When a pest infestation is spotted, prompt action must be taken. The aim is to eradicate the problem immediately while minimizing the impact on health and safety.
Keep an eye out for stains, droppings, and other signs of pests like rats, mice, cockroaches, or ants. Look in places where they might hide, such as cracks, creases, under items, or along wall tiles. Contact Pest Control O’fallon MO now!
Many pest control situations start with a customer calling because an insect has been seen indoors or in the field. This is a good opportunity to promote preventive pest control services, such as sealing cracks and caulking, to keep insects out. However, the first step is correctly identifying the pest and decidingt warrants control correctly.
It is important to know the insect’s number of legs, antennae shape, number of wings, and color. This will help you determine its habitat and the type of damage it may be causing. Often, different species of the same insect will have similar coloring and markings, so it is important to look at several specimens.
In addition, a pest’s appearance will change as it moves through its life cycle and depending on environmental factors such as temperature and moisture. Whenever possible, identifying the pests by species will help gather important information about the pests’ behavior and natural enemies that can be used in developing an effective management strategy.
Identification of species is also needed when choosing a pesticide to use for control. Pesticides are most effective when they are applied in the most susceptible stage of the pest’s life cycle. It is not uncommon for a pesticide to fail because it was not used at the right time or because the insect was in a stage of its life cycle that was resistant to the pesticide.
Pests are not always a problem, and sometimes they even benefit crops by eating or destroying harmful insects that could cause more damage. It is important to weigh the benefits and risks of each pest’s presence on a crop, property, or garden before deciding whether or not control measures are warranted.
It is also important to consider the role of natural predators, parasitoids, and pathogens when evaluating pest problems. In some cases, these organisms can be a more cost-effective and less toxic method of controlling pests than using chemical controls. This is especially true when compared to a conventional spray application.
Pesticides
Pesticides are chemicals that kill or control unwanted plants, animals and organisms that damage crops. They include insecticides (bug killers), herbicides (weed killers) and fungicides (fungus killers), as well as rodenticides and plant growth regulators. They are used in agriculture, in household cleaners and in pools and are available in spray cans or as powders. They can be ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin and can be extremely toxic when not used correctly. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluates pesticide chemical residues in or on food and sets tolerance levels to protect human health and the environment.
Pests such as insects, disease-carrying rodents, and parasitic worms carry diseases that can be harmful to humans and pets. The EPA registers products to control these pests, such as repellents and insecticides, which help prevent their spread.
When pesticides are used in large quantities, they can pollute air, water and soil, contaminating the food supply and affecting people’s health. Some are acutely toxic and can poison or kill the target organism, but others linger in the environment for days, weeks or years, harming plants and animals that weren’t the intended targets. They can also sterilize soil, destroying the microorganisms that make it fertile for growing crops.
Some pesticides are “systemic,” meaning they move (translocate) into the plant and travel throughout the xylem and phloem to reach the cells of the target organism. Other pesticides remain on the surface of the plant and act through direct contact. Generally, systemic pesticides are more effective than non-systemic pesticides.
The EPA regulates both the chemical formulation of pesticides and the methods by which they are applied. Its regulations and guidance help ensure that pesticides are used safely, effectively and responsibly.
When using a pesticide, follow the directions on the label and wear protective clothing, such as rubber gloves. Clean up spills promptly and dispose of them properly. Keep pesticides, as well as any equipment or tools you use to apply them, in a closed cabinet in a garage or shed away from children and pets. Store liquid pesticides in plastic containers with a tight-fitting lid and a secure, locked lid and keep them in a cool, dry place. Sprinkle kitty litter, sawdust or vermiculite around liquid pesticides and sweep them into a plastic bag for disposal in an outdoor trash can.
Physical Control
Some pests can be controlled by altering the environment in which they live or move. This type of control is usually referred to as physical pest control, and it includes the use of barriers, traps, and other mechanical devices. The use of heat or cold to kill or slow the growth of pests is another form of physical control. The use of nematodes, microscopic worms that feed on pests, can also be used as a natural insecticide.
Several other environmental factors can influence the success of pest control. For example, if a pest thrives only when a certain amount of water is available, controlling that supply can reduce its numbers. Other limiting factors include food sources, overwintering sites, and shelter from predators. Certain geographic features can restrict the movement of some pests, and human activity such as garbage disposal can help limit the movement of others.
Many types of pests are not only unpleasant and damaging to crops, but can also be a danger to human health. For this reason, most businesses take some action against pests in their premises, particularly in food processing and hospitality locations and healthcare facilities. The presence of certain pests, such as roaches or rodents, can also result in a loss of business.
The first step in any pest control program is accurate identification of the unwanted organism. This information helps in the development of a management plan, and it can be used to determine whether any chemical pesticides are necessary. If a pesticide is used, only qualified pest controllers should handle it, and it is important that they follow the safety guidelines in the product label.
The term pest control is often used to refer to the use of chemical poisons, but this is not always the case. Physical and biological pest controls can be equally effective, and they are often preferable to the use of chemical substances that are harmful to people and animals. In addition, these methods are environmentally friendly and do not leave toxic residues behind, as is the case with most chemical pesticides.
Biological Control
Biological control uses living organisms (usually predators, parasites or disease pathogens) to suppress pest populations, thereby reducing crop damage. Unlike chemical pesticides, which typically have a direct effect on the target pest only, biological control agents kill or otherwise affect both the pest and its food sources or habitat. This approach can be used in both natural settings such as wetlands or in greenhouses to control pests of vegetables, fruit and flowers. It has been particularly successful in controlling weeds such as purple loosestrife and glasshouse mites such as Tetranychus urticae, where the use of nonpersistent pesticides is not desired or possible.
The most traditional and long-running example of biological control involves introducing predators, parasitoids or disease pathogens from their countries or regions of origin to new locales to establish permanent population levels that will balance out over time with the pests they target. This is known as classical biological control, also sometimes referred to as inoculative or inundative biocontrol. Successful examples include the introduction of the predatory ladybird Rodolia cardinalis to control cottony cushion scale on orange trees in California, and the releasing of the parasitoid Aphelinus mali to control the accidentally introduced citrus pest Icerya purchasi in Europe in the early 1900s.
This method requires extensive research into the biology of the target pest and its potential natural enemies to identify species that will be compatible in their new environment. The species selected are carefully collected from their places of origin, quarantined to eliminate disease or parasites and then released with attention to timing in both the enemy and pest life cycles. Once they have established themselves, they can be self-sustaining.
However, many of the organisms employed in classical biological control are themselves vulnerable to disease or parasitoids that may be present in their new environment. Thus, these organisms must be closely monitored to ensure that the population levels remain balanced and that the introduced species are not causing unintended ecosystem disruptions.
A variation on this method is augmentation, which involves the mass rearing of the natural enemy and then periodically or inundatively releasing it into the field. This method is less expensive and less risky than the classic method but, unlike inoculative biocontrol, it does not aim to establish a permanently sustainable population level in the field.
