Before we get to trying to figure out if biological pest control can solve the pest-control related environmental problems, it is a good idea to provide some background information about the whole pest control business. This will be helpful to those who might be first encountering it. Read more now on list absolute

Pests are organisms, usually insects, that pose a threat to the rights and interests of those who call them such. To farmers, pests are insects that infest and eat their crops during storage or in the field. Housekeepers consider the pests the “domestic bugs” that cause damage to domestic items (like moths that can ruin cloths in storage) and are able to infest them. Keep in mind that while most pests are insects and some are non-insects, rodents, which can damage crops in farms, as well as things in storage, are considered pests.

It is only natural that people who are ‘fallen victim’ to pests would want to rid themselves of them. People who have not yet been affected by pests will want to avoid this ‘fate’. Hosting pests can prove to be a grave fate. Pests can destroy thousands of hectares worth of farmland in one day, often resulting in losses of millions of dollars. Pest control refers to the actions taken to prevent pest invasion in the future or to deal with pest infestations that have already occurred.

Pest control can take many forms depending on what pests are being controlled. While larger pests such as rodents can be managed mechanically, like trapping, over a longer time, chemical control is more effective for most pests. These pests are insects, as previously mentioned. Pesticides are the chemicals that are used in this effort. Pesticides can be very effective at controlling pests, but they are also extremely harmful to the environment. It is worth noting that pesticides are often very powerful chemicals. It is common for traces of pesticides to remain in the same places they were used after the pests have been eliminated. These traces eventually get washed into the water bodies, where they cause great damage to the non-pest plants and animals that live in the water bodies.

Concern about the environmental effects of chemical pest-control led to questions about whether there was a better way to control pests. We explored biological pest control as an alternative to chemical pest-control. Now we want to find out if it can be used to address the concerns.

It is biological pest-control that other organisms are used to prey on pests. They eat them up, and thus solve the problem. If the pest problem is aphids then other organisms that feed on them are introduced to the area to take their place.

However, biological pest-control is not always efficient. Chemical pest control is usually thorough and leaves no trace of pests, but biological pest control can be less effective. It can be difficult to implement biological pest control on large scales (e.g., on a 1000 hectare plantation). These are the reasons we keep looking for more environmentally-friendly pest control methods. This is because, although biological pest control addresses many of the environmental concerns that chemical pest control raises, it isn’t efficient enough or scalable enough for most people.