In the field of agriculture achieving pest control is as important as learning the methods of agriculture. This field is as old as the study of agriculture itself. Pests have to be dealt with firmly because they can pose hazard to health as well as be a nuisance to economy.
The evolution of living things increase their resistance to biological, chemical, physical or any other form of control. This calls for modification in the pest control methods to keep them effective. The most effective methods that are easy to employ are discussed here.
A very famous method used for insect and pest control includes the use of biological techniques. Biological pest control deals with controlling unwanted species with the use of natural predators and parasites. The basic rationale behind biological methods of pest control, or any natural pest and insect control, is to eliminate a pest with limited or no harm to the ecological balance and natural environment. For instance cats are kept in the house to drive away mice and BTis (bacterium infecting mosquito larvae) is used to get rid of mosquitoes.
Another technique for the control of rodents and insects specifically is by making use of poisoned bait. This technique is effective in controlling large population of mice in farm areas, crop and hill stations; but the species might not be fully eliminated and emerge again if there are other sources of food available for them in the vicinity.
Farmers use many other techniques as well to protect their crop and fields. Other that spraying pesticides and insecticides on their crop, they use another unique method that is field burning. This is done after the crop is harvested, commonly the sugar cane crop. The fire burns down any pests, insects or their eggs that might be remaining in the field, to ensure no harm to the new crop.
Other than pests, mammals like rodents and stray wolves and dogs are equally destructive if present in private property. To wipe out these creatures, hunting is another effective method. As they are not present in large populations, hunters use traps to catch and kill them. Preserving crops and protecting human life is a valuable task but we must never disturb the natural balance of the ecosystem.