Whether it’s a roach crawling on your leg or a rat running around your house – we can all agree that pests could be a nuisance. They could instill more than just fear.
Pests, if not controlled, can cause damage to your home – or worse, infection.
In businesses dealing with food and beverages, pest control is much needed. This is because they could cause contamination leading to a multitude of illnesses.
So, if you’re worried that your home or office is infested, here’s a rundown on pests and how to control them to help you understand and solve your problem better.
Pinpoint The Problem
You can’t successfully carry out a solution without identifying what exactly the problem is. If you’re here, it’s probably because you’re dealing with a pest problem, insects, or animals.
But did you realize that there are three (3) distinct kinds of bugs you might be facing?
Here are the types of pests you need to be wary of:
Rodents
These include rats and mice. These are a threat, especially to businesses involving food and beverages, for they multiply rapidly. And this infestation may lead to severe diseases that humans may experience.
A rodent infestation is exhibited by the following: a foul urine-like odor, random holes found on clothes or sheets, bite or gnaw marks on furniture, and loud scratching noise.
Insects
These are the most common type of pests. They remain unnoticed until they have fully infested or damaged areas, for they are small.
The most common insects that may infest your home or workspace are cockroaches, wasps, bedbugs, and ants.
An insect infestation is exhibited by the following:
A crowd of insects in crevices and cracks, sometimes on books or paper.
Droppings or grass, including fine powder or dust from beetles, poppy seeds from termites, and dark pellets from roaches.
Some are scurrying or scratching noises from more giant insects.
Birds
Birds are classified as pests despite seeming like these lovely creatures roaming around gardens because they may still carry illnesses and cause damage to your property – whether it’s your office or home.
A bird infestation is exhibited by the following: nesting materials around your area, damaged structures from fouling or pecking, noises, especially from chicks, a flock of birds on ledges or roofs, and excrement around your premises.
Set A Solution
Once you’ve pinpointed the pest problem that has infested your property, it’s time to take action. It would be advisable to do this as soon as possible to avoid further damage.
There are four (4) general methods for dealing with such infestations: hygienic, physical, biological, and chemical.
Hygienic Control
Pests wander looking for food and a place to breed in. Even the slightest bit of food can cause tiny insects to crawl up your site. You might not spot these at first, but little by little, as the infestation starts to grow, you’ll see how worse the situation is.
Hence, similar to how we maintain excellent personal hygiene, you should also extend cleanliness to the areas where we expend most of our time – home or office.
Hygienic pest control is the most straightforward and most accessible for you can practice this method at home. Thus, making this your primary option encompassing home remedies for ants, cockroaches, rodents, or any other typical house pests.
Here are some actionable ways under the hygienic control method: store food or snacks in air-tight containers; regularly replace the bags in your bins; invest in disinfectants or cleaners that could remove odor and bacteria on different surfaces.
You should also ensure cleanliness after preparing and eating food. The crumbs and scraps must’ve been adequately disposed of and sealed – with nothing left on the table or countertop.
It would be best to thoroughly wash the dishes, utensils, and other cutlery before storing them in the drawers.
Lastly, frequently check your house or office for cracks and crevices that need sealing to avoid pests settling.
Physical Control
This pest control method involves trapping, removing, or even killing pests like insects and rodents to keep them away from your property and avoid damage.
Physical control is suitable, especially in a home with greenhouses housing plants or crops that may be a target for pests. This is a constraint method that works effectively.
There are a couple of examples of physical pest control:
How to get rid of mice? You may set physical traps. Whether it’s flypaper or a baited one, this is one of the best ways to eliminate mice, insects, or other rodents. However, frequently checking for trapped pests and replacing these could be a task.
Installing fly screens may also be a key to how to keep wasps away from entering your premises.
You can try field burning. This is a traditional pest control used by farmers to keep pests away from the topsoil or any other debris.
Finally, you can use granular or gel poison baits. But, be cautious when using these and keep them away from areas accessible to pets and children.
Biological Control
In this method, there’s no need for sprays or traps. Biological pest control utilizes other living organisms to target and control pests.
These organisms vary from pathogens to parasites and even predators. This method works best in managing smaller insect populations. Here is a quick overview of the biological control agents mentioned above:
Predators commonly include vertebrates, such as amphibians and reptiles. They usually feed on insects. More specific examples of predators include bugs, lacewings, and beetles.
Pathogens, fungi, viruses, and bacteria may deter the health of insects. These may impede reproduction, reduce growth rate, etc. It could also spread across dense insect populations under extreme populations causing death.
Parasitoids, or parasites, are eggs that, once hatched, develop into young larvae feeding on their host insect. This parasitism could lead to killing the host.
Chemical Control
This method uses aerosol or liquid chemical products to control pests. Chemical control is one of the most reliable ways to target larger pest populations, but it is highly toxic. Thus, ensure that you’ve read the instructions before using them.
In using these products, the general procedures would be wearing protective equipment or clothing, avoiding windy or airy temperatures (especially with aerosols), and spraying in areas away from other people or pets.
Here is a list of the products available for chemical control use:
Rodenticides are highly lethal to rodents like rats, squirrels, mice, beavers, etc. They are effective in eradicating pests; however, they may also cause damage to crops.
Insecticides are made to eliminate cockroaches, ants, mites, and any other insects. These may come in granules or sprays.
Fogging is a chemical method that targets flying organisms, like flies and mosquitoes. It uses a machine that spreads ultra-low volume (ULV) pesticides to stop the population of flying insects.
Having pest infestations on your property can cause a series of problems, such as physically and financially.
Rodents may bring diseases or illnesses that could lead to severe complications. Insects may cause damages to your home or workspace that could result in the need for costly repairs.
Thus, identifying the problem you have as early as now and looking for the best solution to target this is a must.
If you are having issues or difficulties dealing with it yourself, you may opt for services like those offered by Parker Eco Pest Control to save your home from crazy pest infestations.
