Establishing a client base is key to a successful pest control business. Find out what kind of service customers need in your area, and market to them.
Scouting and monitoring help determine if pests are building up to unacceptable levels. Preventative measures include removing food and water sources, and fixing leaky plumbing. Parasitic nematodes can also be sprayed in the soil to kill insects. For professional help, contact Trapping USA Animal Removal & Pest Control.
Pests cause a lot of damage and can spread germs that can make people sick, and they also may spoil food and other goods. Therefore, preventive pest control measures should be a priority. Keeping the environment free of attractants is one way to avoid pest infestations. For example, trash cans should be securely closed and garbage should be collected regularly. Clutter should be removed from around the house and outdoor bird feeders, baths and hummingbird feeders should be moved away from the home’s foundation. Keep wood piles away from the house and trim back shrubs that could provide rodents and other wildlife with a highway of access to the home.
In factories, warehouses and other industrial areas, good sanitation and procedures are important to preventing pest problems. The layout of storage and shelving should be designed to minimize the number of places where pests can hide and are more likely to go unnoticed. Different classes of goods should be stored separately where possible to limit contamination from one class to another. Finished goods should be kept separate from raw materials and packaging to prevent the accumulation of debris and contaminating residues.
Prevention of pests in the home is a bit more challenging because there are so many ways that people introduce them into the home. Fruit flies, for instance, often appear in kitchens after someone has left a bunch of ripe bananas or tomatoes on the counter. Indoor plants should be kept in clean pots, and outdoor furniture, toys and other items should be wiped down regularly to eliminate the presence of dirt and odors that can attract pests.
Suppression of pests is the next step in a pest control program. This is done by reducing the numbers to the point where they no longer pose an unacceptable threat. This can be done through exclusion or quarantine, repulsion, physical removal or the use of chemicals.
The use of chemicals is a last resort in most cases, but if prevention and suppression do not work, pesticides may be used. When pesticides are used, great care must be taken to ensure that children and pets do not come into contact with them.
Suppression
Pests can cause damage to crops or personal property. They can also be a health hazard (e.g., fleas and mosquitoes that carry disease) or annoyance (e.g., earwigs and silverfish that crawl in one’s food or clothing).
Prevention is the best way to deal with pest problems, but sometimes control measures are necessary. It is important to use methods that will cause the least harm to non-target organisms, including people, pets and wildlife. Control options include suppression – reducing the number of pests to an acceptable level and eradication – destroying the entire population.
Preventing pests can be as simple as removing food sources and other attractants from the area or as complex as building physical barriers. Some common preventive practices include putting screens on windows, keeping doors and windows shut and regularly inspecting for cracks or other openings that may allow pests to enter homes. Regular garbage collection and removal, storing food in tightly closed containers and sealing loose foodstuffs can also help.
In agricultural settings, preventing pests can involve plowing, crop rotation, cleaning equipment and other cultural practices to deprive the pest of its food or its habitat. Irrigation management is important, too – for example, by using short, frequent irrigations to avoid prolonged periods of high humidity that can encourage the development of diseases.
Chemical pesticides can be used to suppress a pest problem, but care must be taken when selecting and applying them. Some are toxic to pets and people, so keep baits, traps and other pest control methods out of the reach of children and animals. When pesticides are applied, it is important to limit their exposure by targeting specific areas and using low-reach sprayers or fogging devices. It is also important to choose a pesticide that will not have a significant impact on its natural enemies, especially in its early life stages.
Many pests have certain “windows of opportunity” when they are easiest to control. This can vary by type, but for example, insects are easier to control in their immature or egg stages. Similarly, weeds are easier to control when they are small and growing rapidly (annuals) or just before the beginning of dormancy (perennials).
Detection
Keeping up with inspections and monitoring of your facility helps ensure that pest problems are caught before they become an infestation. This can reduce the labour required to inspect and clean, as well as lowering potential damage to artifacts. By cleaning regularly and enforcing proper storage procedures, the risk of infestation can be greatly reduced.
Preventive measures, such as sealing entry points, practicing proper food storage and management, and maintaining kitchen hygiene can significantly decrease the likelihood of pest problems. These methods can also prevent the transmission of disease from rodents and other pests to people and products.
Although preventive measures can be very effective, some pests will still find their way indoors from the outside environment. This can be due to poor hygiene, lack of preventive efforts, or natural outdoor connections such as open windows and gaps in walls and foundations. These pests may be common household pests, such as ants and flies, or even larger wildlife such as squirrels or raccoons.
Pests that gain access to food processing facilities can cause a variety of issues, including the consumption or contamination with disease-causing pathogens (e.g. rodent droppings), physical contamination of foodstuffs through insect parts and other foreign material, and/or direct damage to structures and equipment. Having a pest control program in place that is tailored to your site’s environment and needs can dramatically lower the risk of these risks.
Keeping regular records of pest activity can help identify problem areas within your facility and determine the underlying causes. Pest records can also be used to detect trends over time and evaluate the effectiveness of the preventive and control measures in place.
In addition to standard monitoring practices, creating sanitary perimeters on floors through the organized layout of shelving and cabinets can decrease the labour required for inspections and increase their success by providing clear lines of sight for traps and intrusion detection. The removal of unnecessary clutter and unwanted cartons from storerooms, warehouses, and collections areas can also provide more visible and accessible areas for trap placement. This, combined with regularly sweeping and mopping, will allow for greater visibility of pests and their signs such as droppings, stains, cracks and lines, and shed or discarded wings and bodies.
Eradication
Pests can be a nuisance, causing damage to property or plants. They can also spread diseases and contaminate food. Eradication is the process of completely removing the presence of a particular type of pest. This can be achieved by using different pest control methods. It can be done on a local, regional or global scale. However, the term “eradication” is often misunderstood, especially by those who are not intimately involved in a disease eradication effort. This is because the word is defined as “pull up or out by the roots,” or to destroy completely, in the dictionary. Despite this ambiguity, the term is frequently used to describe controlling or eliminating an infectious disease.
To eradicate a pest, you must first identify it. This is important because if you aren’t sure what the pest is, you can’t use the correct control measures. In general, a pest can be identified by its appearance, behaviour or damage to your home, garden or personal items. Some pests have a scary or grotesque appearance, like spiders, silverfish and earwigs. Others bite or sting (real or perceived), like bed bugs, fleas, cockroaches and wasps. Some stain or smell, such as ants and cluster flies. In addition, some pests cause health problems, such as mice, rats, cockroaches and fleas, which can carry diseases that can make humans sick.
Eradication can be achieved with physical, chemical or biological methods. Physical methods include traps, netting and decoys. These methods are effective for small pest invasions, and can help to prevent infestations from occurring in the first place. Chemicals, such as repellents and insecticides, can be used to eliminate pests that have already invaded your home or business. They are typically easier to apply, and can offer instant results. However, they can pose a health risk upon exposure and require regular application.
Biological methods are more environmentally friendly, and can be effective for smaller pest invasions. For example, you can use predators to eliminate rodents, or cultivate nematodes in your garden to get rid of cockroaches. You can also fortify your home by denying pests food, water and shelter. Store food in sealed containers, and remove garbage regularly. Eliminate hiding places by reducing clutter, such as stacks of newspapers and old boxes.