Linked closely to community quality of life is the need to develop a pest control system. To that end, objectives are needed. "Control pests" seems self evident. The needs are to be a specific as possible so that, even in unfortunate conditions, the managers of the control system could assert that they had really done what was intended. They want to be accountable, and to that end, ends must be very precise.

This unit works toward such ends. It is based on preliminary goals suggested by Dr. E. Craig Turner, William H. Robinson, and Donald G. Cochran (10/28/1974).

The needs seem to be to create and operate a program that prevents, provides information about, reduces, and retains at a low level the actual and perceived problems related to animal pests. The problems and approaches to them must be specified in terms of reports, actual pests, numbers of events, severity of the problem event (health or financial), potentials for future problems (in number, people effected, and area of involvement). There is an essential strategy to be developed to minimize "pest problems" but that has many dimensions of action and effects. The first thoughts are for cost minimization (taxes) for the government. Financial allocations may range from zero (with political costs) to great expenditures on prevention (with impossible to evaluate effects). See Ritter, A. F. ( 1975. Objectives and performance criteria for state wildlife law enforcement agencies. Unpub. M.S. Thesis, Va. Poly. Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, Va., xii + 199 p. ) for ideas and means for formulating measurable objectives for this difficult part of modern urban structure and function. Strategy or policy issues for towns or corporations need to include the decisions about whether eliminating or reducing health risks , preventing pest or pest-problem buildups, encouraging sanitation generally (the source of many problems), or some optimum combination is to be sought. Pest problems, while often local, site specific, and landowner specific,are more often a community problem and individuals need protection and assistance and the community needs protection from the potentials of a growing problem ( e.g., coyotes expanding their range and foraging, blackbird roost problems, and reports of rabies).

The solution is likely to be one of maximizing a complex effectiveness score or index and doing so for the least amount of money (inclusive, not project specific for all costs are highly related and overlapping).

Pest problems need to be treated generally for education, then specifically for mammals, birds (e.g., blackbirds and pigeons), uncontrolled pets, insects ( with major differences for termites, flies, mosquitoes, wood infesting beetles, and ticks ... then plants and major differences for poison ivy, pollen bearing plants, certain fungi, and esthetically unpleasing plant communities, typically coordinated with landscaping units). Invasive species may present a special problem with needs for widespread action.

Building codes should address minimizing pest access and effects on wood, proper wood disposal, and insect entrance. Eliminating potential nesting sites (e.g., pigeons) can reduce future problems.

Waste control sites need to be well maintained.

Standing water of potential sites for mosquitoes needs to be minimized.

Community-wide information may be of assistance in pollen control efforts.

Enforcement and its stabilizing costs must be part of the strategy

This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision August 8, 2006.