Other Pest Control

Besides the chemical pesticides that everyone knows and loves, there are a wide variety of other pest control methods available. These methods work by killing the pest directly after exposing it to some lethal compound or hostile environmental condition, by hindering a pest population’s reproductive capabilities, or by changing the pest’s behavior so that its activity is no longer a problem. The structural pest control board of each State looks into the most cost-effective of these strategies.

Pest control methods can be placed into one of two general categories. Artificial controls include methods that have been produced or processed by humans in order to bring about a modification of a pest population’s physiology, distribution, or behavior. Insecticides are in this category, though so is a flyswatter.

The second category, natural pest control, includes any environmental factor that maintains a pest population under certain limits. Cold temperatures or natural predators are included in this category. Things aren’t always so clear cut, though, and there are some methods, even do-it-yourself pest control methods, that can be classified as a mix of the two categories; some methods are based on natural controls that are then modified in some way by human activity.

Within these two categories, there are various sub-categories of pest control methods. One is cultural control, which involves modifying a pest population’s environment or habitat. Crop rotation, intercropping, managed application of water and/or fertilizer and sanitation are all cultural control methods.

Biological control is yet another control method, in which some biological agent is used to “attack” a pest population. Most often, this involves releasing or protecting natural enemies of the target pest population. Organisms used for biological control can include microorganisms, invertebrates, fungi and vertebrates; this type of control is seen as cruelty-free pest control as it entails simply trying to re-establish a natural balance between predator and prey.

There are also physical or mechanical control methods, which are quite popular for home pest control. These can include the use of a fly swatter and/or putting up window screens to block access to your home by flying bugs. Technological innovations in this field also include electronic pest control methods, most of which produce a highly attractive UV glow that lures insects into an electrified grid where insects meet an untimely death; there are also sonic pest control strategies. Often, though, the majority of insects killed in these devices are actually beneficial.

Then there are obviously chemical control methods; pest control equipment, pest control products and pest control services use these methods, which are aimed at either directly killing pests or modifying their behavior (the latter are often considered pest repellers). Look at the Orkin pest control website or flip through a pest control supply catalog and you’ll find a number of chemical control methods. If you’re intent on taking care of pest control, be it mosquito or ant pest control, on your own, hop online and order a copy of the very useful Handbook of Pest Control.