Pest Control
According to Wikipedia.com, pest Control is a management or regulation of the pests that are detrimental to people’s health, the economy or the ecology. Controlling pest has been around for quite a long time in which
some says it is as old as agriculture itself. The need to maximize production of food has forced man to protect crops from other plants that compete with the nutrition of the soil as well as those herbivores and animals that are consuming the plants. Activities such as destroying weeds by burning or ploughing, killing larger pests such as crows and several other birds that eats seeds, implementation of beneficial bugs, intercropping, mixed cropping and crop rotation are forms of pest control and management that are employed even as of today.
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Moreover, the use of chemical pesticides has been employed since the time of the Sumerians some 4,500 years ago in which they used sulphur compounds as insecticides. At about 4,000 years ago, the Rig Veda also used poisonous plants as pest control. Even the Egyptians and Chinese were also reputed to have used pest controls. However, it was only in the 18th and 19th century that chemical pest control has been popularly used with the introduction of Derris and Pyrethrum insecticides. With the discovery of herbicides and synthetic insecticides such as DDT, it has boosted the use of chemical pest control in the 20th century. However, studies conducted by academic researchers and scientist about the long term effect of chemical pesticides to humans and the environment has led to the banning of some chemical pest controls and has renewed interest in biological and traditional pest control.
Thus, Wikipedia further gives these types of Pest Control:
- Organic Pest control
- Elimination of Breeding Grounds
- Poisoned Bait
- Hunting
- Field Burning
- Traps
- Poison spray
- Destruction of infected plants
- Use of Beneficial Bugs
Facts about Integrated Pest Management:
- This method of pest control uses methods that are less invasive to both human and the environment. The method focuses more on eliminating the pest’s living space and food source
- The method also focuses on applying physical and biological ways in controlling pest population
- This management method can be applied in both agricultural as well as home pest control
- The budget requirement for this pest management method is lower than compared to hiring a pest control technician who will administer the poisons and pesticides which can be very costly