-under cultivation, proper seed storage, tillage and manure management, greenhouse and tillage equipment maintenance and cleaning, and managing irrigation schedules to avoid long periods of high relative humidity that promote disease pest development.
Mechanical and physical controls include devices that kill a pest directly or block its entrance or exit, such as traps for rodents. Physical controls can also include mulches for weed control, steam sterilization of soil, and barriers to pest entry, such as screens for windows and doors.
Frequently inspect both the interior and exterior of your home or office for potential entry points for pests, such as cracks in walls, loose foundations and utility lines. Take steps to fix any problems immediately.
Detection
Pests can cause structural damage, contamination and health problems. Early detection and preventive strategies can help minimize the effects of a pest infestation.
Monitoring means checking a field, landscape, forest, building or site to determine which pests are present, how many there are, and what damage they’ve caused. This can be done by trapping, scouting, or simply counting. The information gathered from monitoring helps you to decide whether or not control is needed. It also allows you to choose the best control methods and to establish the most appropriate time for using them.
In food processing environments, pests can lead to biological (droppings, excrement, intestinal worms) and physical contamination of foodstuffs and their packaging, and to damage to equipment and buildings. Pests include rodents (mice, rats), crawling insects (cockroaches, ants, fleas and carpet beetles), birds, flies, mites and other flies, crustaceans and mollusks, and vertebrates (rodents and fish).
To detect pests, use traps and other devices that attract them, such as baits or pheromones. Visual examination can also reveal signs of pest activity, such as gnawing or chewing on objects, damage to containers or their contents, and the presence of feces or droppings. In some cases, it is necessary to inspect objects under magnification to identify pests. Specimens should be kept in a secure container, with a label describing the date and location of collection.
Regular scouting of the area can help to keep pest numbers under control, especially with regard to insects. For example, termites swarm in spring, while cockroaches are more active during the summer. It is important to know the life cycle and migratory habits of pests in order to recognize these seasonal changes and anticipate when they may be at their most vulnerable.
In structures such as museums, creating sanitary perimeters on floors through organized layout of shelving and cabinets can decrease the labour required for inspection and facilitate trapping and detection. Keeping windows and screens in good repair can reduce the ability of pests to enter the building. And, using helpful soil organisms like the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae can be a cost effective alternative to chemical pesticides in controlling cockroach and rat infestations.
Treatment
Pest control involves eliminating or reducing populations of plants and animals that cause economic or health problems. Some of the most common pests include rodents, insects and birds. Food processing environments are vulnerable to infestations from these and other organisms that damage or spoil equipment, contaminate products and create unpleasant working conditions. In addition, they may be sources of disease causing microorganisms. In homes, pests damage or displace people and pets, and can contaminate the environment with waste products, such as droppings or urine.
Prevention is the best approach to managing pests. Before a pest infestation can be controlled, it is important to remove the food, water and shelter the pests need. This can be done by storing food in containers with tight lids, removing trash regularly, fixing leaky plumbing and cleaning the kitchen area. It is also important to keep vegetation away from buildings and to seal and caulk cracks and crevices where pests might enter.
Traps, barriers, screens, and fences can sometimes be used to exclude pests. Chemicals, such as rodenticides, can be used to kill or repel pests. The temperature, humidity and other environmental factors can be changed to suppress pests, such as by using lights, heat or refrigeration. Biological methods of control include the use of predators, parasites, pathogens, or other living organisms that attack and kill pests. This type of control can be very effective, but there is often a time lag between the introduction of the new enemy and the reduction in the pest population.
The smallest amounts of chemicals can be effective in killing or deterring most pests, but it is important to follow product labels carefully and use only the amount recommended. If a pesticide is applied improperly, it can harm humans or other living things in the area. Children should be kept out of areas where pesticides are used. It is also a good idea to purchase pesticides only from reputable retailers, and to store them in the original container when not in use. The label will contain instructions on how to safely dispose of empty pesticide containers.