Pests cause damage and can carry diseases such as hantavirus, leptospirosis, and Salmonella. It’s important to find a pest control company you can trust. Contact Randolph Pest Control now!
Before your pest protection expert visits, it’s a good idea to remove appliances from walls and clean under and around them. This gives the professional a better view to inspect for signs of infestation and damage.
Pest control strategies focus mainly on treating an active infestation, but prevention is also an important aspect of pest management. Preventative pest control is a long-term approach to keeping pests out of your home or business, and it may involve traps, baits, barriers, fences, radiation, and changes to the environment.
A pest infestation is a serious problem that can cause health and safety issues, property damage, and loss of income. For example, rodents can chew through wires and cause fire hazards. Insects like cockroaches, fleas, and mosquitoes can carry diseases that affect human beings and pets, including hantavirus, leptospirosis, Salmonella, and West Nile virus. Termites and carpenter ants can wreak havoc with wooden structures. Other pests, such as moths, beetles, and silverfish can damage clothing, books, and other materials. Timely pest treatment prevents these issues and saves you money by extending the life of your possessions.
There is no single method or chemical that can be used to eliminate all pests, and most methods of eradication are dangerous for humans. Even non-toxic pesticides often pose a health risk when used improperly, and many pesticides are harmful to the environment as well.
For this reason, it is best to hire professional pest control experts for a comprehensive treatment. Professionals are trained in the safe use of pesticides and other products to protect you, your family, and your employees or customers from harmful effects.
Prevention of pests includes keeping your living and working spaces clean, free of clutter, and properly sealed. Changing the environment to make it unwelcome for pests by reducing food, water, and shelter sources can also help.
Traps and baits can be effective in capturing and eliminating pests such as mice, cockroaches, fleas, or mosquitoes. Home remedies can be effective as well, particularly when targeted to the specific pest in question. For example, peppermint oil can repel spiders, while vinegar can be a good deterrent for ants. These preventative measures, combined with regular pest inspections by qualified professionals, will help keep pests out of your home or business for good.
Suppression
Pest control includes preventive measures that stop pests before they become a problem. This can include cleaning up messes left by pests, sealing entry points around the home, and conducting regular inspections. It’s also important to remove food, water, and shelter from areas where pests may live. This can be done by putting garbage in sealed containers, storing food in the kitchen and pantry in airtight or sealed containers, and securing doors and windows to keep out pests.
Some natural forces influence all organisms, including pests, causing their populations to rise and fall. These forces can include weather, natural enemies, available barriers, the availability of food and water, and limiting resources. In addition, there are laws in most jurisdictions that affect what can and cannot be done for pest control.
In some cases, the presence of a pest is unavoidable. This is true for indoor situations such as roaches or rodents in homes, as well as outdoor settings such as forests or farmland. Action thresholds, which are established based on esthetic and/or health concerns, are often set at levels below which pests must be controlled, or else a situation will simply not be tolerated.
When prevention and suppression fail to control a pest population, eradication may be necessary. This is a very difficult goal, and it usually requires an integrated pest management program. Eradication is less common in outdoor pest control, as the costs of destroying an entire species often exceeds the benefits.
Some pests, such as fleas and cockroaches, are continuous pests that require ongoing treatment to prevent them from building large populations. Other pests, such as mosquitoes and ticks, are sporadic pests that may only require control occasionally. Regular pest control helps preserve the value of your home or business by protecting it from structural damage, disrepair, and loss of property values caused by a sustained pest infestation. It also protects your family’s or employees’ health by eliminating the exposure to disease-causing pathogens and allergens that pests carry.
Eradication
The goal of eradication is to eliminate a pest altogether. This is most commonly achieved in enclosed spaces such as greenhouses or indoor facilities that are used for food processing, manufacturing, and storage. Pests that are not controlled in these areas can damage or devalue produce, plants, and materials; displace native species; and disrupt terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Eradication can also be a useful tool in controlling disease-causing microorganisms in humans, livestock, and pets.
Eradication involves a number of distinct steps, including detection, identification, and monitoring, as well as the development of preventive measures to ensure that the pest does not reappear. Control measures include cultural, biological, physical, and chemical controls. Biological controls are natural enemies such as parasites, predators, or pathogens that limit the growth of a pest population through consumption, competition, or predation. Chemical controls are substances, often called pesticides, that poison or kill pests or their eggs, larvae, or adult stages. Chemicals can include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and rodenticides. The use of pesticides is regulated by federal, state, and local laws and standards.
Another way to control pests is through trapping and baiting. Traps and baits are usually set to capture pests, such as mice or rats, ants, or cockroaches, by attracting them with food. Once trapped, the pests will be killed by poison or other chemicals. A trained pest control technician will be able to recommend the best types of traps or baits for the type of pest you are trying to get rid of.
In some cases, pesticides may fail to control a pest. This could be due to the development of resistance to a specific pesticide or an inability to reach or kill the target organism. Also, the pesticide might have been applied at a time or location where it was not effective.
In addition to pests that are harmful to people, animals, and plants, some species of nematodes and fungi are considered to be pests because they infest and damage agricultural crops. For example, nematodes can reduce crop yields and affect the quality of fruit. They can also deteriorate or kill houseplants and make them unsightly. These organisms can also spread dangerous bacteria and viruses.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Integrated pest management is an approach that uses a combination of pest control tactics to reduce the amount of damage caused by a pest. This can be done by prevention, suppression, or eradication. IPM also includes methods that address the environmental factors that contribute to pest infestations, such as growing a healthy crop that can better withstand pest attacks, installing rodent and insect barriers, or caulking cracks.
The first step in an IPM program is inspection/monitoring, which involves routine examination of indoor and outdoor areas to identify pests and the conditions that contribute to their growth. Identifying pests accurately is essential so that treatment strategies can be targeted specifically to the type of pest in question. The next step is to set action thresholds — the levels at which pest populations or environmental conditions trigger pest control treatments. This helps prevent the overuse of pesticides and focuses on pest control when it is necessary.
When non-chemical control measures aren’t effective, IPM programs use a variety of pesticides with the goal of removing only the target organism and minimizing harm to non-target organisms and the environment. IPM programs also record and report pest populations and actions taken to refine procedures over time.
IPM can be used to manage all types of pests, including insects, weeds, and disease organisms. It can be implemented in agricultural fields, residential settings, and commercial buildings. In residential settings, IPM may include such practices as planting shade trees and shrubs that will block sunlight from the home and creating an unwelcome habitat for pests, reducing food sources.
Professionals such as the technicians at Orkin can provide pest control services using IPM techniques to help you avoid costly repairs or replacements while ensuring that your health and those of your family and pets are protected. Their annual plans with repeat visits and your choice of eco-friendly treatments start at $45 per month, or you can schedule a one-time service for more serious situations like termite infestations or bed bug control. For more information about their services, visit Orkin online. There are more than 400 locations nationwide.