Pests are destructive insects and small animals that act as a nuisance to crops, household items, food, livestock etc. In tropical countries like India, pests are a big concern that require urgent attention. Depending on the type of pest attack, there are different types of pest control methods adopted to fight these menaces. From ants, flies, and cockroaches on our food to snakes, lizards, and spiders in the garden and termites, silverfish and moths attacking our household items, pests are everywhere.

Here are the most popular pest control types utilised by people:

Chemical pest control

Chemical pest control method is commonly used to fight wide spread pest infestations. This method, if used unsupervised, can lead to serious health hazards. These chemicals that is meant to affect the pests can also harm other organisms. Hence, professional help is a must while adopting this method so as to identify the pests and fight them directly. Fumigation using pesticides is a common chemical pest control method. Chemical pest control methods are fast-acting and hence preferred by many.

Non Chemical Pest Control

The non-chemical methods involve the use of non-toxic methods for fighting pests. From insect screens and pigeon nets to natural pesticides and biological control, this method ensures the removal of pests without impacting the health of other organisms in any way.

Here are 4 non-chemical pest control methods that are effective and commonly used:

Organic sprays

Common ingredients such as water and dish washing liquid, lemon juice extract, peppermint oil etc. act as effective pest repellents to keep away this menace. These solutions can be directly sprayed onto the leaves and plants to keep pests away. You can find a few such tried and tested home remedies, here.

Bait method

Most commonly used on bigger pests like rodents, this method involves using a physical bait to catch the disturbance causing pest. These poisons are usually mixed with the food that the pests usually eat. The advantage of this method is that these pests take the food item and go back to their hideout and eventually infect a lot more of them with the poison.

Physical traps

Physical traps are also mostly used on bigger pests easily visible to the naked eye. Glue traps can be used for siders, rodents and even cockroaches. There a more advanced physical traps that can be used on rats and bigger pests. Insect screens, window mesh and pigeon nets, though not traps, are physical objects to keep away pests.

Biological pest control

This is a very natural way of controlling pests by introducing natural enemies of these pests to fight the infestation. Having a cat fight the rats is the most common example of this form of pest control. Beetles are commonly introduced near any cultivation for fighting aphids, mites and caterpillars. This process depends on the predatory nature of some animals to biologically fight pests, following the natural food chain.

While there are multiple ways to fight pests, the most efficient and wholesome one is to hire professional pest control services to take care of these pesky pests. Not only would they adapt the most ideal method, they would also ensure that the service is regular and timely.