Part 2: It’s ineffective!

This two part article series, we are talking about the reasons why home owners need to use the least toxic pest control approach, and we are specifically talking about the problems with using too much chemicals. Part one discussed a few of the many hazards inherent in using too many chemicals in pest control, and in this part we will talk about why chemicals are, most of the time, a big waste of money to boot.

They don’t just kill one species

There are no chemicals used for pest control that are targeted to kill only one species. As we pointed out in part one, pesticides are deadly both for insects and for larger animals, including humans. We also talked a bit about how over use of chemicals nearly destroyed birds of prey, leading to further problems. Well, the same principle applies to insects within your own yard.

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Like the raccoon, the opossum is a very adaptable animal which has a large and expanding range throughout North America. Many people consider opossums to be varmints at best and pests at worst, although for the most part opossums don’t pose a very serious threat to anything at all. Still, they can be annoying creatures and their breeding means that they can advance their numbers quite quickly.

Integrated pest control has at its base a focus on understanding the particular biology of certain pests. Through a comprehension of their living habits, their eating habits, and their life cycle, pest species can be controlled through the least toxic methods available. In this article, we will take a look at the biology of the opossum.

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For some reason, the green lawn has come to be a symbol of middle class and higher North American living. It seems like many of us are willing to take the strangest measure and sacrifice a lot in order to get that spot of green in front of our homes. Just take a look at many of the houses in the state of Arizona a decade or so ago: green lawns in a state that only gets rain for an average of one month every year means a high water cost and a very regulated schedule.

Today, the attitude about a green lawn is changing somewhat across the country, including in Arizona. The high cost of creating and maintaining that perfect emerald color, as well as the many chemicals that must be used in order to keep it looking that way, have made this symbol somewhat impractical. More and more people are turning to natural methods of lawn care to keep their green space green, or are just accepting the beauty of naturally occurring vegetation.

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Not long ago, pesticides were the only answer when a pest was disturbing the normal operations of a house, garden, or farm, and the more potent the pesticide the better. Plummeting populations of species other than targeted pests, sickness in humans, and the growing resistance of many different target species made people look twice at what exactly these pesticides were doing, and as a result the population in general is more aware of the harmful side effects of potent chemicals and more interested in pesticides that are least toxic. In this article, we will take a look at some pesticides which are low in toxicity that are in use today.

Definition of a pesticide

A pesticide is always a substance, or mix of substances used to deal with pests and the damage they cause. It can be lethal or just repelling, and the term applies to substances used for anything from insects to rodents. The important thing to remember is that pesticides are synthetically created and controlled; a venus fly trap would not be considered a pesticide but a biological deterrent.

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Under control

Moths are one of the insect pests which can do damage both inside and outside of the home, although different species are generally responsible for different types of damage. In this article, we will take a look at why the integrated pest management strategy is so important when it comes to controlling pest populations, and ways in which you can keep moth numbers both inside and outside your home from growing into infestations.

Integrated pest management means following some basic steps to control pest numbers, depending on what stage your problem is at. The approach recognizes the fact that for years humans have waged a chemical warfare on almost all varieties of pests, and have done so unsuccessfully. Not only do the pests seem to adapt and survive, but the chemicals end up doing more damage to helpful species and even to humans than they do to pest numbers.

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“Organic” seems to be the watchword of the day, for people of a certain frame of mind. An awareness of the health effects of concentrated chemicals within our bodies has brought the organic mindset to the forefront. In this article, we will take a look at organic pest control and if it is really effective when it comes to pest prevention in your home and garden.

A definition of organic

Organic seems to be a term that is fairly straightforward; most of us would say that if something has been labeled as organic, it has come about without any use of chemicals during the process, whether it be growing produce or controlling pests.

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You’ve probably heard that if there ever was a total nuclear war, it would be cockroaches that inherited the planet. While the gallows humor of the statement is debatable, it is true that cockroaches are one of the hardiest species to inhabit our planet. They have several adaptations which make have helped them to become either first or second on the list of pests in the United States, depending on where you live. These adaptations are also very useful when it comes to pest control, for the cockroach that is. Let’s take a look at what makes the cockroach so hardy and how you can control the population in your house without the use of atomic weapons or others that are overly threatening to your own existence.

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An important part of an integrated pest management strategy is understanding the biology of animals that we sometimes consider to be pests. Once there is a knowledge about what pest animals eat, where they are likely to seek shelter, their eating and mating habits, it is much easier to control their population so that it does not grow to pestilential proportions.

Deer are probably the biggest garden pest that there is in the United States, both in terms of distribution and size. They can do a lot of damage to a garden or to landscaping efforts in a very short period of time, and the damage that they inflict can encompass a surprising number of areas. Let’s take a look at the biology of deer in order to more fully grasp how they can be controlled.

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Wasps and yellow jackets are generally looked down on by everyone, and I will admit that I include myself in that category. I don’t like them, they swarm and they sting, and not always when they are provoked. Still as a conscientious person I do feel the need to point out that these insects have a more detrimental effect on other pest insects than they do on people in general; they often swarm and kill the bugs we don’t want around in our gardens and on our trees.

Still, there is little use for wasps in urban areas, and they can be a real risk to those who are allergic to their stings or their bites. Dealing with wasps and yellow jackets is a risky and difficult business for several reasons:

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When it comes to infestations, sugar ants aren’t all that high on the list of least possible pests. Still, they can be a pain, getting into virtually all your food and constantly being squished underfoot, and of course once that happens there is that awful accompanying smell.

Dealing with sugar ants, as with most ants, the key to success comes in locating or penetrating the colony. Let’s look at some of the least toxic ways of wiping out that queen and thus brining the colony’s life, and that of the infestation, to an end.

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