Insect & Pest Control Procedures

Insects and pest control focuses primarily on two different areas: buildings such as houses or offices and outdoor areas such as gardens and crops. These are two different environments and require different approaches when ridding them of pests of insects. In a similar manner, different procedures are required for dealing with large pests such as rodents than with small pests such as termites.

Pests and insects are not a natural part of the building environment, which is an area created by humans and can be often be weakened or endangered by the presence of pests. Termites can devour wood structures, causing rot and weakening supports, rats can build nests and chew through important utility equipment, while insects can pose both health and ambiance problems. There are two primary methods to fight against pest incursion in buildings: prevention and active pesticides.

Buildings with good insulation are much more difficult for pests to access, especially the larger varieties. One of the key components of pest prevention is making sure that attics, basements and crawlspaces are well sealed with effective insulation. Not only will this prevent pest incursion, but it will also keep air inside the house and save money on heating or cooling bills. Spray foams can be used to seal susceptible cracks, while wedges can be used to seal vents during the winter and removed to allow the passage of air in the summer. Another option is to spray preventive pesticides around the outside of the building so that insects will not be able to cross over into the house.

Active pesticides are the alternative option when pests are already a problem inside buildings. For major incursions, these are usually sprayed or set in place by professionals, but amateur versions are available for more minor problems. The goal of building-oriented pesticides is to destroy the incursion completely, and for this reason bait-traps are a common option, drawing the pests with an effective poison. For insects that have a hive structure, special bait traps are set with a delayed-reaction poison, allowing the bugs to carry food back throughout the hive and to the queen before killing them.

Dealing with pests outdoors in gardens and crops is a different matter, since the environment is a natural one and there are natural balances to take into account. Killing a certain type of pest or insect may endanger a beneficial insect or animal that encourages the health of plants. Here, too, there are two primary options: natural and pesticide. Natural measures include seeding crops with the eggs of predator insects that will devour pests, keeping soil clean and uninviting to dangerous bugs and growing plants that ward away pests by scent or taste. There are a wide variety of natural and synthetic pesticides that can be used are various times on gardens and crops to kill pests already present.