Why Pest Identification Matters
By Patrick Kelley, BCE
If part of your job involves pest management, trying to solve pest outbreaks can often become a roller coaster ride with all its ups and downs.
Initially, insect pests make themselves known to us by spilling into our living spaces and workspaces.
First reactions can include annoyance, disgust, and in some cases shock when pest damage is revealed.
There is often a knee-jerk reaction to apply a pesticide to the area to kill everything on six legs.
Although this brute force tactic may work on occasion, we find plenty of examples where the insects simply pop out somewhere new after a pesticide application, and pest managers find themselves in a maddening game of Whac-A-Mole.
Geographic location, time of year, and the physical environment all play a role on the pest activity that shows itself. Being a skilled pest manager means that one needs to use all the tools available to attempt to permanently solve the pest issue at hand.
One of the most valuable tools any pest manager can use is being able to identify the pest. Once we know the exact pest species that we are dealing with, we can better focus on how to cause it to leave or die.
At Insects Limited, our IPM strategy is to “Start with the Insect”. What this means in a nutshell is that when approaching a pest management situation, the very first thing that should be done is to identify the pest. Knowing your pest means gives you a great advantage in controlling it.
The following list are just a few of those advantages:
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC
An informed and knowledgeable pest manager is always going to do a better job for their client, for their institution or for themselves than someone who stumbles blindly into a pest management situation.
After proper identification is performed, insecticidal treatments are often not necessary to eliminate a pest. IPM tools such as sanitation, pest exclusion or other non-chemical means can solve issues with no harmful environmental effects or safety concerns.
On another note, pheromone monitoring can provide a pest manager with crucial information on where pest infestations are coming from or if their attempts at reducing the pest population are working. Pest identification is extremely critical when wanting to use pheromones as part of a greater IPM program.
Most pheromones are species-specific, meaning that they will attract one, and only one species. Take for example a drugstore beetle, Stegobium panaceum and a cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne. These two beetle species look nearly identical to the untrained eye, but the pheromone for one has absolutely no attraction to the other.
Without a proper identification, one could spend lots of money on a pheromone trapping system that is doomed to fail. With proper identification, pest managers can easily zero-in on the locations the beetles are coming from.
There are lots of great identification aids out there for pest managers to tap into. Insects Limited’s website has lots of identification aids for stored product insects. The website also has a section dedicated to pests found in museums.
Reference books, posters or one of the several staff entomologists at Insects Limited can assist with identification. Contact us if you need any guidance on this.
Most importantly, remember to take the time to correctly identify the pest when a new pest management situation comes your way.
Pest identification matters!
Ethan Estabrook of Insects Limited studies the insects on a glue to trap identify the species
Insects Limited, an Insect Pheromone Company
Insects Limited, Inc. researches, tests, develops, manufactures and distributes pheromones and trapping systems for insects in a global marketplace. The highly qualified staff also can assist with consultation, areas of expert witness, training presentations and grant writing.
Insects Limited, Inc. specializes in a unique niche of pest control that provides mainstream products and services to protect stored food, grain, museum collections, tobacco, timber and fiber worldwide. Please take some time to view these products and services in our web store.
