Pests are animals, plants, fungi or other organisms that harm people, property, crops, or livestock. Bakersfield Pest Control measures include prevention, suppression, and eradication.
Clutter provides hiding and breeding places for pests. Clean up and seal cracks and crevices around the home.
Use only chemicals approved for use in homes. Read and follow the label directions carefully.
Pest identification is the first step in any pest management situation. The goal of pest identification is to determine what organism is causing crop damage, and what environmental factors are affecting it. This information will help identify the best control method to use for that organism, or to decide whether action is needed at all. Proper pest identification allows the use of more targeted control methods that will minimize damage to beneficial organisms.
Insect pests are often identified by their morphological features (structure of mouthparts, wings, legs, etc.) or by specific damage symptoms observed on the plant. The use of scouting equipment (sweep net, forceps, aspirator, vials with rubbing alcohol to kill and preserve collected specimens) is important for good scouting practices.
Other identification aids can include pheromone trapping systems, which are triggered by the release of a chemical released by the pest to attract and capture males. The use of a pheromone trap helps to reduce pest numbers by keeping males from mating with females. The use of juvenile hormones – natural insect chemicals that keep the earlier stages of the pest from maturing into the normal adults – is another way to reduce pest numbers by reducing the number of mature pests.
There are also many publications available to assist in identifying weeds that impact managed landscapes, crops or forests. These can be found in printed or online guides and may be used to guide scouting efforts to gather enough data to make an identification. In some cases, a sample of the weed or pest may need to be sent to a laboratory for formal identification. The laboratory will provide diagnostic information on the species, life stage, agronomic importance and potential control options for that particular pest.
The ability to accurately identify the pest and environmental conditions that affect it is essential in any integrated pest management strategy. Incorrect identification can lead to improper pest control tactics, which can cost time and money and potentially put people or the environment at risk. The failure of a pesticide to control the pest may be due to pest resistance, choosing the wrong pesticide, misidentifying the pest or applying the pesticide incorrectly.
Prevention
Pest control is the process of preventing pests from infesting your property. It includes all steps from identification to eradication, and it focuses on creating an environment that is not conducive to pests. This involves addressing factors that attract pests such as food, water, and shelter. Effective preventive practices often include cultural, structural, and chemical methods. It is also important to understand how pests are influenced by their environment so that you can better predict and manage their populations.
Structural prevention involves building barriers that prevent pests from entering your property. It is a common part of preventive pest control and may involve caulking, screening, and sealing. It can also include landscaping and other physical barriers that deter pests from accessing areas of your property. Effective prevention is usually more environmentally friendly than other methods of pest control, as it does not rely on chemicals that kill the pests.
Cultural pest control focuses on changing agricultural or gardening practices to make the environment less hospitable to pests. This can involve changing fertilizer usage, rotating crops, choosing pest-resistant plants, and improving sanitation. It can also include modifying the habitat of pests to reduce their population, such as by clearing brush around homes or removing weeds that serve as hiding places for pests.
Insecticides, fungicides, and other chemicals can be used to kill pests. It is important to use these chemicals carefully, however, and follow the instructions on the label. In addition, it is essential to understand how these chemicals can affect humans and other organisms. Pesticides can affect the environment by contaminating soil, air, and water. They can also cause injury or death to people, pets, and other living things.
Many pests are parasites that feed on other organisms, such as frogs and birds that prey on mosquitoes or mice that prey on rodents. These natural predators help keep pests in check and reduce their population growth.
The goal of pest control is to eliminate them, but this is not always possible. Depending on the impact that pests have on human society, we may choose to tolerate their presence in some areas. This is especially true in closed environments such as dwellings, offices, schools, and health care, food preparation, and retail facilities.
Suppression
Suppression refers to the use of specific tools for reducing pest populations in and around homes. This approach is often used in combination with preventative and eradication tactics, as it can reduce reliance on pesticides and offer a more environmentally friendly alternative to harsher chemicals.
Preventative tactics focus on inhibiting pests from entering an area or preventing them from spreading to new areas. They may include inspections of structures and equipment for pest harborage, the removal of roosts and overwintering sites, the use of physical barriers like fences or netting to deter pests, and the removal of plant material that could be a carrier of a disease or parasite. Sanitation practices can also help prevent pests by improving cleanliness and limiting pest food sources. For example, removing crop residues from field boundaries and disposing of garbage regularly can help reduce insect populations. In some cases, sanitation can even prevent the spread of pests from one site to another, such as by ensuring that firewood is not moved into an area where tree-killing insects are present.
Natural enemies, such as predators, parasitoids and pathogens, can be used to reduce pest populations. Proper pest identification is essential to selecting an appropriate biological control agent. Some natural enemies attack specific life stages of a pest, while others target the plant itself. For example, fungi that infect and kill insect larvae can be used for insect control, as can parasitoids that attack and kill adult insects, or predators that target eggs and nymphs. Pheromones, which are natural chemical signals that are emitted by insects to attract mates, can also be used as a non-toxic means of controlling pests.
Some natural features restrict pest movement, such as mountains and bodies of water, while others limit pest food supplies, shelter or other resources. The availability of these factors can significantly influence pest numbers and impact the success of a suppression tactic. When necessary, natural suppression methods can be augmented with a small amount of pesticide to increase their effectiveness. In addition, monitoring can help to determine the success of suppression tactics, as well as inform future prevention and avoidance tactics.
Eradication
When a pest population gets too high, it may become necessary to eradicate the organism. This goal is most often achieved through biological methods, which can involve the release of natural enemies, such as parasites or predators, to reduce the number and impact of pests. Chemical eradication may be used to supplement the natural approach, but such measures must be carefully planned to minimize risks to humans and other animals.
It is best to develop contingency plans for new pests before they become an established problem. These plans can be based on the circumstances of a pest’s discovery, identification, risk assessment and other considerations. These plans may involve a detailed survey of the distribution of a pest in order to determine if it is confined or if it is able to spread quickly.
The NPPO should systematically evaluate reports of pests, both from local sources and abroad. The evaluations should be made by a group of experts with the necessary scientific and operational dimensions to assess the importance of the reported pest. These experts should be able to recommend a course of action for the local or regional NPPO.
NPPOs should identify the conditions that might facilitate an eradication programme for a newly-introduced pest, as well as the conditions that would favor a programme directed toward an established pest. This information should be recorded and shared. The data might include the geographic location of occurrence, the hosts infested at the site, the level of damage and the extent of the pest’s incidence; the pathway by which the pest has arrived in the area (the presence of similar imported plants or plant products); and climatic and soil conditions that are conducive to pest establishment.
The eradication of an established pest may be possible with the use of specific control measures, such as monitoring, surveillance and inspection programmes, chemical applications, mechanical removal of the pests and the planting of resistant crop varieties. It is important to note, however, that the success of a particular eradication measure depends on the circumstances under which it has been applied and that there is usually a time lag between pest numbers rising to an unacceptable level and the application of corrective measures.