Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a form of pest management used by pest control companies. It helps keep down the number of harmful pests around so they won’t cause any economic and environmental damage. It also can help in reducing the impact of the usage of pesticides on the environment. Integrated pest management isn’t a new solution. It has been around for many years and has helped many people and the environment at that time.
What is Integrated Pest Management?
Integrated pest management is using certain pest control methods to reduce the negative impact on the economy or the environment. When it comes to pest control, there is always the potential of causing some damage to the surrounding environment, especially in residential and business properties. This is usually due to a pest control company jumping straight into the usage of pesticides without trying any other methods first. This can prove to be very consequential under certain circumstances.
For example, a farmer may be dealing with a plant-eating pest, eating all of what they have grown. If you decide to apply the wrong pesticide, you may eliminate the pests but harm your plants. You may have controlled the pests, but now you have another problem on your hands. It would help if you took the time to try other, more environmentally sustainable methods before jumping straight into pesticides. Since most of the farmer’s plants are now rendered unusable, they might struggle until their next harvest.
That is why integrated pest management is so important to both our economy and the environment. The aim is to keep those pest numbers low using only the best and most sustainable treatment methods. Eradicating a pest is essentially impossible since some are resistant to treatments, and they tend to repopulate relatively quickly. So leaving the ones resistant alive is just a recipe for disaster as they can breed a new generation of pests resistant to even the strongest pesticides.
Methods of Integrated Pest Management
With integrated pest management, the goal is the long-term control of pests using environmentally friendly techniques and methods. Pesticides are the last line of defense when it comes to the treatments to be used. Environmental sustainability should always be kept in the mind of pest control companies while addressing pest problems. That is why integrated pest management has many methods lined up before pesticides come into the mix. Here are some of the methods used in integrated pest management.
Biological
Pest technicians use their knowledge of a pest to identify who their natural enemies are with a biological method. Once they’ve identified those natural enemies, then they use them against the pest. The goal is only to target the pest, so extra care and attention are taken to ensure nothing in the surrounding environment is negatively impacted by those natural enemies’ release.
Change Practices
Sometimes, just changing the way you do things is an effective treatment for pests. This requires the person with the pest problem to look at what they are currently doing and see if that is causing their pest problem. They might also look into hiring a pest control company to help them. For example, say you have been watering your garden a lot recently. You may have started to notice many weeds have started growing in your garden. Instead of using a pesticide to get rid of those weeds, maybe you need to reduce the amount of water you use for your garden. That can be a safe and easy solution to your problem.
Traps
This method requires using physical traps to control the pest population in a residential home or other areas. One of the most common traps used today is rodent traps. Some examples of rodent traps are cages and the mousetrap. Trap usage is only deemed necessary if that is the best solution to controlling that pest population. The trapping method is only used if biological and other treatment methods aren’t sufficient to address the pest problem.
Pesticides
Pesticides are often the last treatments that are used for treating pests. They are the last treatment that pest control companies who use IPM go with because of the potential negative impact they might have. They are used to decrease the possible harm they may cause to people or the environment.
In integrated pest management, pesticides are applied very minimally. Instead of applying them over an entire area, they are only sprayed in certain areas to control the pest population. Just spraying a pesticide all over the area might lead to severe consequences for the surrounding environment.
These methods are all used in integrated pest management. Even when pest technicians decide that pesticides must be used, they only use them minimally. This is done to benefit the surrounding environment as using too many pesticides can result in the damage of certain plants and can cause harm the people who live around it.
Choose a Pest Control Company That Uses IPM
When you are choosing a pest control company to address your pest, make sure to choose one that uses integrated pest management. A pest control company that practices using integrated pest management methods in their treatments is thinking about your safety and the environment. They will inspect your home or business to recommend the best and most sustainable form of treatment. This can help reduce the harm that may come to you and your family or coworkers.
Whenever you are on the lookout for a pest control company that uses integrated pest management, consider going with Meers Pest Solutions. We use an integrated pest management approach for our pest control treatments. We identify what type of pest is giving you problems and determine the most appropriate treatment for it.
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