Now more than ever, innovation is a critical part of every thriving industry, including pest control. Insect pests are evolving, causing higher resistance for pest control systems. Pest species in agroecosystems exhibit patterns of evolution because of human-imposed and environmental selection pressures. As a result, more pests survive and breed, allowing them to outnumber the species we can control.
Pest control companies are responding to this challenge by researching new technologies and modern practices. This approach allowed them to adopt effective pest management and prevention systems for different kinds of pest problems. One example is habitat modification and natural acaricide for tick control methods.
While there is nothing wrong with traditional pest control systems, it’s important to be aware of how the latest innovations can help in improving pest management systems in different ecosystems and climates. Pest control technology has come a long way in recent years, helping businesses globally and protecting homes and families. In this article, we’ll look at the emerging pest control technologies and how each one helps eliminate environmental impact.
Electronic monitoring
Electronic monitoring (EM) is a smart pest control technology that remotely monitors different pest species inside and outside a facility. This smart device monitors pest activity data in real-time and provides an in-depth visualization of pest activities in a facility. In fact, more pest control companies are accepting EM as a business necessity because of its many benefits, such as increased accessibility, efficiency, safety, and human capture.
One of the ongoing concerns of every pest control professional is safety concerns and facility restrictions, which prevent them from accessing certain pest-ridden areas. They can reduce the number of visits in specific areas to check traps and other pest control tools through remote monitoring. For instance, they can detect any rodent activity before spotting evident signs of rodent infestation without visiting the site. Thus, EM helps increase efficiency by allowing pest control professionals to devote their time inspecting the source of the pest issue instead of wasting their time monitoring.
Like EM, remote-reporting rodent devices are present in rodent monitoring tools that come with communication devices and sensors to help report rodent activity. This device is quite valuable in terms of labor and cost savings and monitoring susceptible areas. But it’s also worth noting that investing in EM also comes with challenges, such as value, reliability, expense, response time, and auditor buy-in.
Fly baits
Another latest innovation in insect control is the fly bait, an insecticide sticker panel that discreetly controls a large variety of fly species, such as blowflies, houseflies, bottle flies, fungus gnats, fruit flies, and phorid flies.
A fly bait is almost similar to flypaper. The difference is it looks like a sticker panel coated with insecticide and food particles that can kill flies within a minute upon contact. In indoor settings, the panels are effective for up to seven months and don’t generate any odors or fumes after activation.
Fly baits also work in various commercial settings, particularly in food establishments. It’s beneficial in places where flies often congregate, such as food storage areas, kitchens, trash cans, under counters, windows, and floor drains.
Birth control
Today, most pest control technologies aim to produce a pest control solution without relying on pesticides and harmful chemicals that endanger humans and the environment.
In the past, pest control professionals have been using birth control to control bird populations, particularly pigeons. Today, the attention has moved to rodents. The method involves the administration of oral birth control through baits. This is highly effective in places with high rodent activity. It inhibits egg cell production in female rats, sterilizing them completely.
Although it is not yet widely available in the market, rodent birth control can be the answer in effectively managing prolific breeders, such as mice and rats, without negatively affecting other non-target creatures.
Meanwhile, sterilizing insects requires the use of radiation. Scientists do this by irradiating insects during the larval stage and releasing them after a while. Once they fully mature into mosquitoes and flies, the sterilized insect will be unable to breed, subsequently reducing their population.
Thanks to technology, the future of pest management is likely to be more efficient, effective, and eco-friendly. With these developments in mind, we’re looking forward to more innovations in the pest control industry without worrying about its impacts on humans and the environment. While new technology can be pricey, it’s important to test each one out before investing fully in it.
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