Ben’s Pest Control services help preserve your home’s value by avoiding expensive repair bills caused by pest infestations. They also help protect you and your family’s health by removing disease-causing pathogens and allergens.
A thorough initial inspection of your property is important to determine the extent of your pest problem. Sealing cracks and holes, keeping your yard trimmed, and other preventive measures will go a long way in reducing the need for pest control.
Insects are a common cause of crop damage. Their high reproductive rates lead to sudden population spikes. Understanding insect biology helps you recognize signs of pest infestation and take action quickly to minimize damage.
Most insects exhibit a complex life cycle with several stages. Warmer temperatures speed up egg hatching, larval growth, and emergence from pupae, resulting in a rapid increase in insect populations. Conversely, cooler weather can slow these processes and result in a delayed peak breeding season or even an arrest in insect activity. Knowing these patterns allows you to plan control strategies and protect your garden from infestations, avoiding a pest outbreak.
When pests suck sap and other liquids from their host plants, they defecate a sticky residue called honeydew that supports the growth of sooty mold on leaves and fruit. Look for stippling on the underside of leaves and webbing in sheltered locations as a sign of infestation. Insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts, such as squash bugs and aphids, inject saliva into plant tissue to suck sap or other liquids from the insides of leaves or stems. This can kill leaves or reduce plant size and yield.
Other signs of pest activity include the presence of pheromone trails and the appearance of webs or tunnels in soil, stems, or fruits. You may also see swarms of insects or see damaged leaves with holes in them.
Beneficial insects, including predators, parasitoids, and pollinators, can help control the population of harmful insects that destroy crops. However, the timing of their introduction and release rate must be carefully synchronized with that of the target pests. Creating a habitat for these beneficial insects by using row covers, installing shelter structures, and reducing the use of broad-spectrum pesticides is also important.
Rodents
Rodents are among the most well-known of pests, and they can damage or destroy crops, native wildlife, properties, and structures. They are also known carriers of diseases that can impact human health, including bubonic plague, typhus, and hantavirus.
Rodents have evolved to adapt to a variety of habitats. They can live in forests, grasslands, and urban environments. They can nest in burrows, trees, and other natural or man-made structures. They can also take shelter in secluded areas near homes and other buildings.
The most common types of rodents found on homes and other properties are rats and mice. While these animals are a natural part of our ecosystem, they can become pests when their numbers exceed what is healthy for the environment.
Rodents seek out steady sources of food and water, which can lead them to enter a home or business. They can also create a number of nuisance problems such as chewed wires, insulation, and leaking pipes.
A number of factors affect how expensive it is to treat for rodents. The extent of the infestation is the most important determinant. Larger populations will require more extensive treatments, interior trapping, and increased resources to fully resolve the problem. The type of rodent infesting the property also has a significant impact on treatment cost. Rats are typically more costly to treat than mice.
The most effective way to prevent an infestation is by removing the conditions that attract rodents to your property. Keep food in sealed containers and dispose of garbage regularly. Reduce clutter, and keep bushes and other vegetation trimmed to prevent hiding spots for rodents.
Routine inspections by professional exterminators can help identify early signs of a rodent problem. These professionals can also assess the effectiveness of existing exclusion strategies and recommend preventative measures to enhance protection from rodents. Scheduled inspections can also detect environmental changes that may impact the efficacy of prevention techniques. For instance, changes in weather patterns can result in more rodents entering a home or business, even with existing exclusion efforts. These inspections and recommendations can help protect your investment and ensure lasting pest-free results.
Birds
Throughout the summer homeowners are often surprised to find an abundance of birds nesting around their property. Some are quick to shoo them away, but before you do, it’s important to understand how birds affect bug populations and whether they can be considered “Mother Nature’s Natural Pesticide.”
Scientists have long known that wild birds are vital predators of crop pests. They’re often found hunting the insects that damage crops, such as in coffee, cacao, oil palm and corn fields. And some raptors such as barn owls and eagles hunt rodents that can cause damage to crops or homes, including gophers, voles and mice (see blog, Barn Owls Prevent Damage to Homeowners).
But when farmers use synthetic pesticides—the 5 billion pounds of them that are used annually on farms, forests, landscapes, lawns and gardens, in homes and for disease control—birds also suffer. In fact, an estimated 67 million birds are killed annually by pesticides, according to the American Bird Conservancy. This is largely due to the growing popularity of neonicotinoids—a group of neurotoxic insecticides that have gained widespread use as seed coatings, foliage sprays and soil drenches on commercial, agricultural and residential properties since the 1990s.
These incredibly dangerous chemicals have been linked to mass bird deaths, primarily from ingestion. Birds can ingest pesticides by mistakenly eating contaminated seeds or by consuming insects that have been sprayed with the chemicals. They can also ingest pesticides by licking their feathers or bathing in tainted water.
The good news is that, while avoiding pesticides is the best way to protect birds and other wildlife, creating habitat for birds on farmlands can greatly increase their ability to provide valuable pest control services. Studies have shown that when agroforestry practices are implemented, such as installing nest boxes for Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana in California vineyards or Great Tits Parus major in apple orchards, they can significantly reduce pest damage. Maintaining these habitats can boost bird-provided ecosystem services, too, like pollination, nutrient cycling and seed dispersal.
Other Small Creatures
Pests are undesirable organisms that damage or devalue agricultural crops, lawns, gardens, plants and other natural vegetation. They can also harm humans and other wildlife, disrupt ecosystems, and compete with native species for resources such as water, soil, sunlight, and nutrients. In addition, pests can negatively impact human health and well being by contaminating food, polluting water supplies, and spreading diseases.
Pest control methods are usually divided into four categories: natural, mechanical, chemical, and biological. Natural pest control uses plant extracts or other natural substances that are toxic to specific pests. Unlike chemical pesticides, natural products tend to be more benign to the environment and are considered to be healthier alternatives to synthetic chemicals.
Animals – Most small animals are predators of insect pests and can be beneficial in controlling their populations. Toads, for example, eat caterpillars and other insect pests. Snakes, rodents, and spiders also make good natural pest predators. Birds – Some birds, such as falcons and owls, are effective vertebrate pest controllers. In addition, some birds are good crop monitors and can alert growers to problems by circling and hovering over the plants.
Biological pest control involves the introduction of non-native predators or parasitoids to control invasive pests. Scientists select natural enemies from the pest’s native habitat, conduct rigorous testing to ensure that they won’t harm non-target species, and then release them into the affected area. This method is most commonly used to control invasive weeds and insects that threaten agriculture, forests, and aquatic habitats.
Insects – Insects are capable of learning through association and can use olfactory cues to locate food or prey. For instance, adult female silverleaf whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) learn to avoid ovipositing on plants harboring predatory mites, and desert locusts can associate odor with their preferred foraging site.
Moreover, the aggregation pheromones that attract and regulate Lepidopteran pests can be utilized as a tool for biocontrol. Similarly, viruses, bacteria, and fungi that are host specific or pathogenic to insects can be used as biological pest control agents. These microorganisms may impede insect development or kill them directly.