Integrated Pest Management in Facilities

Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is an ecological approach to suppressing pest populations in which all available necessary techniques are consolidated in a unified program, so that pests are kept at acceptable levels in effective, economical and environmentally safe ways. Because pest problems are often symptomatic of ecological imbalances, the goal is to attempt to plan and manage ecosystems to prevent organisms from becoming pests.

The IPM Approach:

• Know your pests. Identify target species and understand pest behavior and ecology.
• Incorporate pest exclusion barriers in the design and construction of facilities. Modifying existing facilities should not be discounted.
• Monitor pest activity.
• As needed, apply appropriate intervention techniques to keep pest activity below injury levels.
• Monitor efficacy of pest control measures and pest activity.    

  Knowing Your Pests

• Pest that cause the damage should be correctly identified; this is the foundation of correct decision making.
• There should be enough information about the biology of the pest encountered to assess the potential risk that the pest poses and determine the best possible management strategy. Below is the brief description, economic significance, life cycle and habitat of common pests. 

PEST	BRIEF DESCRIPTION	ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE		LIFE CYCLE	HABITAT
Norway Rats	Stocky burrowing rodent, found in human habitations.  An adult weighs about 400g. Reddish brown fur, blunt muzzle, has bicolored tail that is shorter than the head and body. Ears are small and close set. Droppings are large and bulky.	Three major reasons why rats and mice are considered pests: ·       They consume and damage human foods in the field and in stores. In addition, they spoil it by leaving behind urine and droppings. ·       Through their gnawing and burrowing habit they destroy many items and structures. By gnawing through electrical cables, they can cause fires. ·       They are responsible for transmitting diseases dangerous to men e.g. leptospirosis from blood and urine of rats, plague (bubonic,septicemic, pneumonic) and salmonellosis.		Reaches sexual maturity as early as 3-5 months. 21 to 23 days gestation period. Life span is about 1 year and can have about 4 litters per year with an average of 8 young per litter.	Adaptable to tropical and temperate conditions. Prefer ground level and burrow. Have predetermined pathways, are neophobic, tend to avoid open spaces and are nocturnal. Rats are omnivores.
Roof Rats	Smaller than Norway rat, agile climbers and live on elevated spaces. An adult weighs about 120g. Slender body and pointed muzzle. Has almost single colored tail that is equal or longer than the head and body. Ears are large and prominent. Droppings are medium and slender.			Reaches sexual maturity as early as 2.5-5 months. 21 to 23 days gestation period. Life span is about 1 year and can have about 4 litters per year with an average of 6 young per litter.	Adaptable to tropical and temperate conditions. Prefer double walls, ceiling spaces, furniture and nests outdoor. Have predetermined pathways, are neophobic, tend to avoid open spaces and are nocturnal. Rats are omnivores.
House Mouse	An adult weighs about 15g. Fine dusky grey fur. Small and slender body; pointed muzzle. Has semi-naked tail that is as long as head and body. Ears are large and prominent. Droppings are small and rod shaped.			Reaches sexual maturity as early as 2 months. 19 to 20 days gestation period. Life span is about 1 year and can have about 4-6 litters per year with an average of 8 young per litter.	Adaptable to tropical and temperate conditions. All species are good climbers and swimmers. Prefer double walls, furniture and closets. Can live without free water and are more adventurous.
Red Flour Beetle	Flattened, reddish brown, parallel sided. Eyes crescent shaped. Larvae elongated and light brown in color. External feeders and cannot thrive in sound grain.	Makes heavily infested materials unpalatable and even unsafe to eat. These insects excrete chemicals known as benzonquinones which have unpleasant smell and are suspected carcinogens. Under poor hygiene conditions, may act as intermediate host for several tapeworms.		Egg to adult development is 20-25 days. Adult will live up to 2-3 years under temperate conditions. Females may lay up to 1000 eggs over their lifetime.	Increase rapidly under hot humid conditions (optimum at 35-37.5 Cel., 70%RH). Will thrive in milled cereal products such as flour, rice bran, corn bran, etc. Capable of flight and is most active during the afternoon.
