SAFETY RULES for Integrated Pest Management

• Do not handle trapped or dead rodents & cockroaches with bare hands

• Dispose dead rodents within 24 hours, by burying them of sealing them in plastic bags and putting them in trash

• For anticoagulant rodenticides, Vitamin K is used as antidote, although in cases of severe poisoning, whole blood transfusion is also utilized.

• Refer to authorized pest control technician when planning to apply any pesticide

• Do not place bug zappers on porches, patios or within 100 feet of the outside areas of homes or buildings. This should attract flying insects away from the house and not to it. Electrical bug zappers will cause the insect to explode releasing body parts into the air and surrounding areas.

On Sanitation and Storage Management

Regular sanitation will deny easy access to food, harborage and stable habitat necessary for their propagation thus disrupting their life cycles.

• implement effective housekeeping program
• remove unnecessary objects in storage vicinity
• implement FIFO effectively
• inspect and repair storage bins for any openings that may allow pest entry
• keep areas as dry as possible
• clean storage areas and bins before use, paying special attention to cracks, crevices, and sub-floors spray piling areas with pesticide (Coopex) prior to storage; use caulk or paint to seal cracks and crevices
• store paper products or cardboard boxes away from moist areas and direct contact with the floor or walls
• clean trash cans regularly, use plastic liners in trash cans, seal/tie garbage palstic liner when disposing
• store foods and paste in containers that are inaccessible to pests; eating should be done only in designated areas
• create inhospitable living conditions for pests by reducing availability of food and water
• remove carcasses in the vicinity
• eliminate odors that attract flies
• stored grains should be properly clean and dry mops and mop buckets; hang mops vertically on rack above floor drain
• the aisles space requirement in between piles is two (2) feet while between wall to pile is three (3) feet, these are recommended for ease in cleaning and pest intervention
  

On Exclusion and Building Out

• Materials delivery contaminated with weevils shall not be accepted
• All openings shall be covered with 1/4 (for mice) & 1/2 (for rats) inch wire screens
• As much as possible, double walls and compartments, where rodents live and hide, should be avoided
• Door gaps should be narrow and their edges should be covered with sheet metal to prevent gnawing
• External grounds should be paved
• Physical covers near the foundation shall be removed
• Planting of shrubs near the building is not recommended. if present these should be trimmed regularly
• Cockroaches can be carried into homes and bags, boxes, and luggage; examine containers that are brought into the area carefully for the presence of cockroaches or their egg capsules
• Keep doors and windows closed or screened to deny entry of flies; floors and sink drains must also be screened
  

Basic IPM Approach

1. Know your pest
2. Exclusion and building out
3. Sanitation and proper storage management
4. Monitor pest activity
5. Apply intervention techniques
6. Monitor efficacy of pest control techniques
   

WHAT IS INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM)?

• A comprehensive approach to pest control that uses combined means to provide long-term management of pests, not temporary eradication of them, while maintaining a quality environment
• The goal is to plan and mangae ecosystems to prevent organisms from becoming pests
• It follows the general rule that exclusion or building out and sanitation are the best and most effective approach

DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF PEST INFESTATION ON STORED PRODUCTS

• MATERIAL LOSS - direct loss/damage to products, packaging and property.
• QUALITY LOSS - biological activity, excessive respiration and excretion of metabolites and toxic substances accelerates deteriorative processes resulting to loss of nutritive value and decreased palatability.
• PHYSICAL AND HEALTH HAZARD - urban flies of unknown origin have been attributed to rodents gnawing electrical cables

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT 101

• Stored feeds and feedstuffs are conductive ecosystems for the propagation of pests

• The high concentration of energy and nutrients in stored feed offers an inexhaustible source of food for pest.

• Pest activity can result to sizable losses and damage to stored products.
  

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

We not only supply and distribute B-Meg feeds, we also make sure that the products we are serving were all given importance through our Integrated pest Management, periodically implemented by me.

So, read on as i post series of important things regarding integrated pest management. Please refer to my list of labels "IPM" shall be used, 1 being the first post, IPM2 for the second post and so on...