16 Ways To Control Pests in Baltimore

A long time ago I declared war on pests of all stripes. Indeed, mankind has been fighting this battle for millennia trying to keep their crops and homes free from invaders who like the same food and warm spaces.

Today people use many means to either kill, deter or otherwise control pest populations. We at Nest pest control in Baltimore use many of the methods I describe below.

Some are better for one type of animal than another. For instance, a fence might be good to keep the deer out, but does nothing for mosquitoes.

I thought I'd share with you 16 or so ways that we utilize in pest control. As a caveat, not all of these techniques are employed by every pest control company.

Domesticated, Pest-destroying Animals

Dogs and cats have been used to keep down rodent populations since ancient Egypt. The nations in the Fertile Crescent also tended to use ferrets and mongooses as mouse and rat control. As a child, I had a ferret and can attest that she kept the mouse population at zero in the house!

Biological Pest Control

Undomesticated animals are also used to control pests. Typically, native predator species are introduced to control the invader. However, this is not always very effective commercially and can sometimes result in unwanted results. Like the introduced animals becoming pests themselves.

However, it can be very effective in certain situations. For instance, introducing the bacterium Bt Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. israelensis, which affects mosquitoes but has no effect on other biological species like plants or humans is extremely effective at controlling their populations.

Physical Pest Control

This includes the fence building I spoke of earlier or even just stomping on all bugs.

Elimination of Breeding Grounds

This is one of the most effective methods of pest control. Sometimes you need an exterminator for this, but more often than not, keeping your home free of garbage and food waste will do the trick. Also, make sure there is no standing water on your property and you are well on your way to keeping the mosquitoes at bay.

Poisoned Bait

This is extremely effective for insects that live in colonies like ants or cockroaches. It can be a good elimination technique for rodents, too, if there aren't any other food sources around.

Field Burning

By destroying the crops that many insects and rodents feed on, lay their eggs on or live among you can also destroy the pests themselves.

Hunting

Sometimes people have to resort to hunting down all the different pests there are, For instance, in many states, there is a bounty on coyotes, In Texas, there is also a bounty on wild hogs that are destructive.

Trap Cropping

The use of naturally deterring crops is on the rise. A naturally deterring crop is one like venus fly traps.

Traps

Man-made traps like glue traps, mousetraps or even sticky paper can be pretty effective. 
Though often laden with food to attract the animal some also are laced with pheromones to attract the insets.

Pesticides

Perhaps the most common modern method of destroying pests is through the use of pesticides. These poisons can kill a wide range of insects, however, over time some insects can become rather tolerant.

Pesticides are applied in three principle ways:

1) Direct Spraying

This is what your residential pest controller does, he sprays a chemical that help keep the population down. This is also what crop dusters do.

2) Space Fumigation

Applying a fog of pesticide in a tightly sealed space can be very effective treatment. This is what happens when your home is tented for termites.

3) Space Treatment

Though not as penetrative as tenting, space treatments can still be effective and allow most work in a building or home to continue while the treatment takes effect.

Sterilization

If the pest can't make new ones, populations falls. The difficulty is getting an effective sterilization chemical, method or object in play. This is more effective on mammalian populations like deer, rabbits and the like.

Destruction of Infected Plants

When bore beetles and other major invasive species affect vast swathes of flora, destroying the plants will also kill the bug.

Repellents

The final method of pest control is to keep the insects or other pests at bay. There are many man-made repellants, but Balsam fir oil from the tree Abies balsamea is an EPA approved non-toxic rodent repellent. And the acacia polyacantha subsp. campylacantha root emits chemical compounds that repel animals including crocodiles, snakes and rats.