Professional Pest Control

Pest control is the action of keeping pest numbers below levels that cause unacceptable harm. Thresholds are based on esthetic, health and economic factors.

Control options include prevention, suppression and eradication. Prevention is the most cost-effective approach. Suppression reduces pest numbers below the threshold level, often through the use of pheromones or juvenile hormones. Contact Facility Pest Control now!

Accurate identification of pests is the first step in any pest management program. Identifying the type of pest you are dealing with can help determine how to best approach control measures. It is also a critical component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as different pests require different controls. Knowing what is attacking your crops can help you decide which treatment options are most appropriate.

Insects can be identified by the number and length of their legs, coloration, body shape, and other physical characteristics. Some insect pests have elongated or segmented bodies while others are round or wingless. Other useful identifying factors include antennae and body parts (head, thorax, and abdomen). You can compare these characteristics to photos online or in insect identification books to find out what the pest is.

Other helpful identifiers include behavior and habits. For example, some pests have specific feeding habits or prefer certain types of crops. For instance, a cabbage worm might prefer leafy vegetables and may not be found on broccoli or cauliflower plants. This information can narrow down your search by eliminating animals that don’t eat the crop you are concerned about or by highlighting ones that favor it.

In addition, look for other signs of damage or symptoms that are characteristic to the pest. Examine plant samples for pest droppings or gnaw marks, discoloration due to disease, or reduced plant growth. You can also look for evidence of a pest’s presence in your home, such as fecal droppings or gnaw marks on wood or metal items.

Once you have an accurate identification, you can start a file of labelled digital images to help with future pest monitoring. This can help you remember important details about the pest and its behavior, such as when it was most active or where it was most common. You can also use this information to anticipate when key pests will be most active or what crops are most at risk of being attacked. This helps you prepare preventative or preemptive pest control strategies. Using this information and observing the environment, you can create an efficient pest control program that addresses the threat as quickly as possible.

Pest Prevention

Pests can damage crops, cause structural damage, and pose health risks. They also introduce disease agents and allergens that can affect people’s health, especially those who are sensitive to them. Cockroaches, for example, can trigger asthma attacks and other health problems in people. In addition, their droppings can contaminate food and water sources. Pest infestations also increase property damage and cost, and can even lead to environmental issues like land degradation.

Using prevention to prevent pests is the best way to limit the effects they have on human activities and the environment. A successful pest prevention program usually includes an initial inspection by trained technicians who identify and locate entry points, nesting sites, and signs of infestation. A customized treatment plan is then developed based on the results of this inspection.

Preventive measures include limiting the availability of foods, water, shelter, and other factors that attract pests. They may also include physical barriers such as fences, screens, and traps. Other preventive measures include the use of caulking and steel wool to seal cracks and other openings in walls and other structures, as well as installing door sweeps and weather stripping. Regular cleaning and storing of outdoor toys, furniture, and equipment can prevent the transfer of pests into indoor areas as well.

It’s important to note that natural forces influence all organisms, including pests. Populations of pests rise and fall depending on climate, natural enemies, and other factors that may benefit or hinder control efforts. Therefore, it is important to understand and respect that control operations are only needed when the pest populations reach a level that causes unacceptable harm.

Suppression focuses on reducing the number of pests below an unacceptable level. It often goes hand in hand with prevention because the same factors that allow a pest to build up can also make it difficult or impossible to stop them from getting out of control.

Eradication is rarely the goal of any pest control operation, but it can be accomplished when necessary and practical. This usually involves controlling the population of a foreign pest that is not native to the area, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly or the gypsy moth.

Pesticides

Pesticides are substances that kill or control organisms that are unwanted in the environment. They are formulated into liquid, solid and gaseous forms and used to control insects, weeds, fungi, rodents, nematodes, plant diseases and other organisms that damage crops, livestock and human health. They are usually grouped into families based on their chemical properties and how they act on the pest. A pesticide product may contain chemicals from several different families.

A pesticide may be sprayed on the surface of plants or into soil. They can also be applied to the interior of a structure such as a home or barn. Most are absorbed through the skin, but some enter the blood stream and can affect the respiratory and nervous systems, as well as causing reproductive problems. The effects of exposure depend on the type and amount of exposure, length of time exposed and other factors. They can include headaches, dizziness, muscular twitching or weakness and rashes or burning sensations. Exposure to high levels of some pesticides can cause organ failure and even death.

Using the proper equipment is important when applying any pesticide, including a sprayer or drencher. A good sprayer will provide a more uniform application and reduce your potential for overspray, which wastes the product, costs you money and could pollute the environment. Always follow the directions on the pesticide label. Never mix more pesticide than you need or apply it more often than recommended. This will only waste the product and increase your exposure to the chemicals.

Federal law (FIFRA) governs the sale, storage, use and disposal of pesticides in the United States. State and local governments may regulate pesticides more strictly than federal law. Canada has a similar system with provincial and territorial governments responsible for issuing permits, responding to incidents or spills and regulating pesticides, applicators, vendors and growers. These levels of government also oversee the testing, registration and labeling of pesticides.

Biological Control

Biological control uses predators, parasites, pathogens, and competitors to reduce pest numbers and/or damage. It can be used to control insect, mite, nematode, and weed insects as well as vertebrate pests such as birds and mammals. Biological control is often a slow process, but it can be more effective and less expensive than chemical controls. It is also more environmentally friendly than chemical control.

Identifying the type of pest is important to successful biological control. This allows you to determine which natural enemies will be most likely to be effective against the pest, and how best to foster and release them. It also helps in selecting appropriate prey and host plants for the biological control agents, and determining suitable habitats.

The success of biological control depends on extensive preliminary studies to gain a thorough understanding of the biology and ecology of the pest and its natural enemy complex, as well as the ecosystem in which they are being introduced. This work is similar to the period of time required between synthesis of a new pesticide and its approval for commercial use.

Classical biological control, in which exotic pests are’reunited’ with natural enemies collected from the country or region of origin of both species, may be most successful with sedentary (permanent) pests such as fruit trees and forest plantations that can support long-term interactions between the two organisms. However, periodic analyses of the successes and failures of biological control have also shown that it can be as effective with migratory or sporadic pests such as cottony cushion scale and sugar cane leafhopper in California and Fiji, or glasshouse whitefly in Hawaii (DeBach 1964).

The success of any biological control program depends on proper identification of the pest to species level, as well as the selection of an appropriate natural enemy, a suitable habitat for its release, and careful manipulation of the environment to foster its abundance and activity. This is a very different approach from indiscriminate spraying of broad-spectrum, residual pesticides that cause injury to many unintended organisms along with the targeted pest.