Grain Weevil	Cosmopolitan pest of grain, preferring whole grain to flour or meal. Dark brown to black snout beetle with lighter reddish yellow spots on the front and back of each wing cover. Size of rice weevil is <3mm while that of corn weevil is >3mm.	Penetrate and feed on the internal portions of whole grains during the larval stage, making early detection of infestation difficult. Infested material is hollowed decreasing its nutritional value and making it unpalatable.		The egg hatch in 3 days into soft, white, legless fleshy grubs that feed on the interior of the grain, hollowing it out. The larvae mature in 3 weeks. They change to white pupae and emerge 5 days later as adult. Each female can lay between 300-400 eggs in her lifetime. They live from 7-8 months but may survive up to 2 years.	They are usually found in grain storage facilities or processing plants. The female weevil chews small cavities in the kernels and deposits one egg in each cavity. The cavity is then sealed with a plug of gluey secretion by the mother.
Cockroaches	Cockroaches are generally either scavengers or omnivores. Mainly nocturnal and will run away when exposed to light. One of the hardiest insects on the planet, capable of living for a month without food and can remain alive headless up to a week.	Besides pilfering foods and papers, other material losses occur when cockroaches stain or contaminate utensils, packaging and other stored items. They disrupt electronic devices and computers with their bodies or excrement.		Female carry an egg capsule containing around 40 eggs; development from eggs to adults is 3-4 months; cockroaches live up to a year; the female may produce up to eight egg cases in a lifetime; in favorable conditions, it can produce 300-400 offspring	Cockroaches spend most of their time in narrow, tight cracks and spaces where surfaces touch them on both sides. It prefers damp and cool areas, basements and crawl spaces; near drains and leaky water pipes. Proliferation is often associated with poor sanitary conditions.
House Fly	Most common observed stage of a fly is the winged adult. Flies are relentless - they live basically to reproduce. They rely heavily on sight for survival. Usually smaller in size compared blow fly.	Flies have filthy habits that make them efficient disease transmitters. They transmit disease organisms causing typhoid fever, cholera, summer diarrhea, dysentery, tuberculosis, anthrax, as well as parasitic worms. They are also vectors of salmonella bacteria which are directly transmitted to us by way of their mouthparts or through their vomit or feces		Typical life cycle is 21 to 25 days from egg to adult; female fly lays twenty batches of eggs during her short life span, with each batch containing between 40-80 eggs; two flies can easily produce 1.8 million breeding pairs within just 12 weeks	Prefer breeding medium that is moist and will provide food for the developing larvae – pale legless maggots. These breeding media include garbage, sewage, rotting debris, dead animal carcasses, animal excrement and even ground with excess organic matter.
Blow Fly (Bangaw)	Medium sized flies with metallic blue, green, bronze or black sheen that may produce an audible buzzing sound. Blow flies are basically scavengers.
Mosquito	Mosquitoes are not only nuisance as biting insects, but are also involved in transmitting disease to humans and animals. They female mosquito fed on blood to obtain the protein necessary for the development of her eggs.	Of all the animals on earth, mosquitoes pose the greatest threat to man’s health and existence. Diseases they transmit include malaria, yellow fever, filariasis, dengue fever and encephalitis. These diseases kill and debilitate millions of people worldwide even with today’s advances in medicine.		Mosquitoes have four stages of development: ·   Egg – deposited on moist surfaces or still waters ·   Larva – thrives on water ·   Pupa – does not feed but extremely active ·   Adult – assumes terrestrial existence	Needs water for its larval and pupal development. They are commonly harboring in stagnant water found in discarded tires, ornamental pools, tin cans, gutter, etc.
