Pests can damage buildings and crops, contaminate food, and spread diseases. Pest control techniques include exclusion, barrier construction, traps, eradication, and pesticides.

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Pest identification is a key element in pest control. It enables pest management professionals to determine whether control measures are necessary and what methods to implement. It is also essential for the success of those measures. Incorrect identification can lead to ineffective and potentially harmful control methods. Proper pest identification requires various tools and techniques, including considering the impact of environmental factors on pest biology.

Often, a pest can be identified by examining its physical characteristics. However, this identification method is limited and should be used with others. Common mistakes and misconceptions include:

• Identifying pests based on superficial similarities.
• Mistaking one species for another.
• Assuming that all members of a particular pest family behave the same way.

Incorrect pest identification can lead to improper and ineffective control measures, which may harm both people and property.

The best method of pest identification is to consult a professional pest control expert. This person can provide detailed information on the pest’s life cycle, habits, habitat, threats, and prevention and control methods. Other methods of pest identification include pheromone traps and other monitoring technologies, which can reveal important details about pest activity such as feeding preferences, breeding habits, and location in the environment.

If you suspect that a pest is infesting your home, try to collect a specimen for identification. Carefully collect the insect or rodent in a clear jar or plastic bag. Place it in the freezer for several hours or one day to preserve its body features. Once the specimen is frozen, examine it to note its characteristics and compare them to the images in a pest identification guide. If you can’t identify the pest, contact your local Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Service (PPQ) office or State land grant university to request assistance. Alternatively, you can submit photographs of your mystery pest to the MMPC Pest ID Center for analysis and identification. This service is free of charge. Other methods of pest control, such as sanitation, vacuuming, sealing insect entry points, properly storing firewood, and dehumidifying indoor spaces can be effective without the need for professional intervention.

Pesticides

The term pesticide refers to a wide variety of chemical products designed to destroy unwanted organisms that interfere with crops, plants or animals. They may be synthetic, created in labs, or organic, derived from natural substances such as bacteria, plants or minerals. They may be fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, molluscicides or plant growth regulators. Some are liquids, others are granules or powders. They may be biodegradable, dissolving in water and microbes, or persistent, staying in the soil and affecting the environment for years.

The goal of a pesticide is to destroy the organism it’s meant for while having minimal effect on other plants, animals or people. However, no pesticide is perfect. There is always a risk that the positive economic benefits of pesticides will be offset by negative effects on human health, animals, plants and the environment.

A wide range of pesticides are available, from the ancient Sumerians’ elemental sulfur to today’s pyrethrins, carbamates and organochlorine insecticides. Most pesticides are used to kill insects, but they also are in use for other reasons, such as to control weeds, mildew, slugs and snails, nematodes, rodents and even some diseases.

Many pesticides, whether in their biodegradable or persistent forms, leave residues on food crops that are then eaten by humans. These residues have been linked to a variety of health problems, from short-term effects such as headache and nausea to long-term impacts including cancer and reproductive harm. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency tests foods for the presence of pesticides to ensure that they are safe.

Another problem with pesticides is that a small percentage of the chemicals actually reach the place they are meant to target. The remainder escapes into the air, water, sediment or food. Most of these escaped pesticides have found their way into surface and ground water, where they are known to cause a wide array of health problems, from minor short-term effects such as eye irritation and headaches to chronic impacts such as endocrine disruption, neurological damage and cancer.

A few of the most common types of pesticides are herbicides such as flupyrsulfuron-methyl-sodium and sulfonylureas, fungicides like thiabendazole and triclopyr and nematocids such as metronidazole and spinosad. Some pesticides are also used in air and water treatment systems to kill organisms that can spread disease or pollute the environment, such as mosquitoes and flies.

Biological Control

In biological control, predators, parasitoids, and disease organisms are used to suppress pest populations. NIFA supports research in this area because it is environmentally safe, energy self-sufficient and cost-effective. It is also sustainable and can be readily incorporated into integrated pest management (IPM) programs. In addition, biological controls are generally considered safer than synthetic chemicals and reduce the risk of pesticide resistance.

In its most basic form, biological control involves the intentional importation of natural enemies to suppress insect pests, weeds and plant pathogens in cropping systems. This is sometimes referred to as “classical” biological control. Governments sponsor expeditions to the location of an introduced pest to find and collect its natural enemies, which are often specific to that pest’s species. These natural enemies are then reared and ideally released at the site of pest establishment to help keep populations low.

Many growers augment the native populations of natural enemies in their fields, greenhouses, or gardens to help suppress pests. This is often called “inoculative release.” In other cases, the augmentation is accomplished by buying and periodically releasing the biological control agent from an insectary or similar facility. In most commercial applications, the augmented population of natural enemies is often much larger than the local wild populations.

Biological control agents are generally host-specific, so they may only attack one or a few pest species. Therefore, growers need to be careful to identify the pest correctly so that they are purchasing and releasing the correct organism. These methods are more labor intensive and require greater record-keeping than chemical treatments.

Biological control is most effective when it is a preventative measure to suppress pests before they reach damaging or intolerable levels. Unlike chemical treatments, which are typically applied to a pest after it is already out of control, preventative biological control uses a large number of the organisms at one time in order to overwhelm and control the population. The goal is to create a level of suppression that allows the pest population to recover without becoming uncontrollable and then maintain the lower population indefinitely.

Prevention

Whether they cause disease or simply destroy plants and ruin food, pests can damage our health and property. A well-run pest control program prevents infestations. It also protects the environment and public health by using methods that minimize harm to the natural world.

Prevention starts with knowing pests and their life cycles. Understanding the difference between egg, nymph, and adult stages allows you to intervene at times when pest control is most effective. You should know that weather conditions directly affect pest populations. Rain or freezing temperatures can kill or suppress insect growth and weeds. Weather changes can also alter the distribution of a plant-eating pest or its host.

It is important to understand that natural enemies of a pest — parasites, predators, and pathogens — also help control the population. Biological control is often supplemented with chemical controls, such as pheromones and juvenile hormones, to increase the effectiveness of the system.

Physical barriers to pests, such as screens and sealants, can prevent them from entering buildings. Regular inspections, monitoring and identification of pests, and vigilance in keeping foods and garbage in sealed containers can all be helpful.

Many pests carry diseases that can be harmful to humans, livestock, and pets. Some, such as cockroaches and rodents, can spread a number of germs, including bacteria and viruses. Others, such as fleas and ticks, can spread tapeworms or Lyme disease. Pests that damage plants can transmit a variety of plant diseases as well.

Preventing pests is the best way to reduce the need for pesticides. A thorough cleaning, regularly sweeping and mopping floors, sealing cracks, and installing rodent proofing can all deter pests and their offspring. It is also a good idea to keep garbage and compost receptacles tightly closed, to clean drains, and to avoid leaving food out in the open. Regularly wiping down and vacuuming kitchen surfaces will also help to banish the food sources that attract pests, such as crumbs or spills.