Lesson 54: Alternative Pest Control Methods
In this lesson, we will look at some alternatives to
chemical treatment for pest control, including some newer, scientific solutions
that have been developed.
There are alternative ways to control pests that
are being developed. Ecological Control is the process of manipulating
biological factors between a pest and its host to protect crops and people
without harming the environment or human health.
Cultural control is a non-chemical method of altering the environment so that
the pest finds the environment unsuitable and has to leave. This can be as
simple as individual practices such as refrigerating food to prevent insects
and organisms from feeding on rotting food and cleaning the house regularly to
remove dust mites, to a town's recycling practices and sanitation efforts to
keep a city clean and healthy.
From introducing hormone sprays to target specific pests to controlling them
using natural enemies such as predators, parasitoids, pathogens and herbivores,
there are scientific methods to control pests without using toxic chemical
sprays.
Some scientists have also developed genetic controls of pests to prevent pests
from reproducing and have experimented with interbreeding to develop more
resilient plants.