Pests are rodents, birds, and insects that spoil or destroy property. They usually also introduce microorganisms that cause disease in humans and animals.
Properly store food, garbage, and waste to prevent pest infestation. Also, regularly clean up trash and dispose of it properly. Contact Pest Control Meridian now!
Clutter and debris provide places for pests to hide and breed. Keep wood piles well away from the house.
Pest Identification
As with any management plan, pest control strategies are most effective when they are developed with a clear understanding of the pest being managed. Pest identification is the first step in developing such a strategy, and it offers important information about that pest, including how the pest invades, its life cycle, what environmental and harborage conditions it prefers, and so on.
For example, the ability of some pests to reproduce rapidly makes them difficult to eradicate; their quick breeding cycle keeps the population rising despite any control measures taken. Also, some pests can be especially challenging to eliminate because of their tendency to hide. Rodents and insects can take refuge in hard-to-reach spaces such as floorboards and walls, requiring a careful inspection to locate and remove them. Similarly, the ability of some beetles to fly, and their preference for living in decaying organic matter of plant or animal origin, can make them difficult to eliminate.
While a variety of insect control methods are available, the best approach is prevention. Proper sanitation, the storage of firewood away from buildings, and vacuuming can often reduce or eliminate an infestation before it gets out of hand. In addition, proper use of pesticides can be an important part of a preventive pest control program.
A pest control specialist has the knowledge, experience and tools to identify hiding spots, treat difficult-to-reach areas, and implement preventive measures that will result in the eradication of a problem and help prevent future infestations. Identifying pests and implementing preventive controls can help you avoid costly pest damage to your facility and collections.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the process of using all available management options to control pests in a sustainable manner. It includes preventive tactics (including monitoring, trapping and baiting), cultural and biological control techniques, and chemical control tactics, such as spraying, dusting, drenching and fumigation.
While many institutions have their own staff for pest control, others contract with a commercial pest control service. The services provided by these companies vary, but may include pest identification and monitoring; regular rat inspections of warehouses and other facilities, especially those with large storerooms; the use of raccoon and squirrel traps and live trapping for rodents; and the application of baits, granules and other chemicals for insect control.
Prevention
Prevention is a proactive approach to pest control that includes preventative maintenance and treatments that keep pests away from the property when they are not needed. It is an essential part of the overall pest management process. It is a more long-term and cost-effective strategy than treatment alone.
Preventative pest controls are non-toxic to humans and usually use food additives that deter or interfere with the ability of pests to carry and transmit disease. It may also include the use of pheromones, which affects the mating behavior of the pest, or predators and parasites that kill or reduce the population of the target pest. It is important that preventive measures be applied consistently, as pests are able to adapt and find ways around the prevention methods.
The primary components of a prevention program are sanitation and physical barriers. The former involves strict cleaning practices and disposal of garbage, food waste and discarded materials. The latter includes placing garbage receptacles away from buildings, sealing the building with appropriate material to discourage rodents and birds, and maintaining the landscaping so it does not provide shelter for pests.
Clutter provides pests with hiding places and breeding grounds. It is a good idea to regularly get rid of trash, clutter and stacks of newspapers or magazines. This can also be helpful in preventing the buildup of heat and moisture in the home or business, which is another factor that attracts pests.
Sealing cracks and crevices, and blocking openings around pipes, vents, electrical boxes and utility lines can stop pests from entering the structure. Keeping doors and windows shut, and using door sweeps and weather stripping where necessary can also help. In addition, regular exterior inspections should be conducted to check for holes in the foundation and walls, siding, roof and utility lines that can let pests enter and cause damage.
It is also important to keep in mind that pests are primarily attracted to food processing environments for the water, food and shelter that it supplies. The presence of pests can lead to contamination of foodstuffs with microbial pathogens and insect parts that are carried on the body of the pest, physical contamination of foodstuffs by pest droppings and nesting materials and direct damage to food and equipment.
Suppression
Pests can cause damage to property, contaminate food, pose health risks and threaten human safety. A routine pest control program is a valuable tool for eliminating pests and keeping them from returning. Pest control services can help protect the value of a home by keeping pests away from expensive home fixtures and furnishings. They also provide peace of mind for homeowners, knowing that their homes are protected. Pest control is an important service for businesses, as well. Many pests carry disease-causing pathogens and allergens that can be harmful to people, especially if they are exposed for extended periods of time. Routine pest control can reduce the risk of these exposures and allow business operations to continue uninterrupted.
Suppression is the common goal in most pest situations, where the aim is to bring the population of a pest down to an acceptable level. This may be as low as the number at which the pests are causing unacceptable harm, or it could be a threshold level below which a population can not be allowed to grow. The choice of strategy depends on the pest, its habitat and the kind and amount of harm it causes.
There are a wide variety of tactics for suppressing pests, from physical barriers such as trapping and bait stations to chemical controls such as insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides. There are also biological methods, such as introducing natural enemies to a pest population.
Biological controls are one of the few pest control tactics that do not involve human intervention. However, these tactics are often not available on a large scale or for very serious pests.
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning have a strong effect on the ability to control pests. There are different levels at which biodiversity impacts on pest control: genetic diversity within a species, species richness at the habitat level, and the interaction between predators and prey at the trophic level.
Monitoring pest populations to determine the best course of action is a key part of any suppression strategy. This can be done through scouting, surveys or trapping. Monitoring can also include weather and soil conditions, as these can influence pest occurrence and activity.
Biological Control
Biological control is the use of living organisms to reduce pest populations below damaging or intolerable levels. This includes both native natural enemies of insects and pathogens that cause diseases of plants. Biological control is most often used against non-native insect pests, called invasive species. These are typically able to establish rapidly in their new environment without the predators and other natural controls that normally suppress them in their homeland. Biological control programs involve extensive scientific research to identify potential natural enemy species and ensure that they do not harm native species. Once governments approve the biocontrol agent, it can be imported for release into the environment. The biocontrol agent may be released in one ‘big wave,’ called inundative release or, less frequently, in a series of smaller releases, called inoculative release.
Unlike conventional chemical pesticides, which kill or injure all target organisms, biological controls are generally species-specific and have a low impact on beneficial organisms and the environment. Because of this, a biological control program can take time to achieve its desired results. It is therefore often included as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy, combining it with other methods of pest control such as cultural, mechanical and chemical.
While some biological control agents are effective against a number of pest species, others can only target a specific type of pest, such as the caterpillar-eating flies or the nematode that kills grubs. Consequently, the choice of which biological control agent to introduce and how they are introduced can have significant impacts on their success and effectiveness.
The three major ways people use biocontrol are through conservation, augmentation and classical or importation. Two of these, conservation and augmentation, are practices available to homeowners to help control the pest problems they have in their landscapes. The third, classical or importation, is restricted to scientific practitioners. PPQ is committed to the safe and responsible use of biological control as part of an overall integrated pest management strategy. This includes incorporating monitoring and evaluation as integral parts of all implementation projects. This commitment is consistent with PPQ’s mission of safeguarding America’s agricultural production and natural areas from damaging pests.