Pest Control Sparta NJ is action taken to prevent or remove organisms that damage living things, contaminate food or spoil goods. This can be done through exclusion, repulsion and physical removal.
Some organisms are natural enemies of some pests and can be used to control them, such as predators, parasites or pathogens. Pheromones and juvenile hormones can also be used to reduce pest numbers.
Identification is the first step in any pest control program. Whether you are dealing with a plant, animal or microbe, pest identification will help you determine the need for control and the most effective pest management tactics. It can be difficult to accurately identify pests, especially since different species of pests may share similar characteristics. This makes it especially important to learn how to use reliable resources for pest identification such as online or printed guides, commodity or industry organizations and state land grant universities.
The information in these guides will give you a good starting point for the pest’s behavior, damage and life cycle. It can also help you decide if the pest requires pesticide or other control measures. If you don’t know what type of pest you are dealing with, it is very important to seek expert advice from a qualified pest management professional.
Pest control companies can offer a variety of services for residential and commercial properties. Some will offer a free inspection and consultation to determine the best approach for the situation. These professionals will look for signs of infestation, and they may even perform a trapping or baiting service for wood-destroying insects. They will also be able to recommend other preventive actions that can be taken, such as sealing cracks and crevices or installing screens and door sweeps.
Identifying the pest is the first step in any pest management program, so be sure to make note of its specific traits such as length of legs or antennae, shape of wings, coloring and other unique features. For insect pests, you may also want to consider if the pest has teeth or not and what its mouthparts look like. If the pest is in your home, you can consult a pest control guide to see how it compares to other household invaders such as spiders, house centipedes, termites and ants.
For outdoor crops, the identifying process is more involved and will require field scouting to observe pest populations and their interactions with the crop. The information gathered from these observations can be used to develop an integrated pest management plan that will reduce the impact of the pest on the crop.
Pest Prevention
Pest prevention involves taking steps to avoid the need for pest control. This approach typically requires a greater investment of time, money and staff resources on the front end, but it can reduce a facility’s risk and lower pesticide exposure. Pests can be anything that poses a health threat or damage to food, plants and structures, including rodents, birds, insects and plant diseases. Pests can also cause asthma and other respiratory problems, allergic reactions, destruction of property and spread disease.
Threshold-based decision making is a common way to determine the need for pest control. Consider the following when deciding whether to take action against a pest:
Does the pest pose an unacceptable risk to human safety, plant or material?
Do the pests contaminate or spoil food?
Can the problem be reduced without destroying the beneficial organisms that live in or around the area?
If the answer to both questions is no, then control options should be considered. These may include physical removal, such as picking off an insect infestation from a plant or removing a nest or droppings from a rodent. Plant disease organisms, such as fungi or mildews, can often be controlled with cultural methods, such as proper watering and soil conditions or selecting disease-resistant cultivars.
In homes, the use of non-toxic cleaning products and limiting clutter can reduce pest activity. Garbage should be taken out regularly, and food should not be left out overnight. In some cases, caulking and sealing cracks or crevices can help prevent pests from entering buildings.
If it is necessary to resort to pesticides, be sure to read the label carefully. It should contain detailed instructions and warnings, as well as the environmental impact and hazards of the product. Select the least toxic product available for the situation and apply it according to its label instructions. If other control tactics are possible, such as using traps or baits, they should be used before chemical sprays. Do not use pesticides near living areas or where children or pets will be. Thoroughly clean surfaces where sprays will be applied, and close off rooms before treatment.
Pest Control Measures
A pest control program depends on a complex balance of organisms in any treatment area. When the balance is disrupted, the activities of one organism may negatively impact those of many other organisms. A pesticide can quickly upset this balance by killing all the pests it touches, including the beneficial insects that help keep plant-feeding insect populations under control. IPM programs reduce the dependence on chemical treatments by using less risky methods first. These include physical control measures like trapping, weeding and scouting. Biological control involves the use of a pest’s natural enemies, such as predators, parasitoids or disease pathogens to reduce its population. This type of control can be used to eliminate an entire pest infestation or to supplement mechanical and physical controls.
IPM also employs preventive actions to keep pests from becoming a problem in the first place. This includes preventing conditions that encourage pest activity by removing food, water and shelter sources. It also involves limiting the amount of moisture in structures by repairing leaks and maintaining proper ventilation.
For example, to prevent cockroaches in restaurants and health care facilities, kitchen staff must properly store foodstuffs and sanitize all surfaces. In addition, staff should keep garbage cans tightly closed and remove rubbish regularly. They should also keep countertops and other areas clear of food particles, which can entice roaches to crawl in search of them.
To scout and monitor for pests, it is important to have the right equipment. A flashlight and an extendable mirror can be useful in revealing the hiding places of pests, such as behind and underneath equipment. It is also helpful to have a magnifier to enable the inspection of fecal matter, egg sacs and other evidence.
Physical and mechanical control methods are often more effective than chemical spraying. They can include removing the pests’ breeding and resting areas by sweeping, scraping or vacuuming. They can also include putting up barriers to entry, such as door and window screens, and sealing cracks in walls or around foundations. These methods can also include trapping or baiting for rodents and other pests.
Pesticides
A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances that prevents, destroys, discourages, or mitigates a pest. Pesticides include herbicides, insecticides, nematodes, and fungicides, as well as some plant growth regulators, defoliants and desiccants. Almost all pesticides are poisonous to one degree or another, and they may be harmful to people, pets, livestock, and the environment.
A good pest control program minimizes the use of chemicals, but any product used must be selected carefully. There are many types of chemicals, and their effectiveness can vary widely depending on how they are used. Some, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and lindane, have been banned because they persist in the environment and accumulate in the food chain, but many others are still being used. It is important to understand the chemistry of pesticides in order to select effective ones.
To determine whether a pesticide is needed, consider the extent of the problem and how it can be managed. A thorough scouting routine is essential to detect the problem early and estimate the damage. Often, a combination of cultural, physical, and biological controls is best, as they are less toxic to the environment than chemical pesticides.
Before using a pesticide, read the label to make sure that it is safe for the intended application and that you know how to properly apply it. Always follow the directions on the label, and wear any required protective gear. Remember that pesticides are a legal product, and any deviation from the label could be a crime.
Biopesticides are derived from natural materials and can be divided into three categories: biochemical, microbial, and plant-incorporated-protectants. Biochemical pesticides use non-toxic mechanisms, such as pheromones to disrupt insect mating, or microorganisms that kill pests, like the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt. Microbial pesticides contain bacteria that can be injected into plants, or “incorporated” into their DNA, so that the plant produces the pesticidal protein itself.
Plant-incorporated-protectants, such as foliar sprays and drenches, protect plants from insects, diseases, or fungi by covering the leaves or drenching the soil. Wood preservatives protect wood against termites, beetles, and fungi.
