Pests control can cause a lot of harm to people and their possessions. They can spread disease and contaminate food, clothing, and other personal items.

The best way to control pests is by avoiding their breeding and living conditions. This includes eliminating sources of food and water, limiting access to safe shelter and protecting the environment from pest infestations.

Prevention

Pest control is only effective when it is used to prevent pest problems from arising. Often this can be achieved through care in the design, structure and layout of buildings.

Buildings that are tight and well sealed will not allow pests to enter and cause damage. Good housekeeping measures, such as removing dirt, waste and other debris from areas of contact with food or merchandise reduces infestation.

It is also possible to prevent pests from spreading by using resistant varieties of plants, wood, or animals. This may mean a reduction in the need for pesticides, which helps to keep costs down.

Many natural forces act on all organisms, causing their populations to rise and fall (Figure 4). You can take advantage of these factors by making use of pest control strategies that help to maintain the balance. Some of these tactics include natural enemies, pesticides that are used at specific life stages, and minimizing the impact of climate changes on crop yield.

Suppression

Pests are the animals, insects, and other organisms that cause damage to crops, homes, or other property. They may also transmit diseases and/or contaminate food, clothing, or other items.

There are three main ways to control pests: prevention (keeping a pest from becoming a problem); suppression (reducing pest numbers or damage to an acceptable level), and eradication (destroying an entire pest population). Some types of pests are difficult to control and require special treatments, while others are easier to deal with.

Natural enemies, which include predators and parasitoids, act as an important component of biological control. However, their efficacy depends on their interactions with one another, and on the landscape context.

Identification

Identifying pests is one of the most important aspects of integrated pest management. Accurate identification enables you to plan more effective control strategies.

Insects can damage a plant’s tissue, such as by chewing on leaves and roots or sucking out sap. They can also transmit pathogens such as viruses, bacteria or fungi to the plant.

Different insect pests attack plants at specific times of the year or under particular environmental conditions. Knowing these characteristics allows you to plan pest monitoring programs and determine when and how to apply appropriate pesticides.

It is critical to accurately identify all pests before you use a chemical pesticide. This will reduce the risk of harming beneficial organisms. It will also ensure that you are using an approved chemical pesticide in a manner that minimizes the risks to people, pets and the environment.

Detection

Detection of pests is an important part of the control process. Identifying the problem and determining what is causing it helps you develop an effective strategy to eliminate it.

During the detection stage, you look for signs of infestation, such as faecal pellets, urine stains, gnawed material, greasy rub marks, nesting activity, and corpses. It’s also important to keep sanitary perimeters, such as landscape cloth and pea gravel around commercial establishments, to reduce pest habitat and prevent rodent burrowing into the building fabric.

Detection also involves monitoring for pests, such as an acoustic sensor that detects pest noise levels by sending data to the control room computer when they exceed a pre-set action threshold. This allows you to detect problems early and take immediate action. This is especially important for insect-related problems. It can help you greatly reduce crop damage by detecting an infestation before it becomes large enough to cause significant loss. This is critical for agricultural production in developing countries, where the costs of damage are high and time is of the essence.