They can also damage your home and health.
Mice can gnaw on electrical wires and create fire hazards, while carrying diseases such as leptospirosis, hantavirus and salmonella.
Ask Texas whether the person assessing your pest problem is a technician or salesperson. Technicians are salaried, while salespeople are paid partly on commission.
Pest Identification
The first step in pest control is identification, which often involves observing the pest itself and recording the kind of damage it has caused. This is called “field scouting,” and accurate identification is important since appropriate management methods vary widely depending on pest species and their habitats.
Most pests are attracted to specific plants or environmental conditions, and they attack crops at particular times of year or under particular growth stages. Identifying the pest and learning its life cycle and behavior helps one select a preventive or control method that targets the pest, not its host plant or beneficial organisms.
Ask your pest control service whether the person assessing your pest problem is a technician or a salesperson (some companies have separate salaried technical and commission-based personnel). If the company employs both, ask which one you can talk to about your pest concerns. The difference is that a technician has the training and responsibility to make decisions about the use of pesticides for your specific situation.
Pesticides
Pesticides are chemicals that kill, injure, or deter organisms that damage or spoil crops. They may also alter a plant’s growth (regulators), drop leaves early on (defoliants), or act as a drying agent (desiccants). Pesticides can be liquids, gases or solids and are sold in a wide range of formulations.
Pesticide chemical residues are found in food and water. They can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled. They can kill mosquitoes that transmit deadly diseases like West Nile virus and malaria, and help control other insect populations that damage or eat crops.
However, they can also harm other plants and animals including beneficial insects, birds, mammals, and fish, as well as microorganisms that make soil healthy for growing crops. Even when sprayed according to label directions, they can drift or volatilize and contaminate air, water and soil. In fact, a study of urban streams found that pesticides like the herbicide chlorpyrifos and the insecticide 2,4-D are commonly found in waterways.
Biological Control
Biological control is the use of living organisms to manage pest insects, weeds, plant-parasitic nematodes and pathogens.Biological control is much more environmentally benign than United States of America chemical pesticides.
It relies on the natural ability of predators, parasitoids and disease agents to suppress pest populations to acceptable levels without direct intervention by humans. Biocontrol programs utilize the
importation
, augmentation and conservation of natural enemies in a variety of forms to provide effective management.
Importation (also referred to as classical or inoculative biological control) is used against exotic pests that have become established in new areas of the world. Natural enemies are collected from the pestâs country of origin, introduced in small numbers to a new area and allowed to establish a population that can suppress the pest (van Lenteren 2000b).
Augmentative biological control is an increasingly important tool for managing many important horticultural crops worldwide.Species are reared in insectaries, Livingston flown from commercial operations or delivered in the crop canopy using various means such as pheromones, host-plant resistance and physical manipulation of the environment.
Prevention
Pests are more than a nuisance; they can damage your property and pose health risks.Rodents chew wires and spread diseases 936-327-7484 like hantavirus, leptospirosis and salmonella. Fleas cause itching and bites, while cockroaches are known to carry pathogens that can cause diseases such as gastroenteritis.
Preventative pest control services help you to reduce the cost of repairs and prevent future infestations from occurring.They can also save you Polk county pest control the stress of dealing with pests and the problems they create.
The most effective pest control methods are physical or biological, rather than chemical. These involve removing food, water and shelter sources, modifying the environment, or using predators and parasites to reduce pest populations. In the case of chemical pesticides, it is important to understand that they are not suitable for every situation, and may be harmful to people, pets, native wildlife or the environment. You should always read the product label carefully and follow its directions and warnings
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