Top Tips for Pest Control in Your Backyard

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Pests destroy crops, contaminate food and do untold damage to buildings. Rodents, for example, gnaw their way through about 20 percent of the world’s stored products.

Suppression and prevention are usually the goals. You can often reduce pests to an acceptable level using the right combination of methods. Contact Solutions Pest Control now!

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Reliable pest control companies show their licenses and copies of pesticide labels before applying any chemicals. They also provide safety warnings and instructions.

The first step in pest control is correctly identifying the pest. This isn’t as simple as it sounds; many insects and rodents look similar, and immature forms may resemble adults. Additionally, natural forces affect populations, and if the environment is favorable for pests, they’ll increase until controlled by other factors.

Look for signs of a problem like gnawed wires or contaminated food packages. Mice scurrying across floors or cockroaches lurking in crevices also indicate the presence of pests. You should also inspect the outside of your home for entry points. Cracks and openings around doors, windows, utility pipes and vents should be caulked. Store firewood and other materials at least 20 feet away from the house, and keep shrubbery trimmed.

If you have any doubts, contact a pest control company. They can help identify the pest and suggest a strategy for controlling it. Some companies offer free estimates, and most will discuss a treatment plan and cost before beginning work. Shop around for the best price, and always ask a pest control company to provide recommendations and warranties.

Once you’ve identified the pest, it’s important to determine how the infestation got started. Pests thrive in unsanitary conditions and need access to water, food and shelter. Taking steps to remove these things from the environment will discourage them and may prevent them from returning.

Locate and eliminate the breeding site. This is generally where the pests are most active; it could be a dead mouse or squirrel in your attic, a pile of leaves or manure under a deck, a stack of trash in an open shed, or even dirty garbage cans. Clean drains regularly and store food in sealed containers. Keep garbage cans closed and dispose of waste promptly. Store fruit and vegetables in the refrigerator and don’t leave food out on counters or tables for extended periods. Keep trash cans closed and clean, and don’t allow them to overflow.

Inspecting the Infestation

Whether you are doing pest control yourself or hiring someone else to do it, before taking any action it is essential that you have accurate knowledge of the nature and extent of the infestation. That requires a thorough inspection by a person who is trained in identification and detection. The inspector should check for pests and their damage to building structures, artifacts, and furnishings. He or she should also inspect the property’s outdoor areas for conditions that increase risk of infestation.

A pest inspector should look for signs of pests, such as insect droppings (feces), gnawing marks, and damage to furniture and other articles. He or she should also inspect for conditions that might attract pests, such as water leaks, rot, mold growth, and excessive moisture.

If a house is being occupied, the inspector should talk to the occupants and ask about their experiences with pests. He or she should take note of any damage to objects and furnishings, especially those that are important to the occupants.

Routine pest inspections make it easier to spot a problem early on. This can help prevent it from getting out of hand and affecting the health and safety of occupants. It can also prevent the loss of property value due to pest-related damage.

It is a good idea to have a written record of the results of pest inspections and treatments. This will allow you to track the effectiveness of your pest management program and identify any areas that need improvement. The records should include the types of pests detected, their level of activity, and the treatment methods used.

Preventing pest infestations is a good way to protect the health and safety of people, preserve the value of property, and ensure a comfortable living environment. By implementing preventive measures, such as sealing entry points, maintaining a sanitary perimeter around buildings, and avoiding attracting environments, you can drastically reduce the number of pests in your home. Also, it is a good idea to store food in airtight containers and keep garbage bins covered and located away from the building.

Choosing a Strategy

There are many different ways to control pests, and the method you choose depends on the type of pest, its location, and your goals for pest management. To minimize harm to people and the environment, choose a strategy that is appropriate for the situation and fits within your budget. Whenever possible, select nonchemical methods. These include cultural practices, removing or blocking the pest’s food sources, and growing competitive plants. When chemical control is necessary, use the least-toxic option. Be sure to read and follow all product labels.

The first step in choosing a pest control strategy is to understand the pest’s life cycle and biology. This will help you decide how to treat the pest, and when to take action. In most situations, it is important to establish threshold levels, which indicate that pest numbers or damage have reached unacceptable limits.

Once you have identified the pest, inspect the site to see what is attracting it and causing problems. For example, a rodent problem may be caused by food left out, water in open containers, or clutter that provides hiding places. Then you can take steps to reduce these conditions, such as cleaning out garbage regularly and storing food in sealed containers.

