Pest Control means managing pests (plants, animals, or diseases) so they do not cause unacceptable damage. There are three basic methods: prevention, suppression, and eradication.

Pests are controlled by their natural enemies, such as parasites, predators, and pathogens, or by environmental factors like weather and host resistance (using resistant varieties). Sometimes, pheromones and juvenile hormones are used to manipulate pest populations. Contact Seaside Pest Control now!

Pests are more than annoying; they can cause damage and pose health risks. Whether they’re rodents gnawing on wires or flying insects spreading disease, pests should be prevented from entering buildings. A preventive program includes inspecting the exterior and interior for potential entry points and other conducive conditions and reducing attractants.

The primary objective of prevention is to keep a pest from occurring, which can be done by eliminating its environment or providing it with a less favorable habitat. It is also possible to reduce the number of pests to an acceptable level without causing too much harm to other organisms or property. Prevention can be divided into three stages: avoidance, suppression and eradication.

Preventing a pest problem is more cost effective than controlling it after it occurs. By preventing a pest infestation, businesses can save money on repairs and lost revenue. In addition, a proactive approach can also help protect employees’ health and safety.

A pest is any organism that can negatively impact a crop’s wholesomeness or yield. These include rodents (mice, rats and squirrels), crawling insects (cockroaches, ants, beetles, termites), flying insects (mosquitoes, bees, wasps) and plant diseases.

Often, preventive measures can be as simple as changing the way a business operates. For example, warehouses should be properly ventilated, and stored items should be sealed in plastic bags or containers to protect them from pests. Keeping trash cans closed and disposing of food waste regularly will keep pest populations down. Similarly, establishing clear lines of sight along walls will make it easier to inspect for pests and more likely to spot them early.

Another important part of a preventive program is to have a plan in place for responding to pests that do infiltrate the building. This involves having pesticides available to treat areas that require it. It is also important to know that there are certain peak infestation periods for different pests and seasonal patterns affect their activity.

It’s a good idea to hire professional pest control companies to perform regular inspections of your home or business. These experts can identify entry points, monitor for signs of pests and provide preventive treatments. They can also recommend other preventive measures that you can use, such as sealing cracks and crevices, cleaning out woodpiles, removing brush around the house, sanitizing the pantry and reducing food sources that attract pests.

Suppression

A pest control goal is to reduce the number of pests to a level that can be tolerated without damaging plants or spoiling food. Achieving this requires a multifaceted approach to pest management, with prevention and suppression being the most common goals in outdoor settings. Eradication is more of a goal in enclosed environments, such as homes, schools, and offices, or in agricultural and other commercial settings.

Preventive tactics for controlling pests can include avoiding plant damage, cultural practices that encourage natural enemies, and the use of chemical controls. Chemical pesticides are effective but carry risks of their own, and the more information about a pest’s life cycle and development that is known, the easier it is to apply pesticides correctly.

The goal of pesticides is to kill the pest by attacking a particular target, usually its body or organs. Pesticides may also affect other organisms in the environment, which can have a negative impact on the health and appearance of ornamental plants or crops. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the use of pesticides, especially those that are broad-spectrum and have been shown to negatively affect pollinators. This growing concern has led to a greater interest in alternative pest management tactics, such as biological control.

Biological control uses predators, parasites, and pathogens to reduce pest populations. The approach can be used on its own or in combination with other management methods, including monitoring, trapping, and sterile male releases. Some pests, such as thrips and mites, are continuous pests that require regular control, while others, such as beetles and caterpillars, are sporadic pests that can be controlled through a variety of means, including exclusion or quarantine, repulsion, or physical removal.

A major problem with biological control is that the organisms are often host-specific, and the natural enemy species that occur in an area may be insufficient to provide adequate control. Augmentative biological control is the practice of introducing additional natural enemies to an area where they are insufficient to suppress the pest population. This is commonly used in greenhouses, nurseries, and some vegetable and fruit fields. The natural enemy is mass-reared in insectaries, and then introduced into the field in small batches or in a single large release to increase their numbers and effectiveness.

Eradication

Eradication is an ultimate goal in pest control that seeks to eliminate a particular species of plant or animal, or their pathogens. It differs from prevention and suppression in that the elimination is intended to be permanent. Efforts to eradicate pests may be undertaken on a local, community, national, or global scale. Examples of eradication efforts include Mediterranean fruit fly, gypsy moth, and fire ant control programs. Eradication is more common in indoor environments, such as dwellings; schools, offices, and hospitals; and food processing, preparation, and distribution facilities.

Eradication requires that intervention be effective over a large area at the same time in order to ensure that no new infectious individuals are born and have an opportunity to transmit the disease. This is a challenging objective to achieve for infectious diseases that require multiple transmission steps, such as hookworms and dengue fever. A number of factors influence the feasibility of eradication: the ability to rapidly detect infective individuals, the cost of diagnosis and treatment, the availability of effective intervention tools, and the availability of financial resources and expertise (see Table 1-1 for a list of major eradication attempts).

Generally speaking, preventative pest control measures are more effective than extermination methods. For example, keeping garbage and recycling bins lined with tightly fitting bags helps keep pests from using them as breeding areas. In addition, storing trash receptacles on concrete or asphalt surfaces rather than in grass or dirt and having them cleaned frequently can help to discourage rodents and insects from seeking shelter there. Lastly, sealing cracks and openings larger than a quarter inch around the perimeter of the home is an important step in pest control.

Whether you choose to use poisons or natural solutions to rid your property of pests, hiring a licensed and insured professional is always the best option. Look for a company with a proven track record and good customer service. Some companies even offer money back guarantees on their services. For instance, Orkin and Terminix both offer this option. Also, look for certifications from the state and a pesticide applicator’s license.

Monitoring

Pest monitoring is the process of checking or scouting for pests to determine what kind are present, how many and the level of damage they are doing. This is an essential part of integrated pest management, or IPM (see Resources). It is the process that helps you know when action should be taken to prevent unacceptable injury or damage to plants or structures. It also lets you know when your control tactics have been successful.

In a home garden, for example, the pest population can be monitored by observing what kind of damage is being done to leaves and stems. A simple magnifying glass can be helpful in this effort. In a vegetable garden, you can look at leaf and stem axils, flower heads and other tight areas where insects might hide. You can also look for insect parts or droppings in soil. Some of these monitoring activities can be automated using pheromone attractants (chemical lures) placed in traps, as well as by using electronic pest monitors that are either self-contained or plugged into the computer to collect data.

The most critical part of pest monitoring, however, is correctly identifying the type of organism you have found. This is why a high degree of expertise in IPM is so important. This can prevent unnecessary pesticide use, as well as the use of the wrong type of pesticide.

It is also a good idea to have a record of the observations made, including date and time, location and other environmental factors that might be pertinent. Spreadsheets work well for this purpose, and smartphones can make it even easier to record data on the go. A pest monitoring logbook may also include basic information about the pest company that is doing the monitoring (e.g., certifications and licenses of the pest control technician); environmental conditions; pesticides used, if any; and the identification of any captured specimens.

If all of this sounds a bit overwhelming, you can get the help you need by hiring a professional pest control company. Many of these firms will not only shoulder the responsibilities for figuring out the best removal strategy, picking out the right pesticides, monitoring traps and looking for nests; they may offer a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the results.