U.S. farmers employ a range of pest management strategies to control weeds, insects, fungi, viruses, and bacteria. They till their soils, rotate their crops, scout their fields, and carefully consider factors such as plant density and planting dates. They also apply organic and synthetic pesticides.
Pests can come in a variety of forms such as rodents, birds, insects and more that can damage your home and garden. Therefore you need a range of pest control techniques to deal with them. These can be divided into 3 methods of pest control: physical, chemical and biological.
Good hygiene, tidy housekeeping and effective insect exclusion will generally discourage vermin.
Farmers have been using naturally occurring compounds—such as pyrethrins from Chrysanthemum flowers or nicotine from tobacco—for centuries to kill insects on crop plants, or even head lice on humans. Compounds that act as pesticides have diverse chemical structures with different modes of action.
U.S. farmers employ a range of pest management strategies to control weeds, insects, fungi, viruses, and bacteria. They till their soils, rotate their crops, scout their fields, and carefully consider factors such as plant density and planting dates.
Pest control websites often credit ancient Sumerians with the first record in the pest control history books. They apparently used sulfur compounds to control insects & mites. However, reading on, the most detailed sources say they rubbed sulfur dust on the body to control skin-infecting chiggers.
Chemical control may be the most practical solution to your pest problem. It is important that you: Treat only the areas where the pest is present. Apply pesticides when they are most effective.
They include insecticides used for insect control, herbicides used for weed control, fungicides used for fungi and mould control, and rodenticides used for rodent control. Household pests can include insects such as flies, cockroaches and mosquitoes, or rodents like mice or rats.
Most specific insect control methods can be classified into the following major categories: cultural control, host resistance, physical control, mechanical control, biological control, and chemical control.
Integrated pest management (IPM) is widely recognized as the most effective and least toxic method for managing pest control issues.
Over-the-counter traps and baits. Various traps and baits available for purchase can help manage pests. Sticky traps can catch insects, while snap traps and bait cages can be effective for rodents. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for safe and effective use.
While professional pest controlis successful, its effects can be tampered with depending on the climate. Consistent rain can shorten pest control effectiveness substantially. Specifically for treatments that have a longevity of 90 days, the coverage it supplies can be shortened to a mere 60 days.
As a first line of pest control, IPM programs work to manage the crop, lawn, or indoor space to prevent pests from becoming a threat. In an agricultural crop, this may mean using cultural methods, such as rotating between different crops, selecting pest-resistant varieties, and planting pest-free rootstock.
PEST is an acronym that stands for political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological. These are all external factors your team should consider when making business decisions.
Step 1: Identify the Pest
This often-overlooked step is important. Most species of living things are NOT pests, but are contributing members of the broader ecosystem. By taking the time to ensure that a suspected pest is an actual pest, you can eliminate a lot of unnecessary pest control efforts.
Integrated pest management is the combining of appropriate pest control tactics into a single plan to reduce pests and their damage to an acceptable level. Pest control tactics may include: host resistance, biological control, cultural control, mechanical control, sanitation, and chemical (pesticide) control.
Physical controls are used mostly in weed control. Tillage, fire, removal by hand, grazing and mowing are all used to destroy weeds and prevent reproduction. Some insects may also be destroyed by tillage, which destroys their eggs or overwinter stages of growth.
The first line of defense is prevention. Healthy soil creates strong plants that are resilient to pest pressure. Farmers can encourage populations of natural predators and beneficial insects, like ladybugs. Other strategies include rotating crops and selecting pest-resistant varieties of crops.
True bugs are one of the most common agricultural pests, encompassing all insects of the Order Hemiptera. Some of these insects are more commonly known as cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, and shield bugs. They damage using their piercing mouthpieces to penetrate into the plant and suck out its juices.
Organic pest management may include the use of pheromone traps, release of beneficial insects, use of trap crops, and other organically approved techniques (see Rules Relating to Pest Management, next page).