You should also consider whether the pest is a nuisance or a threat to health or property. If it is a threat, you may need to take immediate action to protect the health or safety of people or pets. In other cases, the presence of a few pests in an outdoor setting can be tolerated if they don’t cause significant damage or inconvenience.

A traditional service model charges customers per pest inspection and treatment application. This model requires businesses to carefully evaluate costs and pricing so that services remain profitable. A partnership model increases sales by collaborating with businesses in related industries to provide bundled services to customers. For example, a pest control business may partner with lawn care or cleaning companies to offer discounted services and increase customer retention. This model may also involve leveraging professional networks to gain new customers.

Implementing the Strategy

A pest control strategy must involve a combination of physical, biological and chemical methods. Physical controls remove or prevent pests from reaching an unacceptable level — for example, removing or cleaning up equipment that can spread some insect pests; destruction of weeds and other plant material that could shelter pests; and careful timing of planting to avoid some insect problems (see above). Biological control involves using other organisms to reduce the number of the target pest — for instance, using pathogens (such as viruses, bacteria and fungi) that kill or debilitate the pest without harming people, pets or livestock. This method is often the most environmentally friendly way to manage some insects, including caterpillars and grubs. Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, is an example of a natural bacteria that is effective against certain caterpillars and grubs.

Chemical control involves the use of substances to kill or inhibit a pest’s feeding, mating or other essential activities — it includes a wide range of products, from naturally-derived organic compounds to synthetic chemicals. Some of these chemicals are highly targeted and have a low impact on non-target plants. Others are more general and have a greater effect on the entire ecosystem. Chemicals used for pest control can include sprays, baits, dusts and traps, as well as seed treatments, soil amendments and fungicides.

Monitoring is an important part of implementing a pest management program. Scouting and monitoring for insect, insect-like, mollusk or vertebrate pests is usually done by visual inspection. For weed and microbial pests, a regular routine of checking for damage, observing populations and noting environmental conditions is critical to understanding how the pests affect the site and when it might be time to initiate control measures.

Homeowners can set their own thresholds for when pest damage becomes unacceptable. To help with this decision, it is helpful to understand the life cycle of the pest — for instance, some pests have several generations a year and can quickly build up to damaging levels if not controlled. Choosing a control strategy that can quickly bring numbers below the acceptable threshold should be the main goal.

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Insects, Rodents, Birds and Bird Predators

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Randolph Pest Control is the monitoring, treatment and prevention of pests. The goal is to reduce the pest population to below a threshold level.pest control

Insects are the largest class of arthropod, with more than 100,000 different species found on earth. There are insects that damage crops, but there are also beneficial insect species that help keep pest populations in check. Insects have a tough outer covering, called an exoskeleton, that provides protection and support. They have three segmented bodies and six legs. Their heads have one or two pairs of sensory antennae for detecting chemical cues and environmental stimuli.

Most insects have wings that allow them to fly. Some have tails for stabilization or to propel themselves. Some, such as the larvae of the drugstore beetle (Stegobium paniceum), are known for tunneling through books. The holes left by these beetles are often filled with piles of paper powder, giving them the common name of bookworms.

Scientists have been intentionally introducing beneficial insects to control pests since the 1930s. But with the invention of synthetic insecticides in the 1940s, interest in biological controls waned until the development of resistance to insecticides renewed interest.

The sterile insect technique, or SIT, is an integrated pest management strategy that reduces targeted pest populations by sustained releases of radiation-sterilized insects. This method takes advantage of the natural mating behaviors of insects to limit the number of fertile offspring produced by a release, which ultimately decreases target pest numbers and the frequency of resistant offspring resulting from genetic mutations.

SIT is effective in controlling pests such as the codling moth Cydia pomonella, and pink bollworm Peltinophora gossypiella. It is also being used to control the invasive weed kochia africana in cotton fields.

Cornell AES is working on research to develop SIT strategies that could potentially be used against other invasive crop pests, such as the corn rootworm Heliothis virescens. Other biocontrol techniques include the use of parasitoids, which attack and kill harmful organisms, as well as the development of transgenic crops that express insecticidal toxins. In addition, researchers are developing male-selecting transgenes for the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella that would suppress female insect reproduction. This approach may eventually provide an alternative to synthetic insecticides.

