Pests, such as rodents, weeds, and insects, destroy or contaminate crops, damage property, and threaten human health.

Correct identification of a pest is essential to planning an effective control program. It helps determine basic information about the pest, such as its life cycle and when it is most susceptible to control measures. Contact Pest Control Burnaby BC now!

The best way to deal with pests is to prevent them from entering your home or business. If you can identify and close entry points like cracks in walls, rips in screens, or unsealed gaps around vents, pests won’t be able to find their way inside. Keeping your property clean and clutter-free removes places where pests breed and hide, and regular inspections can identify problems before they become serious.

In the garden, keep wood piles away from the house, rake leaves regularly and trim bushes. Make sure bird feeders and baths are positioned far enough from the house that pests can’t access them, and try to water your lawn in the morning rather than at night when nocturnal rodents are active.

Indoors, wipe down counters and sweep floors frequently to eliminate crumbs and dust where pests breed. Store food in airtight containers and dispose of garbage on a regular schedule. If you have pets, check them regularly for fleas and brush them often to reduce the amount of pet dander that gets carried into your home.

Regular cleaning of rugs, mattresses and other furnishings can also eliminate breeding sites for pests. Organizing storage areas and cabinets can decrease the labour required for inspections and allow for better placement of traps and pest monitoring devices. Understanding a pest’s habits, life cycle and preferred habitat can help you predict when they are likely to appear and take action before they cause damage.

Educating employees at businesses can be an effective tool for preventing pest infestations. Workers can carry pests from one part of the building into another on their clothing, bags or shoes, and establishing a culture of prevention in the workplace can stop them before they become a major problem.

Suppression

Once a pest infestation occurs, it is important to take steps to control it. This may involve the use of traps and baits, sanitation, and/or exclusion strategies. In addition, the use of pesticides or other chemical treatments can be used. It is important to note that the use of pesticides should only be done by a qualified professional. The use of pesticides is very hazardous and requires the proper training and certification.

Monitoring is an essential part of any pest control program. This can include scouting, observing damage, and/or measuring numbers of pests. This is especially important in food manufacturing, where pest populations can affect the safety and quality of products. Monitoring can also help predict when a threshold level will be reached and when it is time to start control measures.

Physical controls can be used to keep pests out of a building or garden by blocking their entry ways. This can include using screens, fences, and barriers. It can also include eliminating their breeding grounds and places to hide. For example, regularly cleaning under and around appliances (such as microwaves, freezers, and refrigerators) can help prevent them from becoming a pest’s vacation spot. In addition, keeping branches, piles of firewood, decorative rocks, and other landscaping well-maintained can also help reduce the likelihood of pests inhabiting them.

Other physical controls include the use of traps and baits to catch and kill pests. This can be done by the use of commercially available traps or home-made ones. The best method for setting traps is to research the kind of pest you are trying to eliminate and to make sure that you are using the appropriate kind of traps for that particular species. The use of baits also needs to be monitored frequently and should only be done with approved chemicals and materials.

Natural enemies, such as birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, can help control some pests by eating them or by controlling their populations. Pathogens (such as viruses and fungi) also suppress pest populations by causing them to die or become inactive. Finally, climate can also impact pests by affecting the growth of their host plants.

Control

Control of pests means eliminating or suppressing them to prevent adverse effects on people, property or the environment. It also means using only the minimum amount of control agents necessary to accomplish the task. Control strategies can be cultural, physical, biological or chemical. A combination of techniques is often the most effective.

Prevention is generally easier than control. Sealing cracks or caulking windows, for example, can keep many pests out of the house. Good sanitation practices also can reduce food contamination and pest harborage sites.

A thorough understanding of a pest’s life cycle and habitat is essential to choosing the most appropriate control measures. In addition to assessing population levels and damage potential, the scout should evaluate other conditions that may influence the need for action, such as weather, soil conditions, plant growth stage and the presence of beneficial organisms.

The scout should also observe insect predators and parasites to determine whether they are controlling the pest population, or at least slowing its rate of increase. Biological controls, such as the release of natural enemies or the use of pathogens to kill or sterilize pests, are sometimes effective. They can be supplemented by releasing sterile males or using pheromones to interfere with the pest’s mating system.

Physical or mechanical controls include barriers, screens, traps and fences that can block or divert pests from an area. Physical manipulations, such as aeration and mulching, can also be used to alter the environment, preventing or inhibiting pest infestations. Radiation, heat, electricity and chemicals can also be used to control certain pests.

Pesticides are an important part of any control program, but they must be used with caution. Pesticides can disrupt the balance of the ecosystem, causing harm to humans and other animals as well as plants. They should be applied only where they are needed, in small amounts and with a minimum of exposure to people and pets. When pesticides are used, they should be based on a risk assessment that includes an evaluation of the potential for nontarget damage.

Pest management requires an ongoing commitment, but it’s worth the effort to prevent costly damages and ensure that pests don’t come back. A qualified pest control professional can help you develop a plan that’s right for your home or business.

Eradication

Pest control companies can employ a wide variety of methods to eliminate infestations. They can use traps and baits to lure pests into places where they are more easily killed or contained, or apply surface sprays of poisonous chemicals. They may also use heat or freezing treatments to kill pests or dehydrate them. They may even use biological agents to control some pests, such as releasing sterile males or using pheromones. Many different pests require different methods, so pest control companies usually use a combination of controls to tackle any given problem.

Before rushing to call in the exterminators, however, consider whether your problem really deserves such drastic action. IPM advocates starting with a close look at the situation and deciding if the pests are actually causing damage, or simply annoying you. “Then you can decide if you want to roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty,” says Rotkin-Ellman. Some of the best tools for this job are old-fashioned: mousetraps, jar traps, sticky traps, pheromone traps, and flypaper or swatters. In the garden, try nematodes, microscopic worms that can be sprayed by the million and quickly take care of fleas, grubs, cockroaches, and other insects.

Chemical pesticides can be helpful in certain situations, but they are also potentially dangerous to humans if breathed in or accidentally ingested. They also disrupt ecosystems by killing off beneficial insects or causing other organisms to become pests in their place. For example, the overuse of insecticides on invertebrates such as flies and grasshoppers has contributed to their extinction.

If pesticides are used, they should always be applied according to the label instructions. If possible, choose the least-hazard product for the job, and apply it only to areas where pests are most likely to be found. For instance, sprays should never be directed at food or eating areas or around plumbing fixtures where children or pets may come into contact with the spray. If you must use a more hazardous chemical, apply it only to surfaces where it will not seep into the groundwater supply.