What is Pest Control?
Pest control is an approach utilized in hygiene management. It wants to manage bugs to reduce their impact on where they live. Considering the role of pests in the food chain and habitats is important when dealing with them in certain areas. That’s why we manage some populations of pests instead of eradicating them.
Pest control experts discover methods to eliminate bugs and safeguard the environment.
Experts follow rules and only give equipment to qualified and experienced people to prevent harm from incorrect pest control methods.
Different Types of Pest
There are a variety of pests that require government-approved methods of control. However, each of them can be broadly classified into three distinct categories.
Insects
Insects and insect infestations may be the most frequent problems with pest control in commercial and domestic premises, as most species are small, so it can take a long time to realize that a major outbreak has developed. The most frequent insect pests are cockroaches, ants, bed bugs, fleas and bees, wasps, and.
Rodents
The term “rodents” is often one of the first things people consider when considering bugs. While rats are among the most frequent pests, mice can also be concerned about which pest control can be needed, particularly in food or catering establishments.
Birds and Other
Birds, as well as different kinds of animals, are among the most frequent pests. Yet, they can be a source of trouble and danger to a company’s and its clients’ health and security. Seagulls and pigeons are common birds that cause problems.
At the same time, other animals, such as squirrels and foxes, could create serious issues with large numbers.
Three Types of Pest Control Strategies
Pest control solutions employ different methods to combat pests. However, they can be classified into three major pest management varieties, which we’ll explain more in depth below.
Physical
Physical pest control is capturing and killing or removing pests to eliminate them from the surroundings. It could also include setting up barriers physically and blocking a space to keep insects from entering or returning to the premises in the first place.
Physical examples of control are removing or eliminating the nests of pests and blocking up holes or doors or windows, using ways to regulate temperature to eliminate pests, or setting traps for pests to capture them before removing their presence from the space.
Techniques like field burning or trap cropping are commonly used for farming to control pests.
Advantages
- The main benefit of this particular insect control is that it does not use any hazardous substances that may affect the natural environment or an individual that comes in contact with the substance used in pest control.
- They are usually green.
- Pest control through physical means is one of the methods that pests can’t form any resistance to, meaning this method is as efficient as possible.
Disadvantages
- The main drawback of the physical control of pests, which involves trapping, is that a large portion of the population believes that it’s inhumane to capture animals and then remove them from their natural environment, regardless of whether it is carried out with health and safety in mind.
- Physical pest control, which includes killing pests, is classified as inhumane,
- Particularly when they’re larger animals or rodents.
- Practically speaking, If you are dealing with an extensive infestation, eliminating all insects will be a complicated and tiring task; therefore, its efficiency isn’t quite as effective as other approaches.
- It could be a more reliable method for keeping pests from re-entering their initial area of attack.
Chemical
Chemical pest control techniques are the most commonly used way to control pests. These methods are often used for controlling weeds and controlling crop diseases.
Pesticides is the term employed to denote chemicals for pest control that usually kill and eliminate the pests that consume or come in contact with these substances.
They may be employed with traps made of physical material or left in areas where pests have been known.
Only certified pest control specialists can use chemical pesticides since these chemicals can be toxic and extremely dangerous if humans ingest them.
A different method of chemical control involves ultra-low Volume (ULV) fogging. It can be used to fight pest infestations and also spreads smaller quantities of insecticide.
On the other side of the spectrum, fogging is a severe technique for controlling pests using chemicals that involve sealing up a structure by filling it up with pesticides to eliminate all pests on the property.
Advantages
- Chemical pest control is extremely effective and produces quick results in eliminating insects.
- Pesticides are also an inexpensive method for the control of pests, and there are ineffective substances that are available to those who do not have any pest control certification.
- Chemical pest control techniques are also easy to apply and quick to learn.
Disadvantages
- Most chemicals used to control pests are extremely poisonous. They could cause severe problems if they are ingested by objects other than insects, like pets or even humans, at home.
- Regular and frequent usage of chemical pesticides may affect groundwater quality or leave an odour on plants, which could result in health concerns.
- Pests can develop resistance against chemical pesticides. This may cause major difficulties when trying to deal with this newly resistant species
Biological
The final technique for controlling pests is biological techniques, the most ancient type of pest management. It involves using living organisms to lessen or eliminate a particular pest.
This generally involves introducing their natural predators into the area to help manage the number of pests.
It’s rarely used to deal with pests within an environment of safety and health; however, it can be employed to deal with larger groups of pests that pose a danger to people who reside in the region.
Natural predators are one type of biological method for pest control. However, another one that’s more likely to be employed on plant species is the introduction of microorganisms, which protect the habitat species from creatures.
Advantages
- Biological pest control is generally the most environmentally friendly method, as it doesn’t involve any synthetic substance or the killing or removal of a species by humans.
- Also, it’s a long-term option so that control of pests typically only occurs once
- Introducing a natural predator to control the pests is also a small expense or time at the beginning. It’s an approach that is self-sustaining.
Disadvantages
- The use of biological pest control isn’t an extremely reliable technique as you cannot control how the predatory species will behave when it is introduced to the new environment.
- This isn’t a speedy procedure, so it’s unsuitable when a problem needs to be swiftly handled, and it will only partially eradicate any pest population.
- Introducing a new species in an area can alter the ecosystem and food chain equilibrium in certain situations. This can lead to another outbreak of predatory animals that must be eliminated or reduced.
Final Thoughts!
The final thought is that pest control is vital to controlling pests’ effect in different areas. There are three varieties of insects: rodents, rodents and creatures.
Methods for controlling pests include physical (capture and destruction), chemical (use for pesticides), and biological (natural microorganisms, predators). Each has advantages and drawbacks.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) combines multiple methods and is the most sustainable approach. Ultimately, the decision to use pest control is based on the situation at hand and the necessity for a comprehensive, sustainable approach.
Mahnoor Murtaza is the Content Writer, who has beed writing content for the HALSCO website since 2022. She’s been involved in content writing since 2022 and specializes in English Literature & linguistics. She has worked with us on several projects to create web content and blogs/articles.
