Pest Management: How to Avoid Spreading Invasive Pests
Anyone at your local pest control company can vouch that invasive inspect species are often spread unwittingly by people who just don’t know better. Why should we be worried about invasive pest management? Because insect pests from foreign eco systems often have no local predators, allowing them to spread like wildfire. In other instances, invasive species actively destroy prized local specimens; the Asian Longhorned Beetle is the culprit in many hardwood forests in the Northeastern United States. Following, find our list of ways people inadvertently spread invasive species.
1. Purchasing Imported Flowers on Valentine’s Day
Exotic flowers as a hitchhiking vehicle? Yes, it’s possible – indeed, every day, Miami’s airport inspectors find an average of 90 invasive species while examining goods entering the country. Beyond harboring dangerous pests, exotic flowers have also been used by drug lords to hide their goods. Due to these tendencies, it’s best to keep any Valentine’s Day flower shopping local – pest control experts will be grateful if you do.
2. Buying Non-Certified Produce or other Products
Every nation has its own criteria for screening out invasive species. Import rules are partially written with an eye toward pest management. To do your part to prevent the spread of invasive species, make sure you fill out all customs forms completely. The illegal import of produce and other products are part of the problem when it comes to invasive species.
3. Failing to Inspect Hotel Rooms for Bed Bugs
Surveys have found that nearly every local pest control company professional in the country has answered a call for bed bug pest management. Why are bed bugs so widely spread these days? Because they are master hitchhikers. Bed bugs can survive in nearly any fabric environment, including bedding, luggage, the seats of buses and other public transportation vehicles, and (big yuck!) clothing. People unknowingly spread bed bugs by failing to check hotel and other guest bedding for these irritating pests. Once you get back home, you should also check for bed bugs and their eggs on your luggage and other travel items to make sure that you didn’t pick up any freeloaders along the way.
4. Lacking Maritime Pest Management
Invasive species are not limited to land; they also wreak havoc on freshwater ecosystems. Boaters may spread invasive species by failing to clean off their vessels between launches. So, the next time you take your boat How To Prevent Bringing Cockroaches Home out of the water, clear its hull of all mud and plants. To avoid toting microscopic invasive species, drain your boat before leaving the dock. Last, let all boating equipment dry out completely between expeditions.
5. Poor Gardening Choices
Some popular landscaping specimens are actually considered invasive. For instance, Oregon recently banned the sale of butterfly bushes and English ivy plants because both species out-compete local plants. (At least half of Portland’s Forest Park is infested with English ivy.)
6. Failing to Buy Local Firewood
Many insects consider a pile of firewood to be a wonderful …