Preventive measures are the first line of defense against pests. Clutter provides places for pests to hide and breed. Regularly clean surfaces. Fix leaking pipes, etc. Standing water attracts many types of pests.
Reduce or eliminate attractants such as overripe fruit, rotting vegetables, compost piles, bird feeders and baths. Contact Bakersfield Pest Control now!
Pests can harm crops, damage buildings, or disrupt the natural balance of nature. A pest can be a plant (weed), vertebrate (bird, rodent, or other mammal), invertebrate (insect, mite, or snail), pathogen (bacteria or virus that causes disease), or any organism that interferes with human or animal well-being.
Generally, the goal of pest control is to prevent problems before they occur. The primary methods used for this purpose are scouting, monitoring, and correct identification. Correctly identifying the pest is important for planning and selecting the best management strategy, as well as determining whether or not the pest requires treatment and at what time. Monitoring provides data about the presence and quantity of a pest, and scouting is the regular search for pests and their activity.
Scouting and monitoring are especially important for the food service industry. In restaurants and hotels, for example, pests can be a significant health hazard because they can spread food-borne illnesses like salmonella. They can also damage facilities by chewing on wires and building nests where they are a fire hazard. In addition, they can cause a variety of customer complaints, such as fleas and mosquito bites.
Many pests are able to thrive only as long as their food supply, water, or shelter is available. A lack of adequate shelter or overwintering sites can limit some pest populations, as can geographic features such as mountains or lakes that restrict the movement of others.
Preventing pests from gaining entry to structures is the easiest way to protect people, property and profits. Sealing gaps and cracks around foundations, trimming trees, removing woodpiles, and properly disposing of trash can all help deter pests. Similarly, regularly inspecting interior and exterior areas for potential pest entry points, such as holes in walls, dripping faucets, or loose siding, and taking steps to repair them is also effective. In addition, storing food in sealed containers and keeping garbage cans tightly closed and removed frequently reduces the availability of food for pests. Finally, avoiding the use of sprays, foggers and other toxic chemicals can lower the risk of health issues for people and pets.
Occasionally, pests can get out of hand and must be dealt with. Pest control uses a variety of methods to kill or keep pests from infesting plants and animals in the fields, orchards, landscapes, homes, and wildland areas. The goal is to minimize risk to people, beneficial organisms, and the environment. The principles of integrated pest management (IPM) guide this effort.
Prevention is the key, and IPM involves regular monitoring of the pest population to make sure that a control measure has worked. This involves scouting — regularly searching for, identifying, and assessing the numbers of a pest species and the damage it has caused. It may also include monitoring weather conditions that affect pests, such as temperature and moisture levels.
Threshold-based decision-making determines whether the pest population has reached a level that requires action. The idea is to reduce the number of pests to an acceptable level with as little disturbance as possible while maximizing production and maintaining or improving environmental quality. For example, a few wasps flying around a home don’t warrant controlling them, but a huge hive in the attic might.
Biological control, including predators, parasites, and pathogens, is used to reduce pest populations. There is often a time lag between when a pest’s natural enemies are introduced and when they start working to control the population, so this method can take some patience.
Chemical pest control is a common way to manage an unwanted pest. These substances are usually toxic to the pest and often cause harm or even death if ingested. Only a qualified professional should use chemical pesticides, and the materials must be applied in a manner that minimizes risks to humans, beneficial organisms, and the environment.
Mechanical and physical controls prevent pests by killing them directly or making the environment unsuitable for them. Examples of these controls include traps for rodents and using mulches to smother weeds.
Biological controls are the most environmentally friendly, but they can take some time to work. For instance, the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae can be sprayed on soil to kill fleas, grubs, and other insects without damaging the plant.
Pests cause health problems and damage property. They are usually unwanted creatures such as rodents, cockroaches, termites, bed bugs, and poisonous spiders. Pest control is a process that eliminates or manages these organisms to prevent them from infesting homes, businesses, and other facilities. It can be done through exclusion, repulsion, physical removal, or chemical means. Pest control experts use different methods based on the type of pest and its severity. In severe infestations, more extermination methods are used, while prevention techniques are emphasized in mild infestations.
Eradication is an important part of pest control, but it can be difficult to achieve. Infectious disease anthropologist Thomas Aiden Cockburn defined it as “the permanent reduction to zero of the worldwide incidences of infection caused by a specific agent as a result of deliberate efforts.”
The Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP) was deemed highly successful, but other efforts such as the Guinea worm and rinderpest eradication programs have not met their goals. The SEP was able to eradicate the virus because it could be easily administered through vaccination. The eradication of other infectious diseases such as polio, however, depends on a number of factors, including whether the virus can be eradicated through vaccines.
There are other forms of eradication in pest control, such as using predators to reduce the population of the organism. This method is often expensive and time consuming, but can be effective when other methods are not feasible. One of the most effective ways to use this type of pest control is by using parasitic nematodes, which are microscopic worms that live in the soil. They have a variety of beneficial uses, including killing fleas, grubs, ants, and even some weeds.
Chemical pesticides are another way to eradicate pests, though they are often dangerous if not handled properly. The pesticides are designed to kill the organism by attacking their physiology or disrupting the nervous system. They are commonly used in agriculture, where they protect crops from insects, fungi, and weeds, as well as in home pest control, such as destroying termite colonies. These types of pesticides are generally only available through licensed professionals.
An integrated pest management approach focuses on using all possible control options to avoid or minimize the use of chemical products. These methods include physical, cultural, and biological controls. Biological control involves encouraging natural enemies to reduce pest numbers. Natural enemies are predators, parasites and pathogens, which naturally affect the growth or life cycles of pests and prevent them from damaging crops. Plant pathogens, nematodes, and weeds are all examples of natural enemies that can be used in integrated pest management.
A physical or mechanical control is a first-line option for integrated pest management, and includes hand picking and barriers to stop pests from entering a field or garden. Trapping and vacuuming are also common mechanical control methods. Some types of traps attract pests with light or sound and kill them through heat or suction, or repel pests by electricity. Cultivating, soil solarization and heating are other mechanical control options in integrated pest management.
Integrated pest management includes crop rotation, soil health practices, good sanitation, and other prevention methods to prevent or limit the development of pests. Chemical pesticides are used only when other approaches cannot be effectively or economically employed. Chemicals are applied in the smallest amount possible to achieve the desired result. The best and most environmentally friendly pesticides are selected to control a problem. Pesticides are grouped into herbicides, rodenticides, insecticides, fungicides and larvicides.
Chemicals can be applied to the surface of a plant or in the soil, on leaves and stems, inside wall voids or in other places where a pest hides. They can also be sprayed or injected directly into the pest. The most effective chemical products are formulated for specific pests, and are usually combined to provide additional control benefits, such as desiccation or fungicidal effects.
A successful IPM program requires regular scouting and inspection of fields for pest problems. Setting an action threshold, a point at which pest populations or environmental conditions warrant pest control action, will focus the size, scope and intensity of an integrated pest management plan. Regular scouting and monitoring will show whether the chosen pest control measures are working or if other control methods need to be added or altered.