Elements of an effective pest management program
The goal of a pest management program in packing houses and storage areas is to protect harvested goods from pests and their damage. One way to accomplish this is to implement an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, which uses information about the pest to develop a customized, science-based management strategy. The following elements are essential components of effective pest management programs, and should be completed whether the work is performed by on-site staff or a contracted pest professional:
Inspection—regular, detailed inspections look for conditions that attract pests to a facility, openings that allow pests to get inside, and evidence of pest activity. Inspecting pest monitors (see below) can reveal hot spots of activity and help prioritize areas that require additional attention. Inspection frequency is often predetermined by the site.
Pest Prevention—the two components of pest prevention are sanitation to eliminate food items and hiding places, and exclusion to deny access. Generally, detailed cleaning to remove food items is the responsibility of site staff, while preventing pest entry could be the responsibility of a contracted pest professional or site management. Sanitation improvements can be made at any time, but the timing of exclusion depends on the target pest. For example, exclusion to keep out flies can be completed at any time, exclusion for fall invading pests occurs in the summer, and exclusion for mice occurs after indoor pest numbers have been reduced or eliminated. Not all products are equally effective at keeping pests out, and guidance is available from several resources.
Identification—pest species differ in their preferences for food, living sites, and lifecycles in ways that directly impact their management. Most Cornell Cooperative Extension offices provide pest identification services, which can supplement and verify identification from a pest control technician.
Pest Reduction—once a pest is identified correctly, implement a plan to reduce their numbers. This may include the use of traps, pesticide applications, biological control, or other techniques. Responses should be planned. In other words, when a pest is detected, a strategy should already be in place to deal with that introduction depending on where in the building it was found, how many were found, and the life stage of pests encountered.
Monitoring & Evaluation—these are perhaps the most important elements of a pest management program, but also the ones commonly left out. Monitoring for the presence of pests, their numbers, life stages, and locations within a facility is essential to determine what strategies are needed to best reduce the pest population, if those efforts are working, and when they have been successful. Monitoring data can be mapped to show the distribution of pest activity in a building, allowing site managers to see where pest activity is high and focus inspections and interventions in those areas.
