The attempt to get rid of pests has been around as long as agriculture. This trade has grown quickly, doubling its growth in the past few years. In the last 5 years, the pest control industry has seen an increase of about 50%. It is now considered to be a $7 billion industry nationwide.
With increasing frequency, remote areas are being chosen for the construction of new housing. Desert or the woods where people want to live. For an insect or an animal termed a ‘pest’ it is you who is the intruder into their habitat and not vice versa. Only when they enter your home are they labeled as pests
What is pest control and horticulture all about?
Getting rid of unwanted pests is the ultimate goal. There is a difference between pest control and structural pest control in that the one is control of creatures affecting plants, soil or lawn etc and the other is control of creatures such as termites which invade buildings or outhouses. To speak of gardens, plants and pesky weeds will often spill over into one’s home as well.
It is important to keep up with your gardening, and take preventative pest control measures to protect not only your gardens, but your heath as well. Once pests are discovered in the yard, the damage has gotten out of control. There are numerous things you can do to efficiently correct the issue.
How Do We Control Pests in the Garden?
Many people see gardening and pest control as a do-it-yourself job. To some extent, it is fair enough. Gardening pest control is like visiting the doctor: to prescribe effective treatment your physician must correctly diagnose the problem and determine the extent of the injury as well as the potential for further injury. In surveys, it’s been found that many householders don’t bother to read the instructions carefully or feel the need to vary the instructions because they feel they know better.
This could lead to the serious problem of overconcentrating doses of hazardous insecticides which are harmful in large doses. Of course we are specifically referring to chemicals, as chemical pest control is still the predominant type of pest control today. Persistent use of chemicals has had a detrimental effect on the environment and this has led, at the close of the past century, to a renewed interest in more traditional methods of pest control.
Periodic visits from a home pest control company is a must if you do not want to dirty your hands and yet still want to take control over domestic pest infestations. It is advantageous for you to have someone monitor your house and garden on a monthly basis to help control your pest problems. Often homeowners are so worried about their homes becoming infested that they insist on monthly pest control treatments even when no problem exists.
The facts of pesticide use in the home and garden are very surprising:
1. A huge amount of pesticide is applies annually to lawns, typically something in the region of 67 million pounds.
2. If you have a surburban lawn it is likely that you are using a far higher amount of pesticides than would be received on the average agricultural garden
Think before you spray a pesticide. You may kill the insects that are helping you keep pests in check. This means you will have to spray more in the future. Further, various bugs contribute to plant pollination which helps your garden thrive and flourish. Really powerful insecticides, such as malathion or carbaryl, are not a good idea. While these may seem to help, they actually provide only temporary control and kill more of the natural predators than the pests you are trying to eliminate. If pest control results in the eridication of enemies then, ironically, pest numbers may increase and become even more of a problem than previously.
Most consumers also don’t realize how potentially harmful they can be:
1. Pesticides can be tracked inside as an EPA study found 23 different kinds in the dust and air collected from inside someones home.Consumers don’t realize the dangers.
2 Garden chemicals are harmful to our environment and the US Geological Survey routinely discovers evidence of them, especially weed killers, in the waterways around urban centers.
It’s an eye-opening shock isn’t it, can we really, really not be without these methods of pest control?
Gardening and Natural Home Pest Control
Pest control and gardening is best achieved with a balance of organisms in the yard. Using chemical pesticides is more costly and potentially harmful, while natural pest control offers safety for your garden and the local floral and fauna.
Here are some tips for controlling pests in your garden:
1. Physical controls – traps, barriers, fabric row covers or repellents – are often successful at controlling pests.
2. Strive to attract good bugs with a variety of plants that produce pollen and nectar throughout the year.
3. If the pests can’t get to your plants,you can eliminaate the damage they cause. When the number of pests is small, you can often get rid of the problem by simply taking them somewhere else.
Many people face this same problem, you are not alone. Since home pest control is a global problem, we hope this article has been helpful.
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