Pest Control Overland Park involves preventing or eliminating unwanted organisms from a living environment. This can include a home, workplace or public spaces.
Clutter gives pests places to breed and hide, so remove it. Caulk cracks and crevices to close off entry points. Seal up leaky pipes.
Choosing the right formal structure for your business is important as it determines your liability. Consider a sole proprietorship or LLC at the very least.
A chemical insecticide is a compound that is formulated to kill, harm or repel one or more species of insects. It can be applied in a variety of forms including sprays, dusts, gels and baits. Insecticides can also be delivered through drip irrigation systems. Insecticides are used to reduce crop damage caused by insects, disease vectors, weeds or other undesirable organisms. Insecticides can be very effective, but they come with a number of risks that impact the environment, pets, children and people. Using an integrated pest management (IPM) approach that minimizes the use of chemicals will help reduce these risks.
The first chemical insecticides were derived from organic compounds, such as sulfur and heavy metal salts, or extracted from plants such as pyrethrum or the essential oil of chrysanthemum cinerariifolium (formerly known as Dalmatian pyrethrum). During the 19th century, a wide range of synthetic products was developed, starting with Paris green, which was discovered when paint pigment (copper acetoarsenite) that had been discarded on potatoes reacted with an insect and killed it. This discovery led to the development of a host of other chemicals that could be used to destroy specific insect species or groups such as the malaria vectors mosquitoes and tsetse flies.
Most synthetic insecticides work by affecting the nervous system of the targeted insect or pest. Some work immediately to kill or harm the insects, while others may take more time to take effect. There are also products that interfere with the insect’s metabolic processes. For example, organosulfur compounds act as ovicides by killing the pest in its egg stage and generally have low toxicity to other organisms. The dinitrophenols and the carbamates work by inhibiting oxidative phosphorylation, blocking the creation of adenosine triphosphate or ATP.
Many of these chemical insecticides are transported to water bodies through runoff, leaching and groundwater transport. They are often contaminated with other pollutants and can have detrimental impacts on wildlife, such as the reproductive capabilities of predatory birds. The continuous use of insecticides also contributes to the emergence of resistant strains of insects that can no longer be controlled at recommended rates.
Oil Insecticides
Petroleum-based oils, including neem and fish oil sprays, are used to control many insect pests in ornamental plant crops. Some also have fungicide activity, mainly to suppress powdery mildew and other fungal diseases in the treated plants.
In general, horticultural oils are formulated to combine low phytotoxicity and insecticidal efficacy. Their chemical composition and formulation, along with their application rates, determine their effectiveness. They should never be applied to moisture-stressed plants, to young foliage or in combination with sulfur or certain fungicides (see product labels for details).
The term horticultural oil generally refers to the narrow range of petroleum-based oil products currently allowed for dormant and growing season use for insect pest control. These include neem, canola, and paraffinic oils. They are formulated with a variety of inert ingredients and may contain additives for better spray coverage or to improve insecticidal activity.
Oils are effective against a wide range of soft-bodied insects, mites and caterpillars, but they are particularly useful on slow-moving targets such as aphids, adelgids, leafhopper nymphs, scale insects, thrips, spider mites, and caterpillars (codling moth, hornworm, armyworm, hordeum and other species). They are also sometimes used to control grubs and nematodes in vegetable plantings.
The toxicity of oils is a function of their viscosity. Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a liquid to flow, determined by measuring the time it takes for a volume of liquid to pass through a standard opening at a specified temperature and pressure. The higher the viscosity of an oil, the more resistant it is to flow and, therefore, its more likely to be effective as a pesticide.
The toxicity of neem and other plant oils is determined by the presence of a specific component, azadirachtin, that acts as an insect repellent and has fungicidal properties. Research on neem oil has primarily focused on its contact toxicity toward lepidopteran insects, specifically the larval stages, since these are responsible for most crop damage. The toxicity of neem oil has also been evaluated on the herbaceous species Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell) and Lepidosaphes beckii (Newman), two armored scale insects of citrus.
Biological Insecticides
The use of chemical pesticides has greatly enhanced food production worldwide, but the persistence of these chemicals in the environment, their adverse effects on non-target organisms, and the development of resistance by insect pests require alternatives that are less toxic to humans and ecosystems, non-harmful to beneficial insects, and do not encourage the evolution of resistant populations. These alternatives are often referred to as biological pesticides. Biological pesticides are derived from living organisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungal pathogens, nematodes and parasitoids, that kill or inhibit pests or interfere with their ability to reproduce.
Biological pesticides are more effective than chemical pesticides in controlling many insect species. They can be grouped into three categories: biochemical, which include natural compounds that control pests by nontoxic mechanisms, such as insect sex pheromones or plant extracts; microbial, which include microorganisms that act against specific types of insects; and plant-incorporated protectants, which are substances produced by plants from genetically modified bacteria or fungi.
Some of the more common biological pesticides are bacterial and viral insect pathogens, nematodes, and parasitoids. These agents can be incorporated into crop production systems in two ways: spraying on an individual basis or as inundative treatments. For example, a viral agent, the baculovirus Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) of codling moth in the USA, is used to inundate apple orchards with viruses that suppress codling moth damage without harming healthy trees.
Another biological pesticide is a parasitic wasp, Encarsia formosa, that parasitizes greenhouse whitefly, killing them and reducing their population. The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which is an important soil microorganism, can also be used as a biopesticide, releasing the Bt toxin into a crop to kill insect pests.
Many growers are turning to biological insecticides as a substitute for chemical insecticides. Incorporating these alternatives into a crop protection program may take some adjustment, however, since biological pesticides usually work best when target pest numbers are low. This means that frequent scouting must be done to catch pest problems when they are small and prevent them from becoming too problematic. Additionally, biological insecticides typically require more careful handling and storage than do conventional pesticides.
Parasitic Nematodes
Beneficial nematodes are microscopic roundworms that parasitize and kill pest insects. They do not harm people, pets or other organisms in the soil. They do not degrade with repeated applications and they are safer for the environment than chemical insecticides. Nematodes are effective against the grub or larval stage of more than 200 different species of pest insects, including Japanese Beetles, Northern Masked Chafers, European Chafers, Rose Chafers, Flea beetles, Sod Webworms, Cutworms and Army worms. They are also effective against the root maggot of cabbage, carrot and cauliflower, as well as the black vine weevil.
Nematodes can be purchased online or from some garden centers. They arrive in a sachet suspended in a paste and must be mixed with water before use. They have a very short shelf life and must be used as soon as possible after opening the sachet. They are sensitive to desiccation and ultraviolet light and are most active in moist, dark locations. If soil is dry, pretreatment with irrigation may be necessary to make it more hospitable for nematodes.
Application: Mix the nematodes with cool, distilled water and pour them onto a lawn or garden, or on a specific area that is infested by insects. Use a hose end sprayer, syringe or watering can and shake continually during application to ensure even coverage because the nematodes are heavier than water and will sink to the bottom of the container.
Once the nematodes are in contact with soil they begin to move about searching for host insects. When they find a pest insect, the nematodes enter through its natural body openings and release pathogenic bacteria that destroy and liquify the insect from within. The nematodes then feed on the digested insect tissues and reproduce. As the nematodes continue to parasitize and kill insect hosts, their numbers increase and the number of infested insects decreases.
The nematode parasites of Meloidogyne incognita and Meloidogyne graminicola are attracted to soluble and volatile chemicals produced by the roots of their host plants. These chemosensory cues help them locate the root systems of their host plants. This behavior is not seen with other nematode groups, such as strongylid nematodes or filarioid nematodes.
