Whether it’s rats in the warehouse or flies in the office, pest infestations can have serious financial implications. It’s important for commercial facilities to work closely with a licensed pest control professional in order to minimize and prevent pest problems.
Control methods can be cultural, biological or chemical. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. Contact Ben’s Pest Control for professional help.
Identifying pests correctly is an important first step in any Integrated Pest Management program. It ensures that damage is actually caused by the pest and not other factors such as weather extremes, road salts or inappropriate fertilization. Pest identification also helps to ensure that the correct control method is applied. Many pests look different during their life cycles, and even the same species may look differently depending on what stage of the life cycle they are in or the time of year.
There are a number of ways to learn about the biology of the pests that can impact collections, including through online resources and by attending educational webinars and workshops. It is important to understand what the pest eats, where it reproduces and how it moves around your building in order to determine its potential threat to collection items.
A variety of insects can be found in our area, ranging from beneficial to harmful. Some can be identified on your own using keys or printed resources such as field guides available from universities or state departments of agriculture or through local library and Cooperative Extension offices. Some may need to be submitted to a specialist for diagnosis.
The National Identification Services (NIS) at the USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine Program provides national-level identifications for plant pests that affect agricultural production. These experts in botany, entomology, malacology and mycology are the final taxonomic authorities for the agency’s quarantine programs. They are stationed at a wide variety of institutions, including State departments of agriculture, land-grant universities and natural history museums.
The Pests of Concern List is published by the EPA in coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Environmental Health Service. It identifies plants and insects that pose the greatest threats to human and animal health in the United States, based on a review of both existing scientific evidence of adverse effects and potential risks for the future. The pests of concern are not intended to be a comprehensive listing of all plant and insect species that could negatively affect human or animal health.
Pest Prevention
The most effective pest control methods are those that prevent pest infestations in the first place. This approach involves thorough inspections of a building and its surroundings, sealing entry points to limit pest access, and altering the environment to make it less hospitable to the pest species in question. Preventive measures are typically recommended by pest control companies, and they include identifying and repairing structural cracks that could allow rodents to enter, installing door sweeps and screens to keep out insects, and ensuring that dumpsters are located away from the building.
Sanitation practices are also very important in pest prevention, and they can include regular sweeping and mopping of surfaces, especially those where food is prepared or served. This is true both in residential and commercial settings. In addition, attention should be paid to preventing food from becoming spoiled or overripe, which can attract both pests and flies.
Exclusion techniques are very common in pest control, and they include using caulk to seal small cracks around doors and windows, securing vents with metal or duct tape, and sealing expansion joints with specialized pest-proof materials. They may also involve adjusting the exterior to reduce attractiveness to pests, such as by trimming back shrubbery and removing clutter near the foundation of a structure.
Some pests have natural enemies that can help control their populations. These natural predators and parasites are often known as “non-target organisms.” By studying the environment in which a pest thrives, it is sometimes possible to determine its natural enemies and to increase their numbers.
It is also necessary to understand the life cycle of a particular pest when planning preventive measures. Some pests go through several generations in a year, and their nymph or pupal stages are particularly vulnerable to intervention. This information can be used to time the timing of eradication treatments and to minimize treatment times.
A good preventive program should also use traps to remove pests that do not respond to eradication treatments. For example, snap traps can be used to capture mice and rats. Sticky traps can be used to catch ants and other insects, and pheromone traps can be used to catch clothes moths and other fabric pests.
Pest Control Methods
Pest control methods are the tools and techniques used to eliminate or prevent pests from causing damage to plants or crops. They can be physical, chemical or biological. Physical pest control does not use harsh chemicals that might harm the environment or home and is a popular option for people who prefer to be environmentally friendly. Chemical pest control is usually a more effective solution to larger infestations than physical or biological methods and can be particularly useful for sudden problems. However, it can be harmful if overused as some pests build resistance to chemical agents. Chemicals are also often more expensive than other methods of pest control.
Chemical control utilizes materials such as herbicides (to kill or inhibit weeds), fungicides (to kill or inhibit fungal pathogens that might damage important crops) and insecticides (to kill or inhibit insects that damage crops). The effectiveness of many chemical pest controls depends on the timing of application, the particular organism targeted, the specific stage of development, and the weather conditions. Herbicides, for example, work best on young weeds before they flower. Fumigants, on the other hand, are typically more effective against large crop populations than individual insects or rodents.
Biological pest control uses natural enemies such as predators and parasites to reduce pest populations. These natural organisms can be introduced to the environment or grown at a farm. Examples include the release of spider mite predators to control red spider mites and the use of nematodes such as Nematodes japonicus or Heteromyces lycopersicum against root-knot nematodes.
Mechanical pest control involves removing or disturbing the pests by hand or with traps and other devices. Glueboard traps are used to capture aphids in greenhouses, red sphere traps catch codling moth larvae on apple trees, and plant collars deter cutworms from attacking vegetables. Other mechanical control measures include removing the weeds that attract or harbor pests, using fine mesh screening in greenhouses to keep out insects, and placing barriers such as cardboard bands wrapped around tree trunks to trap codling moths or tying strips of tulle or other material to trap or disperse earwigs.
Pesticides
A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances used to kill, repel, control, or prevent certain forms of plant and animal life that are considered to be harmful. Examples of pesticides include herbicides that destroy weeds, insecticides that control insects and mites, fungicides that prevent the growth of molds and mildews, and disinfectants that kill germs.
Pesticides are usually poisonous and should be handled carefully when being applied to plants or people. They can also be a danger to non-target organisms such as honeybees, which are often killed by household insecticides like permethrin, resmethrin and pyrethrin or by pesticides washed into a stream or lake (called ‘off target’).
All chemical pesticides have risks that need to be balanced with their benefits. To minimize these risks, gardeners should use non-chemical methods of pest control before resorting to the use of any chemical products.
In addition, gardeners should always read and follow the label instructions for all pesticides that they are using to make sure that the product is being used correctly and safely. When mixing a pesticide, gardeners should weigh wettable powders by weight and measure liquids by volume to ensure that the correct amount of product is being used. Also, gardeners should keep pesticides stored properly and out of the reach of children when they are not being used.
For farmers, the Department of Pesticide Regulation keeps a record of where and when agricultural pesticides are used called CalEnviroScreen. This information can be accessed by anyone who is interested in knowing how much pesticide is being used in a particular area.
For homeowners, any product that is intended to protect a garden from pests is considered to be a pesticide. These chemicals can be found in many forms including rodenticide baits to control mice, flea control for pets, and any cleaning product that controls bacteria, viruses and fungi. It is important for gardeners and homeowners to know how these products are being used in their areas so that they can reduce the need for pesticides in general.