Pests cause damage to plants, crops, buildings and structures. They also affect our health by spreading disease like hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, leptospirosis, plague and salmonella.
Taking steps to prevent pest infestations can help control them. Physical methods include traps, screens, fences, radiation and modifying the environment. Chemical methods include pesticides. Contact the professionals at Pest Control Braintree.
Pest identification is the first step in any pest control program. Accurate pest identification allows the use of appropriate control tactics, including cultural practices, biological controls, or chemical treatments. Incorrect identification can lead to the use of ineffective treatment methods or unnecessary pesticide application.
Proper pest identification requires familiarity with a specific pest’s biology, life cycle, and behavior, as well as its environmental requirements. This information is crucial in the development of integrated pest management strategies, reducing the need for harmful chemicals and improving the safety of both people and wildlife.
Often, pests can be difficult to identify because they may look similar as they mature or develop through different stages of their life cycles. This can be especially true for caterpillars, grubs, and worms, as they undergo their metamorphoses. However, a careful examination of the damage caused to a plant may reveal clues about the identity of the pest, such as the presence of feeding indicators or symptoms of disease.
It is also important to remember that poor plant growth and damage are not necessarily caused by a pest, and that sometimes the problem can be remedied through other means, such as soil fertility or cultural practices. The use of inappropriate pesticides could also be wasteful, and excessively burden the environment.
Once a pest has been identified, it is important to note the characteristics of its host plants and environmental conditions that favor its development and spread. This knowledge will allow a grower to recognize and anticipate the arrival of a pest, and take steps to prevent its entry into the crop.
Some pests can be identified by using a hand lens, while others require a microscope or other specialized equipment. When a particular pest is not readily identifiable, it can be helpful to consult a variety of resources, including printed and online guides, or to ask an expert at a local University Extension office for assistance. If necessary, a sample can be sent to a specialized laboratory for identification. The National Identification Services (NIS) at APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine provides the final taxonomic authority for plant pest identifications, and works closely with experts in botany, entomology, and malacology stationed at Federal research laboratories, State departments of agriculture, land-grant universities, and natural history museums.
Prevention
Prevention is about taking action to prevent pests from invading your property or damaging your crops before they can do any damage. This is done by changing the conditions on your land that make it more or less attractive to pests. The idea is to eliminate the pests’ reason to come to your site, so that they will choose to go somewhere else. Prevention is a large part of what is known as integrated pest management, which is a combination of control methods that reduce the need for and risk associated with chemical treatments.
Prevention may include changing cultivation or gardening practices to make them less hospitable to pests. For example, rotating crops or choosing varieties that are less prone to disease can prevent the build-up of pest populations. It can also involve removing things that attract pests, such as trash cans without lids or leaking water sources. It can be as simple as sealing the smallest cracks and crevices, ensuring that garbage cans are tightly sealed, and making sure there are no puddles or standing water where pests might seek shelter. It can be as complex as restoring native habitats around fields or homes to provide food and shelter for natural predators and parasites that will take care of some pests.
In residential pest control, prevention can mean removing the places where pests can find food, water and shelter. It can include keeping garbage receptacles closed and regularly removed, fixing leaky plumbing, removing standing water, and not leaving pet food or water out overnight. It can also include regular inspections and cleaning to detect pests before they have a chance to cause harm, and installing screens on doors and windows to keep them out.
Prevention can also involve education and awareness, such as learning about the lifespan and life cycle of common pests. This can help you understand how long it will take for pests to reach the point where they need to be controlled, so you will know when to expect them. It can also be helpful to know which stages of the pest’s life cycle are most vulnerable to controls, so that you can target those phases with your controls.
Suppression
Keeping pests below damaging levels requires prevention and suppression tactics. Preventive measures include regularly cleaning sites where pests may live, as well as identifying and eliminating conditions that encourage pest development. Suppression includes quickly taking action to limit pest population growth once an infestation occurs. Eradication, which destroys the entire pest population, is seldom a goal in outdoor situations but can be used in indoor areas such as operating rooms in health care facilities where zero tolerance for pests exists.
Many natural forces affect the numbers of pests, including climate, the availability of food and water, predators, natural barriers and overwintering sites. These factors often interact and can help or hinder efforts to control pests.
Plants, animals and wood products have natural resistances that can keep pest populations below damaging levels. Incorporating resistant varieties into a landscape can help control pests and maintain plant health.
Some plants and trees provide shelter to animals and birds that can kill or disturb other pests. Including these types of plants and structures in a landscape can make an area more attractive to wildlife, which can then suppress pest populations.
Chemicals in the environment — including soil, air and water — can also affect pests. This category of controls includes herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. Federal, state and local laws govern the use of these chemicals and are designed to protect human health, the environment and other organisms.
Another form of chemical control involves the addition of certain microorganisms to the soil to reduce pests. This is known as augmentation or biological control. Commercial products available for this purpose include microbial insecticides, which contain bacteria and fungi such as Bacillus thuringiensis. These are most effective when applied at low levels to reduce their impact on other microorganisms in the environment.
Releasing natural enemies to reduce pests can be cost-effective when the release level and timing are carefully selected. This requires a thorough understanding of the pest(s), natural enemies, habitat and economic goals. This is a relatively new technology and research continues to be needed to optimize releases.
Control
A pest control company uses a variety of methods to eliminate and prevent a problem with unwanted organisms. These organisms can spread disease, contaminate food and damage property. Pests infest homes, restaurants, hospitals, and other commercial establishments. Keeping pests under control can ensure the health and safety of people working in these buildings.
Most commonly, pests are controlled using pesticides. Pesticides are chemical substances that kill or control organisms that are considered a threat to human, animal or plant health. They include herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Pesticides are used in agriculture to protect crops from weeds, insects, and fungi, and in households to kill household pests such as ants and cockroaches.
Another common method of pest control is to use heat or cold to kill the pests. Hot water sprays or freezing temperatures can be used to kill bedbugs, fleas, flies, mosquitoes, and spiders. Several companies produce products that can be used in this manner. In addition, some foods are preserved with heat or ice to keep pests from eating them.
One of the oldest forms of pest control is to introduce the organisms that naturally compete with a species of pest. This type of pest control is also called biological control. This process requires extensive research into the biology of the pest, and potential natural enemies. It requires the proper collection of these organisms, and careful quarantine to remove any pathogens or parasites that could affect the natural enemy population. It is necessary to release them at the correct time in the pest and predator life cycles, and in a habitat suitable for the natural enemy.
Other chemical pest control methods include ultra-low volume (ULV) fogging, which sprays small amounts of pesticide, and fumigation, a process that involves sealing a building and filling it with pesticide gas to annihilate the pests. However, these are usually only used in extreme situations.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a process that includes all of these types of treatments in a plan to reduce pests to an acceptable level. It is the best way to minimize disruption to living and nonliving environments, and to reduce risks of harming people or property.