PEST CONTROL CONCEPT

Submitted By: Vidya Anant

What Is PestPest is an organism which has

characteristics that are regarded by human beings as injurious or unwanted.

It is so most often because pests cause serious damages and substantial economic loss to the hotel properties and human health by carrying, spreading and transmitting contagious and often fatal diseases.

A pest can be divided in six categories:• Pest which cause physical damage like

woodworm, moth, carpet beetles, mice and rats.• Pest which contaminates food and the

environment like cockroaches, flies, wasps mice and rats.

• Those which are comparatively harmless but repulsive to many people like spiders, silverfish.

• Those which attach food stores, flour beetles bacon beetles.

• Parasites which directly attack human being, bedbugs, fleas.

• Seasonal nuisances or casual intrudes from outside, ants, earwigs.

What are Pesticides

A pesticide is any chemical which is used by man to control pests. The pests may be insects, plant

diseases, fungi, weeds, nematodes, snails, slugs, etc.

Types Of PesticidesInsecticides: are used in hotels to

control such pests as ants, flies, spiders, moths, cockroaches and termites.

Herbicides: These chemicals are used to control weeds or other unwanted plants. Herbicides are used by hotel gardeners to reduce weeds, crab grass and dandelions among their plants. They are also used in recreational areas like gardens, ponds and lakes.

Fungicides: are sprayed or dusted to kill fungal growths like rusts, mildew, smuts, and moulds. Fabrics are treated with fungicides to prevent rotting.

Rodenticides: are chemicals used in areas infested with rats and other rodents which are health hazards. Rats destroy food and grain in hotel dry stores. This helps in eliminating such pests in prone areas of the hotel like kitchen and stores.

Pest Control EquipmentsFood operation areas like

kitchens use pest control equipment like insectocutors in kitchens to attract and eliminate, through electrocution, mosquitoes,, moths, wasps, beetles and other photopositive flying insects.

Rodents are snared by mechanical traps, slow poison traps, and glue traps (Bromodioline).

• Modern Techniques use rat ultrasonic machines, which use vibrations to keep rats and mice away. These units are very compact, safe, noiseless, environment friendly and non-irritating pest repellers.

• Air curtains at doorways help keep flying insects from entering indoor areas like kitchens, pantries, food receiving areas and cafeterias. They also help maintain temperatures indoors from harsh outside temperatures.

Pest Control GoalsPrevention: Keeping a pest from

becoming a problem.Suppression: Reducing pest

numbers or damage to an acceptable level.

Eradication: Destroying an entire pest population.

Methods of Pest Control1. Natural controlsSome natural forces act on all organisms,

causing their populations to rise and fall.These natural forces act independently

of humans and may either help or hinder pest control.

Natural forces that affect pest populations include climate, natural enemies, natural barriers, availability of shelter, and food and water supplies.

2. Applied controlsUnfortunately, natural controls often

do not control pests quickly or completely enough to prevent unacceptable injury or damage. Then other control measures must be used.

These may include the following:• Host resistance • Some plants, animals, and structures

resist pests better than others.• Some varieties of plants, wood, and

animals are resistant to certain pests.

Host resistance works in one of three ways:

• Chemicals in the host repel the pest or prevent them from completing their life cycle.

• The host is more vigorous or tolerant than other varieties and thus less likely to be seriously damaged by pest attacks.

• The host has physical characteristics that make it more difficult to attack.

3. Biological control This involves the introduction of

natural enemies— parasites, predators, and pathogens. Biological control usually does not target eradication.

Under proper conditions, sufficient control can be achieved to eliminate the threat to the plant, animal, or material to be protected.

Applying juvenile hormones to an area can reduce pest numbers by keeping some immature pests from becoming normal, reproducing adults.

Cultural control • Cultured practices are

sometimes used to reduce the number of pests that are attacking cultivated plants. These practices alter the environment, the condition

of the host plant, or the behavior of the pest to prevent or suppress an infestation.