A Pest is a Pest in Pest Control
How many times in our life we hear the phrase “Oh my god, you are such a darned pest! Get out of my room immediately!” Well this line alone should give you a brief idea about what a pest is. It is something which is termed as ‘undesirable’ or ‘unwanted’ and also ‘harmful to health’.
Mice, flies, locusts etc.. are all pests. They also spread many diseases and harm a lot of people. For example, mice cause epidemic of plague and locusts destroy all the farms and mosquitoes spread malaria.
In countries like India where there is a lot of over-crowding, pest control is very essential because due to this problem even minor diseases turn into epidemics and since there are not enough doctors or medical facilities available, the end result is large amount of deaths and trauma. Also in places where farming is the main occupation pest control becomes the most essential job. Even a small infestation can result in much loss. In domestic households specially the most dominant pest is the cockroach! Not that its extremely dangerous but it definitely does not add to the homely atmosphere in the least!
A very interesting fact is that the occupation of pest control is as ancient as the occupation of agriculture. Many pests caused problems only due to human mistakes. For example, raccoons in U.S.A. used to tear open garbage disposal bags laying around and similarly seagulls became a nuisance at sea-side resorts because the tourists would often feed the birds with scraps of fish and chips and the birds got so used to this source of food that they started acting aggressively towards humans.
The ‘RIG VEDA’ which is about 4,000 years old even names various poisonous plants for use instead of chemicals which end up harming the ecosystem too. There is also a method called ‘crop rotation’ where on the same field different plants are grown every few months. So the soil is enriched with nutrients and even the insects are unsure as to what crops are grown next. Many-a-times even insectivorous plants are grown, that is to say these type of plants feed on insects.
There is also the ‘sterile insect technique’. The male insects are made sterile and released in the open. When the female insect mates with the sterile insect then there are no off-springs produced and hence population of the insects is reduced. There is a plant in India called the Neem. If you rub the Neem extract on plants or trees, no insect will approach it because of the bitter smell and taste of Neem.
Many of the times what we do not realize is that humans are the biggest pests themselves!! We encroach on nature way too much. We cut down woods and forests for inhabitation and then complain that there are pests in our homes!! Where else are they to go if not our homes?
Where are they to go when we give them no other options? We pollute land, water, air and then have the audacity to say that we are a superior and cleverer race than mere animals?
If we are to get rid of pests we need to handle our amenities and resources with careful hands. We need to understand the need of natures laws to remain un-trifled with. Once we start maintaining our limits, there will be no need for nature to cross hers.
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