Tag: urban

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Tightening

Integrated Pest Management: Why It’s Important for Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture is becoming increasingly popular. Those who keep “city chickens” highlight the fact that even a few hens can provide a natural form of residential pest control by chowing down on pests. Chickens eat a wide variety of insects, including crickets, ticks, lawn grubs, fleas, worms, fire ants, grasshoppers, and even scorpions.
However, if you don’t follow good sanitation practices, your chickens could actually cause residential pest control! Mice, rats, When Are Termites Most Active and other pests are attracted to chicken feed, so be sure to store your feed off the ground, and keep your feeding area neat.
Another potential hazard of raising chickens is contracting avian bird flu. Waterfowl typically carries this disease, so a proper enclosure will prevent chickens from interacting with marauding geese, ducks, and other water birds.
To create a secure, pest-free urban chicken farm, residential pest control experts recommend the Integrated Pest Management practices listed below.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an environmentally conscious commercial and residential pest control strategy. While older “spray and pray” pest management techniques required the use of noxious pesticides, IPM protects your family and pets by leveraging biological knowledge. Instead of using temporary pesticides, Integrated Pest Management suggests creating an unfriendly environment for pests. For instance, an IPM enthusiast would seek to eliminate rodent-attracting food sources, rather than set out poisonous traps. IMP also recommends clearing areas of nest-building materials. In addition to habitat modification and occasional physical removal of pests, Integrated Pest Management encompasses continuing maintenance, so as to quickly resolve any pest problems that do arise.
Integrated Pest Management devotees would see both positives and negatives as far as keeping chickens are concerned. On the plus side, chickens eat insects that could otherwise breed and create problems. This is a clear residential pest management advantage. One negative of keeping chickens is that pests such as rodents are drawn to chicken feed. Once ants, rats, mice, and even raccoons know where you keep your chicken feed, they’re return to it regularly for food. If you don’t address such a residential pest control problem fast, you could even spur a breeding boom among local pests.
To avoid having your chicken feeder turn into a birdfeeder for local pests, you must stop pests from discovering the chicken feed in the first place. Keep your feed off the ground and away from human living spaces. Otherwise, any pests that do discover your feed bowl Homemade Bed Bug Spray Rubbing Alcohol will likely find their way into your home, which represents an endless buffet of human scraps to a hungry rat or ant. Clean out your coop’s bedding monthly at a minimum, and keep track of average feed use levels so that you know when a pest is stealing your grains.
The other potential pestiferous outcome of keeping chickens is contracting avian bird flu. To prevent your chickens from contracting the flu (and then passing it on to you via their feces), cover open runs with chicken wire to protect your …

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Urban Pests: Synanthropic Animals and How to Control Them

Everypest control service provider should know one special word that perfectly describes city pests: synanthrope. A synanthropic species is one that previously lived in a wild environment but now thrives in urban areas. Unlike the vast majority of animal species, synanthropic animals actually benefit from human-made environments.
The following is a look at why urban pests such as raccoons, mice, rats and pigeons thrive in our cities. It also suggests Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as an effective method of controlling the urban pest populations around your home. All animals (including humans) need food, shelter and water to survive. Our cities provide these bare necessities, along with a few more advantageous circumstances for synanthropes, as described below.
Few or No Predators
Urban pests enjoy a huge advantage over their country cousins: There are almost no predators in city environments. Peregrine falcons are one of the few predators that actually thrive in cities; scientists think peregrine falcons become more nocturnal in cities, where they use streetlights to stalk their prey.
One would think that humans could be considered major predators for these pests, but some cities actually prosecute killers of raccoons and other synanthropes for animal abuse. For example, last month a Toronto resident was arrested and charged with animal cruelty for hitting a baby raccoon in his back yard with a shovel. (Pest control companies can generally rid your home of urban pests without you having to worry about being prosecuted for animal cruelty.) Even with shovel-wielding humans about, urban pests can breed more freely than they would in the wild.
Plenty of Food
Your trash is a synanthrope’s treasure. Although you might think Carrie Brownstein’s performance on “Portlandia” makes her the queen of dumpster divers, urban pests have her beat. Many of them survive on human refuse 365 days a year. Some urban pests, such as pigeons, even receive handouts from humans. In general, urban pests don’t have to work very hard to have their food requirements met in big cities.
Pest control experts who practice Integrated Pest Management understand how different pest species eat; they can use this knowledge to help you get rid of pesky pigeons, rodents and insects.
Excellent Does Paint Thinner Kill Bed Bugs Shelter
Think your home is cozy, comfortable and charming? Urban pests agree. Many synanthropes use buildings for shelter – some are even totally reliant on human construction for nesting grounds. Gulls see tall buildings as cliff-sided islands. Pigeons can roost on narrow shelves on the sides of buildings, or in storm drains. House sparrows are experts at building homes under roof eaves. Human construction gives urban pests plenty of places to raise their young.
Integrated Pest Management experts understand pests’ shelter needs; pest control service providers who use IPM practices can tell you how to alter your home to make it less attractive for nesting urban pests.
Big Brains
Biologists have noticed that many of the species that succeed in urban environments have large brains. Bigger brains allow these animals to quickly …

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Tips for Dealing With Animals and Wildlife in Cities or Urban Settings

You may think that because you live in a city, that the pests and critters others regularly deal with in rural or suburban settings wouldn’t be a problem, but you would be sorely mistaken. You will run into just as many wild animals in your new city dwelling, including snakes, raccoons, possums, armadillos and of course rats. In fact, there is a good chance you will be more likely to see them, especially since there is often nowhere for these animals to hide. Food from your garbage cans provides them with a steady supply of meals, and that means you won’t be getting rid of these pests without a serious fight.
Unfortunately, the problem of pests in urban areas can be somewhat serious especially as the animals get larger. In addition to the smaller species mentioned earlier, many cities are reporting issues with dangerous animals like coyotes and alligators. These larger species pose threats to smaller pets as well as children.
The most important thing for you to remember is that you should not attempt to deal with these creatures off on your own, despite how small and harmless they might look. While they might look cute from far away, or even up close, they can carry diseases and cause infections. In fact, many people are not aware that the armadillo is potentially a carrier of leprosy!
Because they are wild creatures, they will certainly try to fight you in any way they can, including the use of claws and teeth. Raccoons and possums are not to be taken lightly just because you’re bigger than they are. How To Keep Apartment Clean Reddit While you might be able to stave them off once with a broom, you shouldn’t make it a daily habit. When you notice problems with wildlife, you should make it a point to call in a pest control company as soon as possible.
There are plenty of humane ways to deal with these critters, but trying to do so on your own could put you in danger. Remember that a pest control professional has the necessary training and experience to deal with the wildlife in question. He or she will know exactly how to avoid injuries that could lead to infection, as well as how to eliminate the animals from around your home.
You have a responsibility to yourself and to your family to deal with any raccoons, rats, possums, or other animals in the safest way possible. This means you should always call in an expert and keep yourself out of harm’s way. Not only will you be taking care of the problem, you will also be protecting your family What Insect Leaves Black Dots On Skin members from any potential future problems. Educating children about the dangers of these animals is also key, especially since many might see a raccoon as a pet. With the help of a pest control professional, you can create a safe haven around your city home without the need for …

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