Pest Control - Identifying and Controlling Pests

Identifying and treating pests before they cause damage or spread disease helps ensure the safety of people, pets, and property. Local Exterminators Whittier methods range from simple traps and baits to biological, physical, and chemical controls.

Threshold-based decision making involves determining what level of pest activity merits action. For example, seeing a single wasp doesn't require immediate action but multiple sightings may indicate a nest nearby that needs to be located and destroyed. In addition, some pests are easier to manage when their populations are low. This allows a business or homeowner to focus efforts on prevention, rather than emergency treatment.

Preventive measures include creating an unwelcome environment for pests by blocking access to food, water, and shelter. This includes cleaning up messes, reducing moisture, and sealing gaps. It also means keeping garbage in tightly-closed containers, making prompt plumbing repairs, and reducing the amount of outdoor debris around buildings.

In the garden, it means selecting varieties that are resistant to particular pests or that can be helped along by beneficial insects and natural predators. If necessary, plant disease organisms that threaten desirable plants can be controlled with fungicides or other treatments.

Pests can be seasonal. For instance, ants, earwigs, and spiders move indoors during the winter to escape freezing temperatures, as do rodents such as rats and mice. Infestations of these pests can be prevented by regularly inspecting homes and businesses for cracks, dripping pipes, and other entry points.

When preventive measures fail, a pesticide can be used to kill the pests or make the environment unsuitable for them. These products should always be applied as directed, and never in a manner that can harm people or pets. It is important to read and follow product labels; applying more pesticide than recommended can lead to poisoning. When using pesticides, it is a good idea to wear protective clothing and equipment.

Chemical controls are most effective when they target the specific pest at the right stage of its life cycle or when it is least active. For example, if an infestation of caterpillars is starting to threaten a crop, the application of a larval killer can destroy the pests before they mature into damaging caterpillars that can devour leaves and stems.

Biological pest control uses living things to manage unwanted pests, such as releasing ladybugs to eat aphids or nematodes to digest worms. These methods can be very effective, but they take time to work and are best used in conjunction with other control techniques. Physical or mechanical controls either kill a pest directly or block it from accessing the area where it is wanted, such as traps for mice and rats, mulches for weed management, steam sterilization of soil, or barriers such as screens to keep birds and insects out. In addition, these methods can be environmentally friendly when used properly. For example, a weed-killing chemical can be sprayed on a mulch to kill the weed without killing the surrounding grass and flowers.