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Pests have consistently been a part of the major concerns or problems that affect agriculture and production industries.
The proliferation of pests eventually results in the occurrence of diseases, thus health organizations and agencies come in to join the big picture.
Over the years, mankind has learned to develop different and potent equipment and chemicals to control these pests. The past and present status of pest infestation is the best judge to determine if the efforts were either effective or ineffective.
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are pests that infest households. Although they do not affect plants, they do prey on poultry and birds.
Scientists believe that ancient bed bugs use to solely prey on birds. Whether they did not like to infest other warm-blooded hosts, one thing was clear they definitely fed on the blood of birds and poultry.
Unfortunately, these bed bugs now thrive in bird and human ‘nests.’ In Developed Countries, five out of ten apartments are infested with bed bugs. Just think how worse this infestation could actually be in Developing Countries.
The infestation in Developing Countries could reach an astounding proportion due to the lack of budget allocation to control bed bugs. Another reason could be that the government does not invest enough on educating its people about bed bugs.
Bed bugs are small insects that account for a part of the innumerable species of insects. They have multiplied over the years and are distributed worldwide.
Common bed bugs, scientifically known as Cimex lectularius,are wingless insects. Can you imagine how dangerous they would be if they actually had wings? If they are hard to control now then they would be harder to control if they had wings.
Bed bugs are very resilient. They can survive a year or at least eighteen months without feeding. However, they do try to feed at least every 5-10 days.
Studies show that the life span of bed bugs commonly range from four to six months, although some reach to almost more than a year. The female bed bugs can lay 300-500 eggs during its lifetime, and least three generations can live per year.
Being able to produce a high number of eggs allows the bed bugs to become one of the most rapidly spreading pests in the world.
Pest Control
Generally, pest control substances or pesticides are categorized into three groups, namely insect growth regulators, contact pesticides, and insecticidal dusts.
Insect growth regulators (IGRs) affect egg or larval development of the insect. Although they do not effectively exterminate adult pests, they can impair the growth, development, and reproduction of the insect.
IGRs might not be the fastest way to control insect pests but its long-term efficacy makes using it worthwhile. In addition, it is also the most unique compared to the other pest control strategies.
Contact pesticides instantly kill pests. The target pests are exterminated within seconds or minutes of application making it the fastest to provide results.
However, contact pesticides are the least effective because of the presence of repellants that pests can easily identify thus allowing them to evade areas already treated with the chemical.
Insecticidal dusts are also fast acting, without the repellant property, and with long-lasting effects.
Insecticidal dusts attack the insect’s protective skin layer hence allowing the chemicals to penetrate their system and eventually poison them.
Basically, insecticidal dusts are the harshest but the surest way of controlling insect pests.
Pest control might not be an easy task but it is a task that you must do nonetheless. Whatever type of pest you want to control, make sure that you did your homework so that you would get your preferred result.
Tagged with: bed bugs control • pests control
Filed under: Bed Bugs