Pests present a health and safety risk in retail and food preparation environments. They can contaminate foodstuffs, destroy product packaging, and damage premises and equipment. Rodents such as mice and rats gnaw through furnishings, smear electrical cables, eat insulation, and spread diseases like leptospirosis and hantavirus. Contact Nampa Pest Control now!
Environmental factors limit the growth of some pest populations. Examples include the availability of water, overwintering sites, and shelter. Pheromones and juvenile hormones can reduce pest numbers by keeping insects from maturing into normal adult forms.
Many people don’t think about pests until they infiltrate their homes or gardens. This is unfortunate because pests can cause a great deal of damage in a relatively short period of time. They can also be a health hazard, as they carry bacteria, viruses, and fungi that can make humans sick. Fortunately, there are steps that can be taken to prevent and control pests.
Prevention is the first step in pest control, and it can be as simple as closing off entry points and reducing attractants. For example, a pet’s fleas or a crack in an office window can allow pests to enter buildings, so it is important to keep doors and windows closed as much as possible. In addition, clutter provides places for pests to breed and hide, so it is important to clean frequently and remove clogs or overflowing drains. Finally, removing weeds and keeping trees, bushes, and grasses trimmed can eliminate pest pathways.
When entering food processing environments, pests are most often looking for water, food, or shelter. They can cause physical contamination of food by rodent droppings or insect parts, contaminate foods with disease-causing microorganisms (such as microbial pathogens or intestinal worms), or simply spoil food by eating it.
Some pests are continuous or migratory and require regular control, while others only show up periodically or sporadically. The aim of pest control is to achieve control at the point where the amount of harm caused by a particular pest is deemed acceptable. This can be accomplished through prevention, suppression, or eradication. Preventative pest control is generally less expensive than reactive treatments. Pesticides should be selected carefully and used according to label directions. In some cases, the use of a pesticide may result in secondary effects on non-target organisms. This is particularly true for fungicides, which can kill or harm a wide range of plants. Fungicides should be used sparingly in food processing facilities. In addition, plant managers should consider implementing employee hygiene programs to reduce the potential for employees to bring pests into the facility on their clothing or personal belongings.
Suppression
A pest can damage or contaminate food, soil or plants. This is why steps are taken to prevent pests before they cause an infestation. Pest control methods include cultural, biological, chemical and mechanical techniques. Each method has its own benefits and risks.
Chemical pest control includes the use of substances that are designed to kill or repel certain insects, rodents and other pests that may infest crops, livestock, homes or structures. This is a broad category of pest control and can be applied by spraying, baiting or trapping, depending on the pest. Pesticides should always be used according to the label and kept out of reach of children and pets.
The first step in controlling pests is to remove their food, water and shelter. Plowing, crop rotation, removing infested plant material and cleaning of greenhouse and tillage equipment can all deprive pests of comfortable habitats or prevent them from moving from one area to another. In addition, a proper irrigation schedule can reduce pest problems by limiting wet, highly humid conditions that favor disease growth.
Natural enemies, predatory animals that eat pests, and parasitic organisms such as fungi can also limit populations. In addition, pheromones can alter pest behavior and can be used to suppress pests or lure them away from desirable plants.
Generally, when a pest problem exceeds economic or aesthetic thresholds or the population of natural enemies becomes too low to be effective, chemicals are used. However, these substances can also be harmful to the environment and people. Therefore, it is important to balance the need for pest control with environmental and health concerns when determining the need for chemical controls. When chemicals are used, they should be carefully selected, applied and monitored so as not to affect other beneficial organisms or to contaminate soil and water. Also, when a pesticide is needed, it should be applied in the least contaminated area possible to minimize the risk of exposure. This is particularly important since a single application of a chemical can lead to the death of thousands of beneficial organisms, including pollinators.
Eradication
The goal of eradication is to eliminate an organism or pest in its natural habitat. Eradication is rarely attempted in outdoor pest control because of the difficulty of achieving it. In indoor environments such as homes, schools and food processing facilities, eradication may be possible. However, eradication programs are often more complicated and require significant financial resources to be successful.
Eradication is difficult because organisms that are found in the environment are usually present at many sites and have different life cycles. Furthermore, eradication of a microorganism depends on the ability to find and identify every source of infection. This is especially important for eradication programs where the organism is transmitted between humans. Diagnosis tools must be sensitive and specific enough to detect infection, yet simple enough to be widely implemented.
Sanitation and good housekeeping are the first line of defense against most pests in the home. Food should be properly stored and garbage removed frequently. Cleanliness also reduces the attraction of pests to a home and can keep them from returning after an initial treatment.
If sanitation and good housekeeping do not provide sufficient control, pesticides can be used in indoor spaces. A variety of sprays, dusts and baits are available for indoor use. These chemicals must be selected and used carefully to minimize toxicity and risk of injury to people or pets.
Always read and follow the instructions on the pesticide container. If you are unsure about what to do, consult a pest control professional.
Pesticides may not be effective if the wrong type of pest is targeted or if it has developed resistance to the chemical. In addition, pesticides may fail to work if they are not applied correctly. For example, if a pesticide is applied to a crack or crevice where the pest does not live it will have little effect on that pest.
Before your pest control professional visits, make sure you remove scraps of food and seal any cracks or holes where insects or rodents might enter. Also, clean behind and under appliances such as refrigerators and ovens. This will help reduce the number of pests in your home and enable the pest control professional to get to the source of the problem.
Biological Control
In biological control, living organisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasitoids, nematodes, or natural enemies of pest insects attack the pests and cause them to die. Unlike chemical treatments, biological controls do not harm humans or the environment and do not leave harmful residues. In fact, they can also work to improve the health of plants and other organisms. However, biological control requires more careful management and record-keeping than other pest control methods because these organisms are living things with their own needs. In addition, biological controls do not always produce the desired results quickly, and they can have a longer time lag between initial release and full impact on pest populations.
There are two basic types of biological controls: classical and augmentation. Classical biological control involves importing a non-native natural enemy to control an exotic (also called invasive) pest that has invaded a new habitat and does not have predators or parasitoids in its native home range. The natural enemies chosen are typically from the same region as the invasive pest and undergo extensive testing and quarantine to make sure they will not harm native species. The augmentation biological control strategy involves supplementing the activity of existing natural enemies by adding more enemies to the mix, such as buying or rearing additional parasitoids or releasing sterile males with juvenile hormones to increase insect mortality rates.
These organisms can be introduced by themselves or in combination with other controls to control pests such as gypsy moths, Japanese beetles, and alligator weed. Some are released in a single location, while others are dispersed over an entire area. Because biological control agents are live organisms, it is important to provide habitat that is useful to them, such as a host plant, in which to feed, or pheromones to attract them. It is also important to maintain records of the organisms’ population levels and how they interact with the pest, and follow local, State, and Federal regulatory procedures to ensure the safety of people and wildlife.
Preventing pests before they become a problem is best, but there are times when it may not be possible or practical to do so. Threshold-based decision making involves scouting to see how much damage is being caused and taking action only when the damage exceeds an acceptable level. Suppression reduces the pest population to an acceptable level, while eradication completely destroys it.