Rodents

Rodents are small animals, ranging from the tiny African pygmy mouse to the capybara, that have become an important part of many ecosystems. They have a very high reproductive rate, which contributes to their continued success as an evolutionary group. Their ability to survive in diverse environments, exploit a wide range of niches, and adapt to different habitats allows them to thrive around the world. Rodents are a major source of economic loss in agriculture and can cause damage to buildings and other structures from gnawing. They also spread diseases such as bubonic plague and typhus to humans.

Rodents have sharp, continuously growing incisor teeth on both their upper and lower jaws that they use to defend themselves, gnaw food, and excavate burrows. They are often able to learn how to avoid poisons and other traps, making them difficult pests to deal with. They are very intelligent and can develop a number of behavioral adaptations such as cheek pouches (for food transport), long tails (that help with balance, movement, and communication), specialized integument and pelage (such as porcupine quills and chinchilla fur), and sensory organ variations (including well-developed smell and vomeronasal organs).

Rodents chew and dig through food, paper, and other materials in homes and offices to make their own nests. They leave behind feces and urine, dislodge insulation, and cause water damage to drywall and other building components. They also carry and transmit a variety of diseases, including bubonic plague, typhus, hanta fever, and leptospirosis.

While many people keep rodents as pets, the decision to do so should be made after consulting with a veterinarian familiar with exotic mammals. Pet rodents require a large amount of space to roam and exercise, special bedding, and diets, and they can breed easily, creating numerous litters that must be cared for and rehomed. Pet rodents should be examined at least once a year to ensure their health and well-being.

The best way to prevent rodents is to seal entry points into your home, clean up any messes they create in the house, and set traps outside. If you do find yourself with a rodent infestation, professional pest control can safely address the issue and help you prevent it from happening again.

Birds

Birds are highly effective predators that can reduce insect pest populations without the economic, environmental and health costs associated with chemical sprays. Despite the fact that birds sometimes damage crops (especially during migratory periods), they are important for managing pests in agricultural ecosystems. The relationship between food producers and wild animals is complicated — home gardeners and rabbits, cattle ranchers and wolves, farmers and birds. The wrong species can decimate a farmer’s crop, but if used effectively, the right kinds of birds can provide valuable insect control services.

Whether in tropical rainforests or on Midwest farms, a variety of scientific studies show that birds are important for natural pest control. In fact, in a study of 118 pest-control studies across several types of farms, scientists found that birds reduced the need for pesticides by more than 80%.

In the 1960s, Rachel Carson’s best-selling book, Silent Spring, brought worldwide attention to the dangers of environmental contamination caused by the widespread use of pesticides. The accumulated chemicals, known as DDT and its derivatives, had a direct impact on bird populations by poisoning their eggs. DDT was also toxic to the fatty tissues of birds, causing them to lay eggs with very thin shells that would easily break under their weight during incubation.

Since then, accumulating research has shown that other common pesticides are affecting birds in similar ways. In the United States, for example, neonicotinoid insecticides, which have become popular as seed coatings, foliage sprays and soil drenches, are associated with a decline in many bird species.

While some researchers have focused on studying the effects of individual pesticides in lab experiments or on other continents, a new study by a University of Kentucky assistant professor offers the first large-scale analysis to determine how neonicotinoids are affecting bird populations nationwide. The results were published recently in the journal Nature Sustainability.

Scientists are exploring how to integrate birds into agricultural systems, particularly in Integrated Pest Management. One approach is to encourage the use of hedgerows, woodlots and streamside habitat on farmland, which can serve as a sanctuary for wildlife that provides pest control services. Other options include placing raptor perches and offering hawk and falcon training on the land, both of which can deter unwanted birds while bringing in the predators that control them.

Other Creatures

Often organisms rise to pest status because they escape control by natural regulating factors. This can occur because of their direct importation into a new area, or because human activities compromise the effectiveness of the organism’s natural enemies. It can also happen due to the uncontrolled reproduction of an organism. For example, thrips can quickly become a pest due to the high fecundity of its larvae.

Biological control uses the introduction of a pest’s natural enemies to suppress population growth. This can include importing predators from the pest’s home region (e.g., vedalia bettles were imported to control citrus cushion scales), or using genetic manipulation to create sterile pest males which cannot mate with fertile females. This is an expensive option, however, and carries with it ethical issues.