Pests can damage crops, food processing facilities, and buildings. They may also spread diseases.

Natural features like mountains and bodies of water restrict the movement of some pest populations, while the availability of food, shelter, and water affects others. Contact Pest Control Morristown NJ now!

Biological control depends on predation, herbivory, parasitism and other natural mechanisms. It is often used in combination with other methods.

Prevention

Pests not only damage property; they also carry disease-causing organisms that can infect people and animals. In addition, their waste can contaminate food and water sources. Preventing pests from entering the environment is much easier and less expensive than controlling them after they have become established. Preventive pest control involves identifying and eliminating conditions that support pest activity, such as food, water and shelter. It may include regular inspections of a property, sealing cracks and crevices that allow entry to buildings, improving sanitation practices to reduce pest food sources, and exclusion techniques such as installing screens on windows and doors.

While preventing pests is an important goal, there are many situations where prevention is not possible. For example, plant diseases occur under particular environmental conditions that cannot be controlled. In such cases, eradication of the disease is the desired outcome. Eradication is also a common objective in enclosed areas where pests are difficult to eliminate, such as health care, school and office buildings and food processing plants.

Some natural forces affect all organisms, including pests, causing their numbers to rise and fall. Climate is a major factor that influences pest populations, because the growth of the pests’ host plants depends on weather conditions. Natural enemies, such as birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, and pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and fungi, can also suppress or kill pests. Natural barriers such as mountains or large bodies of water restrict the spread of some pests.

Good sanitation practices help prevent and control pests by reducing their food sources and hiding places. For example, stored food should be kept in tightly sealed containers, garbage should be removed regularly and sanitary trash bins should be used. Clutter should be removed to prevent rodents and insects from breeding and hiding inside. Trash and compost should be kept away from buildings, and water sources should be emptied regularly.

Chemical pesticides can be used to quickly control severe infestations of some pests, but these chemicals are expensive and may have a negative impact on the environment. In addition, repeated use of a pesticide can lead to resistance in the target pest population. The most effective approach is a combination of prevention and treatment, called integrated pest management (IPM).

Suppression

The goal of suppression is to reduce pest populations below damaging levels through direct control measures. These techniques include cultural practices, physical barriers, biological controls and pesticides. Accurate identification of the pest is essential, as the choice and timing of suppressive tactics depends on pest biology and behavior, limitations placed on the area where the pest is growing, tolerance for injury and economics.

Cultural controls (also known as non-toxic controls) involve removing conditions that promote pest growth and development. Plowing, crop rotation, proper cleaning of greenhouse and tillage equipment, frequent garbage pickup, and management of irrigation schedules can all deprive pests of their preferred food or shelter. Sanitation also aids pest control by eliminating the movement of pests from one site to another.

Certain species of plants, animals and their products are naturally resistant to pests. The use of these resistant varieties can help keep pest numbers below harmful levels.

In addition, some natural enemies limit the densities of potential pest insects. For example, insect parasitoids and predators can reduce pest populations by attacking and/or feeding on the pests. When the natural enemy population is destroyed by pesticides, it can be difficult to restore a sustainable level of densities.

Biological control is the deliberate introduction and release of organisms that are natural enemies to limit pest densities. These include insect pathogens (disease-vectoring organisms) and predators. These organisms must be found, studied and collected in a way that minimizes their impact on native species and their own habitat. They must be reared in a controlled environment to ensure that the pathogen or predator is not infected with disease or killed by natural enemies before being released. The timing of the release is very important — it must be at a time when the natural enemy population and pest population are both abundant and have not yet reached equilibrium with each other.

Biological control can be supplemented by the careful application of pesticides that are less likely to affect the natural enemy population. Pesticides must be chosen carefully to avoid causing harm to other parts of the ecosystem or to humans who may come into contact with the toxic chemical. In addition, the selection of pesticides for specific situations is important, e.g., spot treatments in the field or treatment of alternating strips within a field to minimize pesticide contact with natural enemies.

Treatment

When pests are found, and an infestation occurs, treatment becomes necessary to eliminate them. This is generally done through the use of chemicals that kill or repel the specific pests. Usually this involves spraying or baiting the pests and surrounding areas with a chemical designed to target them. Pest control technicians are trained in the identification of a wide variety of pests and their behaviours and life cycles so they can select the most appropriate pesticide to use. It’s important to note that while chemicals are an essential part of pest control, they are best used as a short-term solution and should be combined with preventative measures.

The primary goal of any pest control program should be prevention, but sometimes it is simply not possible. In outdoor pest situations, thresholds have been established below which action must be taken to avoid unacceptable damage or harm (eg, rats chewing through electrical wires in homes). In indoor environments such as schools, offices, and health care and food processing facilities, eradication of the pest population is the goal.

In addition to chemicals, biological controls (microorganisms that naturally occur in the environment) are also useful. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, for example, produces a protein that is toxic to caterpillars but not to humans or other animals. It is used in some natural pesticides.

Physical controls (traps, barriers) are also used to exclude or capture unwanted pests. These can be very effective in a small-scale application, but they can be difficult to maintain and are often most successful when applied on an ongoing basis, rather than as a one-off measure.

In extreme cases, eradication treatments may be needed to eliminate the pest problem and protect people, property, and health. This may involve the fumigation of a building, which is typically carried out by a specialist company that is licensed to apply pesticides with high concentrations. This process can be extremely disruptive to the surrounding environment and should only be undertaken in situations where a pesticide has been proven to be the most appropriate means of eliminating an uncontrollable pest infestation.

Monitoring

Monitoring is a critical element of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy. It allows the pest manager to evaluate a variety of factors, including the success or failure of various control tactics. It also helps determine when pests are at threshold levels that require intervention. Monitoring can be done in a variety of ways, depending on the pest and its environmental conditions. For example, monitoring of insect pests is often accomplished by scouting or trapping. Monitoring of weeds and vertebrates is usually done by inspecting for signs of damage or injury, and monitoring of microbial pests typically is done by examining soil or plant samples.

Monitoring should be ongoing, not just conducted when a problem is identified. For example, a restaurant may monitor fly numbers using fly lights or sticky traps during meal service. This will allow the operator to monitor the effectiveness of the fly prevention measures and identify other structural problems or sanitation issues that could be contributing to the high fly levels.

Some other methods for pest monitoring include sweep and aquatic nets, which are used in agriculture and horticulture to capture insects as they pass by plants. A number of predetermined sweeps of the net are made over the crop, and a count of the pests trapped is taken. This is a common method of monitoring insect pests and other nuisance pests in agricultural fields, and it can be an effective tool for pest detection in commercial and residential gardens and lawns.

Other types of monitors include pheromone traps, which use chemical lures to attract certain pests, and glueboards, which are commonly used in homes to catch rodents. These can be effective in detecting the presence of many pests, but it is important to place them in the proper locations and check them regularly. Many pests are attracted to food and shelter, so monitors should be placed in areas where the conditions for their establishment and survival are best. In buildings, this normally means kitchens and food-handling areas. In outdoor areas, this means places where a pest can find water and food sources and have access to hiding places.