Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
advances in the technology available for
urban pest management, including new
chemistries and new application techniques.
On one hand, such technological advances
once again make it 'easy' to control pests
and limit the need for the knowledge of pest
biology or practical experience in pest
management. On the other hand, recent
challenges in urban pest management make
it extremely important to consider both
factors and to fi nd an optimal balance
between knowledge and practice. Some of
the most signifi cant challenges facing urban
pest management include: an increase in
urbanization and the growing need for
effective pest management; environmental
concerns about pesticide safety and
residues; new and emerging pests including
invasive species; and insecticide resistance.
Taken together, these factors force us to shift
the focus of pest management from simply
controlling the pest towards controlling the
pest in a socially and environmentally
responsible manner.
It is felt that there exists an inverse
relationship between the availability of
effective technology and the utilization of
knowledge and practice in applying that
technology. When effective and affordable
tools for pest management are available,
reliance on chemical treatments is high and
the importance of knowledge and practice
is low. The prolonged use (or misuse) of
advanced technology leads to control
failures that often result from insecticide
resistance and other issues such as increased
government scrutiny over pesticide labels,
pesticides bans or restrictions, and in-
creased consumer concerns over pesticide
use. This results in increased emphasis on
knowledge and practice and an infl ux of
investment into devising new and improved
ways of controlling the pest.
Two widespread urban pests, the com-
mon bed bug,
Cimex lectularius
, and the
German cockroach,
Blattella germanica
,
offer opposing insights into this trend. In
the USA, bed bugs are currently becoming
an increasing problem, whereas the import-
ance of German cockroaches is declining.
This puts the two pests at the opposing ends
of the spectrum regarding the reliance on
pesticides versus knowledge and practice.
The common bed bug
C. lectularius
is a re-
emerging pest and the lack of effective
chemical tools for effective bed bug man-
agement essentially prevents high reliance
on pesticides and puts the focus on
knowledge and practice.
Before the advent of synthetic
insecticides, bed bug control relied on a
number of 'secret formulas' that were
neither safe nor effective (Potter, 2011).
These formulas were often homemade and
typically based on toxic chemicals such as
mercury chloride, hydrogen cyanide,
phenol and many others. The knowledge of
bed bug biology, pesticide safety and proper
application techniques were unavailable. In
the 1940s and 1950s, synthetic insecticides
became widely available to both home-
owners and professionals. DDT was espe-
cially effective against bed bugs and
provided exceptional results, including
complete effi cacy with a single application
with long-lasting residual effect. Bed bugs
could be killed quickly and cheaply and it
seemed that exclusive reliance on broad-
spectrum insecticides could eliminate bed
bugs forever. DDT was sold to homeowners
in convenient total release 'bombs' and
reliance on knowledge- or practice-based
control was not necessary for effective
management and therefore not considered.
This continued until insecticide resistance
resulted in bed bug populations that were
no longer susceptible to a large number of
commonly used insecticides.
Today, bed bugs are quickly re-emerging
as a major economic and medical pest in the
USA and other parts of the world. They are
proving to be one of the most challenging
urban pests owing to the lack of effective
pesticides, pesticide application techniques,
public awareness and understanding of bed
bug biology. This puts increased emphasis
on the importance of knowledge and
practice in managing bed bugs. Researchers,
government agencies, chemical manufac-
turers and the pest management industry
are responding to the bed bug resurgence
and the diffi culties in its control. A large
amount of peer-reviewed literature has
recently emerged, which offers information
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