Termites	Termites are small, white, tan or black insects. The largest termite is the queen; her function is to lay eggs. The king is always by her side. Soldiers have large heads with powerful jaws, or a bulblike head that squirts liquid. But the largest group of the termite colony is the workers. They toil long hours tending the queen, building nest or gathering food. Queens and kings last for decades while individual workers can survive for several years.	Termites eat wood and other cellulose materials. They are also beneficial because they enhance the decomposition of organic matter and the return of nutrients bound up in wood to the soil. They produce methane gas as by-product of their digestion.	When a female from a mated pair begins laying eggs, both the king and queen feed the young on predigested food until they are able to feed themselves. Once workers and nymphs are produced, the king and queen are fed by the workers and cease feeding on wood. Termites go through incomplete metamorphosis with egg, nymph and adult stages. Nymphs resemble adults but are smaller and are the most numerous in the colony.		Termites live on woods (wood-inhabiting) or tunnel into the ground (subterranean). Most species have microscopic, one-celled animals called protozoa within their intestines that help in converting wood (cellulose) into food for the colony.
Ants	Ants can lift 20 times their own body. They use their antennae for touch and sense of smell. The head has a pair of large, strong jaws which can open and shut sideways like a pair of scissors. Adult ants cannot chew and swallow solid food, instead they swallow the juice which they squeeze from the food. The two eyes are made of many smaller eyes.	·   Ants are tireless scavengers; they help to recycle dead and decaying organic materials. ·   Help reduce population of flies since they prey on the immature stages of fly ·   Help get rid of garment lice. ·   Attacks and kills caterpillars and larger insects in some citrus fruits ·   Ant  bites are annoying to humans	Average life expectancy is 45-60 days. They have four distinct growing stages, the egg, larva, pupa and adult. The queen lays eggs, hatch and feed the larva with her own metabolized wing muscles and fat bodies until they pupate. After several weeks, the female adult workers dig their way out of the nest to collect food for themselves and for the queen who continues to lays eggs. After a few years, the colony begins to produce winged male and female ants, which leave the nest to mate and form new colonies.		Ants usually nest in soil which is often found next to buildings, along sidewalks, boards, stones or in close proximity to food sources. Ant foods include fruits, seeds, nuts, fatty substances, dead or live insects, dead animals and sweets. They enter buildings to seek food ann water, warmth and shelter, or a refuge from dry, hot weather or flooded conditions. They may appear suddenly in buildings if other food sources became unavailable outside or weather condition change.
Birds	Birds include sparrows, crows, doves, pigeons, swallow and others. Most birds causing problems are classified as migratory non-game birds and are protected. Birds have enormous value as insect eaters.	·   Usually feed on insects, cereals, feeds, seeds and a variety of plants. ·   They damage polystyrene and other soft insulation in warehouses, poultry and hog raising facilities. ·   Their nests have been known to cause short circuits and fires in electrical substations. ·   Transmit diseases to humans and animals including psittacosis, Newcastle disease and many others.	Young birds at hatching fall into two general classes: altricial – hatched blind and naked, cannot support themselves on their legs and wholly dependent on parents or precocial – hatched with eyes open, densely covered with down, can walk and find some of their own food. Young birds may stay with their parents for 1-3 years, helping to feed and guard the young before going off to find mates. Life expectancy is correlated with size.		Eggs are laid in sites varying from bare ground to highly elaborate nests usually found on trees or ceilings.
Stray Animals	Includes dogs, cats, goats, etc.	·   They consume and damage human foods in the field and stores; they spoil it in stores by leaving urine and droppings reducing the sales value ·   They destroy many articles (packaging, furniture, etc.) and structures. ·   Responsible for transmitting diseases dangerous to man such as rabies, salmonellosis, etc.		Stray animals are usually mammals. They reproduce sexually. After mating, embryo is formed in the womb through mitosis until fetus is formed and after several months the mother gives birth to a young animal. Young animals feed on milk from the mother until such time that it can eat solid food. During this time, offspring start to live independently and mature after months or years.	Most stray animals are land dwellers. They feed on littered foods and garbage sites. They usually have no shelter and stay where there is food source.