World Grain - March 2011 - 86

FEATURE

Proactive path to

PEST MANAGEMENT
A
new year can mean a new set of pest problems, but that doesn’t mean you need to rely on the same old solutions. Fortunately, there are more environmentally friendly options for pest prevention and treatment so you can rely less on old standby chemical treatments to protect your product from pests. Prior to the end of the last century, facilities traditionally used annual fumigations to rid their buildings of pests. Today, proactive pest control is the name of the game, with one of the most important pest management buzzwords being IPM, or Integrated Pest Management. IPM focuses on the reasons pests infest a facility — namely in search of food, water and shelter — and uses sanitation and facility maintenance to block their access to these resources. When practicing IPM, your pest management provider should look to the most effective treatment approach with the least impact on your facility, products, staff and the environment. To do that, it’s important to properly identify pests before choosing a treatment option. Here are a few common facility invaders and some of the environmentally friendly tools available to manage them. FLYING PESTS Opening and closing doors as well as loading dock areas can inadvertently invite ﬂying pests into your facility. Flies are one of the dirtiest pests, carrying more than 100 pathogens on their bodies and transmitting bacteria every time they land. But open doors aren’t the only attractant. Check bulbs on exterior lighting and replace any ﬂuorescent or mercury vapor lights close to the facility with sodium vapor bulbs, which are less attractive to ﬂying pests. Insect Light Traps (ILTs), otherwise known as ﬂy lights, should be installed inside entrances to intercept ﬂying insects before they can enter the facility. Fly lights should also be used inside trash areas or other locations that attract ﬂies. Ultraviolet light attracts pests to a sticky board inside a conﬁned trap unit. Replace sticky boards regularly and switch out the light bulbs twice per year to maintain trap effectiveness. Remember, only “shatter proof” bulbs should be used in these units. ILTs can help monitor the overall efﬁcacy of your ﬂy control program. CRAWLING PESTS Inspect the exterior of your facility for cracks and crevices where crawling pests like ants and cockroaches can slip
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by Patrick T. Copps

More facilities are turning to environmentally friendly prevention and treatment methods
through. Cockroaches only need 1/16th of an inch to get inside your building, and once inside, with access to food and water, can reproduce quickly. Any cracks inside your building might also house these pests since cockroaches prefer the side or top of their bodies touching other objects. Seal any unnecessary openings with weather-resistant sealant. Repellant dust can prohibit pests — most commonly ants — from hiding out in small cracks and crevices. Using a combination of pyrethrins, a product derived from chrysanthemum ﬂowers, and silica gel, repellants damage insects’ exoskeletons by causing their bodies to dry out. Exposure to this combination leads pests to immediately retreat. Treat cracks and crevices in exterior walls with a repellent prior to sealing the openings with weather-resistant sealant. When positioned in inconspicuous areas, such as in storage closets or under equipment, sticky boards can help trap crawling pests. The number and type of pests caught can help to de-

Traps with sticky surfaces inside can help trap crawling pests. Photo courtesy of Orkin.
March 2011 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - March 2011

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