Omaha, Nebraska Is A Central City In The Agricultural Midwest
Our city centers around the farms and crops that feed our world and provide employment for its citizens. Successful farming requires successful pest control. Omaha Pest Control, Inc. is that pest control provider.
Pest Control Refers To The Management Of A Species
Pest controlling a species defined as a pest is usually usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a persons health, the ecology or the economy.
Practitioners Of Pest Control Are Named Exterminators
Pest control is at least as old as agriculture, as there has always been a need to keep crops free from pests. In order to maximize food production, it has been advantages to protect crops from competing species of plants, as well as herbivores competing with humans.
The conventional approach was probably the first to be employed, since it was comparatively easy to destroy weeds by burning them or plowing them under, and to kill larger competing herbivores, such as crows and other birds eating seeds. Techniques such as crop rotation, companion planting, and the selective breeding of pest-resistant cultivars have a long history.
Chemical pesticides date back 4,500 years, when the Sumerians used sulfer compounds as insecticides. It was only with the industrialization and mechanization of agriculture in the 18th and 19th century, and the introduction of the pesticides pyrethrum and derris that chemical pest control became widespread. In the 20th century, the discovery of several synthetic insecticides, such as DDT, and herbicides boosted this development. Chemical pest control is still the predominant type of pest control today, although its long term effects led to a renewed interest in traditional and biological pest control towards the end of the 20th century.
Since the beginning of time, pest control for commercial property owners has been vital to the health and longevity of businesses. Todays Omaha pest control companies employ improved natural techniques to bring you integrated pest management (IPM), the most advanced and earth-friendly form of pest control available.
Pest Control History
- 8000 BC Agriculture begins.
- 2500 BC Individuals begin using sulfur compounds to control insects.
- 1500 BC Individuals practice with cultural control techniques, like adjusting planting dates, to control pests.
- 1200 BC Individuals in China use botanical insecticides as fungicides for seed treatments.
- 950 BC People experiment with burning as an exterminating measure.
- 200 BC Individuals use an oil spray to control pests.
- AD 300 Chinese farmers use predatory mites in their orchard.
- AD 400 Farmers apply arsenic to the roots of rice paddies to prevent insect infestations.
- 1750 Scientists discover that derris and pyrethrum work as botanical insecticides.
- 1800s Individuals start documenting their pest control methods in books and papers.
- 1848 The French use Viteus vitifoliae, an insect from the Americas, to combat grape phylloxera.
- 1880 The first commercial spraying machine is made.
- 1888 Americans experience the first major successes with imported biological control agents from Australia for citrus crops.
- 1890 Lead arsenic becomes popular for insect control. It takes about a decade for officials to start recognizing the dangers of this control measure.
- 1892 Canada creates a law that makes spraying blooming trees with chemicals that are harmful to bees illegal.
- 1901 Hawaiians successfully control weeds with biological control methods.
- 1921 The first aerial insecticide applications begin in Ohio.
- 1930 Farmers start using synthetic organic compounds to control plant pathogens.
- 1940s Scientists discover the insecticidal properties of DDT and benzene hexachloride.
- 1948 Scientists begin talking more about the importance of beneficial insects.
- 1959 R.F. Smith, S.M. Stern, R. van den Bosch and K.S. Hagen introduce the concept of “integrated pest management”; the term is coined in 1967.
- 1969 The U.S. passes the National Environment Policy Act, and the National Academy of Sciences formalizes the term “integrated pest management.”
- 1972 The Federal Environmental Pesticides Control Act passes. The USDA funds IPM research.
- 1980s Countries around the world experience success with IPM techniques.
- 1996 The first genetically modified crops are commercialized.
- 2006 Worldwide concerns grow about engineered transgenic crops, which slow down the adoption of some IPM techniques.
As you can see, pest control has a long and fascinating history – and we’re excited to see what other new developments lay on the horizon. To learn how IPM and natural pest control methods can benefit your residential and commercial enterprises, contact us below at: