How to Manage Pest Control
Managing pests can be a daunting task. Identifying the pest may often be the easy part, but choosing the proper pest treatment must be considered carefully. When choosing a pest treatment it's important to find a method which effectively eliminates the pests while doing minimal damage to your home or yard. Pests come in a variety of forms ranging from invasive plants, insects, rodents such as mice and rats, and even exotic reptiles. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Identify what pests you have and the potential harm they can inflict. Pests can be identified by the marks they leave, their excrement (especially in the case of mice or rats) or by sighting the pests themselves. If the pest is an invasive plant or weed determine the species and growth rate. Books devoted to both plant and animal pest determination can be purchased online and online databases are also available. For more information see the Resources section.
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Decide on a treatment. After identifying the pest, decide which treatment to use and assess the risk involved in each particular treatment you consider. For example, pesticides can be very effective at preventing insects from damaging plants but using too much can be dangerous for human consumption. (See Reference 1.) If you decide to use a pesticide make sure you've considered less toxic alternatives first. When dealing with rodents be careful the treatment will not be poisonous to your household pets. While traps may not always be effective, rat poison can be consumed by dogs or cats if they eat a poisoned rodent.
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Decide if you want to remove the pest yourself or hire a pest removal service. Before you consider hiring a pest removal service, do as much research as possible on the companies. The University of California at Davis recommends getting referrals from friends or family before hiring a pest control company. (See Reference 2.) Once you've decided on a company, have them inspect the site first. While many will do this for free, some may charge a small inspection fee.
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Hire a pest control company if you've determined you do not have the resources or time to effectively eliminate the pest yourself. While hiring a pest control company may be expensive it can also be worth it. Often pest control companies have access to pesticides and other tools which are unavailable to the average consumer. It is also more safe for trained professionals to handle toxic chemicals.
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Tips & Warnings
When hiring a pest control company review the contract carefully.
If help is needed identifying pests you can contact your local state-run university or call the county Agricultural Commissioner's office. (See Reference 2.)
References
Resources
- Photo Credit rats image by Olga Barbakadze from Fotolia.com
