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 CHAPTER 1
PEST MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
Learning Objectives
After completion, of the study of Pest Management and Control, the trainee should
be able to:
Z
understand why certain arthropods and vertebrates are considered pests
relate the sequence of activities, involved in a pest control situation, and
recognize the components of Integrated Pest Management.
Z
the ecosystem (e.g., German cockroaches, fleas,
people, pets, harborage [areas with food, water, and
WHAT ARE PESTS?
shelter]). The technician does not look at the pest
Pests are not pests because of what they are
infestation alone but must consider all elements in the
(bedbug, yellowjacket), but because of what they do
ecosystem to design the best control and management
(suck blood, sting).
methods.
According to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide
and Rodenticide Act FIFRA), a pest can be any
insect, rodent, fungus, or weed as well as other
organisms. Most simply defined in The Dictionary of
METHODS OF PEST CONTROL
Pest Control, a pest is "An unwanted organism. . . ."
There are many variations and combinations of
Urban pests can be generally characterized as
methods used to control pests, but the sequence of
organisms (excluding parasitic microorganisms) which
these methods follows a pattern: inspection, habitat
have human health or aesthetic implications, or which
alteration, pesticide application, and follow-up:
damage wooden support structures of buildings. These
pests can be contrasted from agricultural pests that
Inspection
cause direct economic damage to products. For
Pests do not infest uniformly; they focus on
instance, while roaches or rodents may cause an
economic hardship, when restaurants or food packing
specific areas. These sites must be located. Training
plants are closed by the legal action, the action is
and experience in conducting inspections are important
taken for reasons of human health. Likewise, carpet
for successful location of infested areas.
beetles in woolens or museum tapestries degrade
clothing or works of art, but the reduction of value of
Habitat Alteration
the pieces is primarily for aesthetic reasons not due to
Since infested areas provide harborage for pests
consumption of woven wool.
(one of the elements along with food and water needed
by pests to thrive), changing or eliminating some of
these favorable elements will make survival less
Ecosystem
successful. Such changes commonly include increased
Defined by the way they behave in an
environment, or ecosystem, pests occur as a group, or
sanitation, moisture reduction, and the elimination of
population of individuals of a particular kind (e.g.,
clutter.
German cockroaches). Different populations that exist
together are called a community. One community may
Pesticide Application
be fleas, pets, and people. A community together with
While successful habitat alteration can reduce or
its physical and biological supporting factors makes up
eliminate populations, it will often be less than
Mgt & Ctrl, Chapter 1, Pg 1
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