Nampa Pest Control involves choosing and using physical, biological, and chemical methods to manage pests. These methods directly affect populations or limit access to environmental factors that support pests.
Threshold-based decision-making is important. For example, a few wasps at the bottom of the garden may not warrant action, but many could.
Pest identification is the first step in controlling pests. Knowing the species of a pest helps to understand its behavior, life cycle, and what environments or food sources it prefers. It also highlights weaknesses in the pest’s biology and ecology that may be targeted for control. This information can be used to tailor treatment methods for the specific pest, saving money and minimizing off-target impact.
Accurate pest identification can help determine if action is needed, whether pesticides are the most effective control method, or if non-chemical approaches such as sanitation and habitat modification may be sufficient to reduce an infestation. Properly identifying the pest can also help prevent the overuse of pesticides, as some are toxic to pets, humans, or other beneficial organisms.
It is important to remember that pests can look very similar to each other and even to beneficial insects, weeds or natural predators. As a result, it is important to consult the pesticide product label for specific identification advice. If in doubt, contact a pest control professional for assistance.
To determine if you have a pest problem, look for droppings (or signs of gnawing or scratching), live or dead pests in or near your home, and discarded wings or skin. Look under, around, and on top of anything that might provide a hiding place for the pest you suspect.
Pests that are a nuisance to people often cause damage and make it difficult for them to enjoy their homes or gardens. In addition, they can spread diseases and introduce harmful pathogens to food and water supplies. Pests should not be ignored and left to get out of hand, as they can be difficult and expensive to eliminate once they have become established.
For example, cockroaches are common pests that enter homes through door and window cracks and crevices, and can contaminate food and drink. They can also produce a pungent, odoriferous secretion that can affect the taste of foods, as well as cause allergic reactions in some people. The best way to deal with cockroaches is to have them identified and implement a thorough sanitation program, dehumidify the area, and store food and papers in sealed containers.
Prevention
Rather than waiting to treat a pest problem, preventive pest control focuses on preventing the pests from getting into a building in the first place. This approach can help reduce costs and damage to buildings, furnishings and personal belongings. It can also protect human health and the environment by limiting exposure to disease-causing pathogens and allergens, which can be spread by some pests.
Prevention tactics include exclusion, physical management and repellents. Exclusion aims to shut down entry and harborage points by closing up cracks, crevices, and gaps with caulking or plaster. This can be done inside and outside the building. It can also involve routinely scheduling maintenance such as window and door screening, duct sealing, and cleaning of ventilation systems. Physical management includes keeping food and supplies in containers that are tightly closed or stored, and removing trash regularly from receptacles. This is often coupled with a routine cleaning schedule that includes washing floors and scrubbing walls.
Repellants are substances that discourage pests by making environments unattractive, unpleasant, or toxic to them. These can be natural, like pheromones or juvenile hormones, or artificial, such as visual barriers and sounds that frighten or confuse them. Natural forces like weather and other environmental conditions have a big impact on pest populations, so it is not always possible to completely eliminate them.
Regular inspections of indoor and outdoor areas can help detect early warning signs of pest infestation, such as mud tubes that termites use to travel along exterior walls or the hollow sound wood makes when tapped. It is also important to perform yard and garden maintenance to remove food sources, shelters, and water that attract pests. Regular cleaning of kitchens and food storage areas can cut down on germs that attract pests. Routine garbage disposal can cut down on rotting organic materials that can attract rodents. Clutter can provide hiding places for insects, so it is a good idea to get rid of stacks of newspapers and magazines. And reducing moisture by regularly draining wet regions can be helpful, as can installing dehumidifiers in crawl spaces and basements.
Suppression
The goal of pest control is to reduce a pest population to an acceptable level. This may be accomplished through preventive measures or through the use of biological, physical or chemical controls.
Threshold-based decision-making is an important part of any pest management strategy. Some pests are continuously present and require regular control; others, such as migratory birds or cyclical diseases, occur on a sporadic basis and need only to be controlled occasionally. The number of pests present and the damage they cause are used to determine whether control is necessary or not.
Natural forces, such as climate, food supply and shelter availability, act on all organisms, including pests, and can influence their numbers and damage. For example, the climate influences pests by affecting their host plants and the availability of other food sources.
For example, a drought can affect plant growth and reduce the amount of food available to insects; this will usually lower the insect population. Other natural factors that limit pest populations include the presence of natural enemies (predators, parasitoids or pathogens) and physical barriers such as mountains, rivers, lakes or other features that restrict their movement.
Devices and machines that physically separate pests from their food, water or shelter are called physical controls. Fences, nets, traps and other devices can effectively keep pests out of buildings or other structures. Radiation, heat and other methods can also be used to change the environment of a pest and control its numbers.
Many people are not comfortable with using chemical pesticides to get rid of pests, especially those that pose a health risk or that contaminate food. A more environmentally friendly approach is known as integrated pest management, or IPM. IPM plans incorporate prevention, suppression and eradication of pests through the use of environmental controls such as plant resistance, sanitation, structural modifications, waste management and more. Building residents, managers and supervisors can help by reporting maintenance problems and by not storing food or garbage outdoors where pests can enter buildings. In addition, they can learn about safer cleaning and disinfecting practices, safe pesticide handling and storage and the importance of proper waste disposal.
Biological Control
The goal of biological control is to use predators, parasitoids, and pathogens to suppress pest populations. This reduces our reliance on chemical pesticides and can be more environmentally friendly than other pest management strategies. Biological controls can also provide more consistent, longer-lasting control than many synthetic insecticides.
There are four major ways that natural enemies can be used to control pests: (1) conservation biology – enhancing the presence of existing predators, parasitoids, and pathogens in the environment to prevent or depress pest numbers; (2) classical biological control – importing non-native natural enemies from their native habitat and establishing a population that can keep a new invasive species in check (e.g., Rodolia cardinalis was introduced to control cottony cushion scale on orange trees). (3) augmentative biological control – releasing large numbers of biological control organisms (often mass-reared in insectaries) to supplement the small number already present in an area; and (4) inundative biological control – releasing large quantities of a biological control agent, either to kill existing populations or to establish new ones, often by applying it directly to the pest plant (e.g., nematodes that target root-knot nematodes are used inundatively against strawberry worms).
A key consideration is whether the benefits of a pest control strategy outweigh the costs. For example, using a biological control agent to kill caterpillars that are eating the leaves of a fruit tree may not be worth the cost of replacing those leaves. In addition, it is important to note that not all biological control agents are effective against all pests. For example, the caterpillar-parasitic fungus Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki can be used to kill all caterpillars, but another parasitic fungus, Chrysosporium coeruleum, is only effective against asparagus rust.
PPQ’s Biological Control Program works with cooperators to import, screen, develop, and release biological control organisms offshore to prevent the establishment of or slow the spread of invasive species that threaten the State’s agriculture and ecosystems. The Program also supports efforts to develop, test and implement, monitor, and transfer pest-control organisms domestically in cooperation with other government and private partners.