Some pests can cause property damage and pose health risks. It is important to identify and treat them before they become a problem.
Understand the pest’s life cycle and behavior. Select pesticides that target the pest and do not kill beneficial insects. Eradication is rarely the goal in outdoor pest situations, except for foreign pests that can spread disease. Contact Pest Control Allen TX now!
Pest infestations can be costly, ruining property and posing health and safety concerns. But there’s a way to avoid pests altogether, and it saves money and hassle in the long run. Preventive pest control services are routine inspections and tailored interventions that prevent full-scale infestations and their accompanying damage, before they cause serious problems.
Regular inspections and tailored interventions are much less expensive than reactive treatments such as fumigation. Plus, it’s a lot easier to keep pests away when they don’t have a foothold in the first place!
Preventative measures involve removing the food, water and shelter that attract pests. This includes preventing access to structures by keeping trash receptacles closed, ensuring woodpiles are kept away from walls, and regularly sweeping and cleaning outdoor spaces. Also, deny pests water by eliminating puddles, and keep them away from your structure by pruning and maintaining trees and shrubs to remove roosting and nesting sites, as well as keeping grass and weeds cut short.
Thoroughly cleaning seldom used cupboards and storage areas several times a year, and vacuuming under furniture is another effective method of deterring pests. It’s also important to store foods in sealed plastic containers and to clean up spills and crumbs immediately.
In addition to these preventative measures, pest repellants can be effective. They work by mimicking the scent of a predator or a common odor that pests find offensive. Some of these repellants are sprayed around the exterior of buildings, while others are placed in cracks and crevices where pests hide.
Lastly, implementing an integrated pest management plan is another preventative measure. This includes learning about the specific pests you have, and options for controlling them. Getting to know your pests will help you detect their presence sooner, and it will make it easier to prevent them from breeding and infesting your home or business. If you do see signs of a problem, contact your pest control operator promptly to take action. The old adage is true – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Insecticides
Often the most effective and fastest way to control a pest infestation is by using insecticides. Insecticides can help ensure that the quality of crops isn’t compromised by insects, and they can also reduce the prevalence of plant diseases carried by pests. In addition, pesticides can be employed to decrease the number of damaging pests rapidly, especially if populations are large.
Insecticides are a broad category of chemicals that kill insects by disrupting their nervous systems, inhibiting insect growth, inhibiting energy production or acting as desiccants. They may be organic, natural or manmade. They are used to protect crops, increase yields, and to provide food for humans, animals and birds.
There are four commonly used inorganic insecticides. Arsenic, soap, boric acid and diatomaceous earth are sprayed on plants or ingested by insects to kill them. Arsenic and soap insecticides work by blocking nerve impulses at the neuromuscular junction, causing paralysis. Soap insecticides work by dissolving the waterproof wax on the outside of the insects’ bodies, allowing them to dehydrate.
Other common insecticides include contact, systemic and fumigants. Contact insecticides are sprayed onto the surface of the leaves or soil and poison the insects that come into contact with them. Contact insecticides are generally low in toxicity to humans and non-target organisms.
Organochlorines, developed in the 1930s and 1940s, are a class of insecticides that contain carbon, chlorine and hydrogen. These chemicals were widely used before being replaced by more environmentally friendly insecticides in the 1970s and 1980s. They can persist in the environment and pose a health risk to wildlife, fish and people.
Neonicotinoids, which are derived from bacteria and fungi, were the world’s most popular insecticides until they were linked to bee colony loss in 2018 [21]. They are neurotoxic to bees and other pollinators and can cause bee disease. Imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam are all neonicotinoids.
Other common insecticides are hormone-based, such as insect growth regulators, which interrupt the development process of insects by altering the levels of certain chemical messengers, and molluscicides, which are used to control slugs and snails. Fumigants, such as mothballs, are used to control fabric pests by filling the air with a gas that renders them inert.
Biological Control
Biological control is the deliberate use of living organisms (predators, parasites, disease agents and competitors) that suppress pest populations. NIFA supports research in this area, which seeks to reduce our dependence on synthetic chemical controls. Research in this area looks for organisms that are highly specific to attacking only the target pest, avoiding unintended disruptions in surrounding ecosystems.
The basic idea of biological control is that predators, parasites and diseases can suppress or eliminate a pest species more effectively than chemical sprays can, and do so without the environmental drawbacks of persistent chemicals. A number of techniques can be used for biological control, but the two main approaches are Augmentive Biological Control and Classical Biological Control.
For augmentive biological control, a predator or parasite that already exists in a location is encouraged to multiply and suppress pests. Usually, the agent is identified in its egg, larval, or pupal stages, and is reared in laboratory conditions for release into the field. A good example is the lady beetle, which has been successfully used for several years to control weeds in soybean fields in Pennsylvania.
In classical biological control, government agencies sponsor expeditions to the locations of origin of a pest, or closely related species, to search for and bring back natural enemies that co-evolved with the pests. A rigorous quarantine process is applied to these organisms, and they are screened for their ability to survive in the new environment. Once approved for release, large numbers of the control organisms are released into the field. Depending on the particular organism, these may be spread through a variety of methods. Larger organisms, such as parasitoids, may be deposited in loose carrier material, sachets or cards adhered to the crop. Smaller organisms, such as fungi and viruses, may be drenched in water or sprayed on the crops.
After a period of time, the pest population is reduced to a point where it no longer causes economic damage. A typical classical biological control program may take six to ten generations to reach its goal. Biological control is more expensive than chemical control, but it is environmentally sustainable and often more effective.
IPM
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is a method of controlling insects, disease, and other undesirable organisms that interfere with agriculture, damage homes or natural areas, or threaten human health. IPM uses preventive measures to reduce pest populations and only resorts to chemical controls when other options aren’t viable. IPM methods are effective, highly ethical, and safe for the environment and people.
A key element of IPM is regularly monitoring pests and their environments to assess the level of risk. The UC IPM website offers a number of resources, tools and publications to help individuals develop their own IPM program.
First, growers must correctly identify the pest that has infested their plants or property. This includes knowing the insect’s life cycle and biology, determining how it can be controlled, and understanding what environmental factors might trigger future outbreaks of the pest. Once a pest has been identified, the grower can then decide whether action is required.
Next, the grower must determine how serious the pest infestation is and what the damage levels are. This is done by assessing the potential economic, health, and aesthetic damage of the pest population. A grower can then determine the action thresholds for the specific pest, which will vary depending on the type of plant and the environmental factors present.
Once a threshold has been determined, the grower can then choose the most appropriate control method for the situation. This will be a combination of biological, cultural and mechanical methods that are least harmful to the environment, other pests or the people who use or live on the land.
In addition, the grower must continually monitor the success of the chosen control technique. This is done through inspections, trapping and sticky bug monitoring, and using pest sighting logs. If the action threshold is not met, the grower must reassess and implement another control method.
Many IPM techniques are non-chemical, including removing the pests’ food, water and shelter sources or blocking access to their hosts. In addition, growers may try to encourage the growth of their natural enemies, which can often control pests in ways that are less invasive than applying chemicals. Examples of these methods include planting beneficial insects, introducing predators and parasites into an environment, and using physical controls like traps or barriers to keep pests out.
