Even in the modern world, pest control and pest prevention are important. Pests are not as prevalent as they once were. Modern control systems have really helped to reduce pests. However, even pests that looked like they were things of the past can suddenly re-emerge and take hold again.
Bed Bugs Are Back
A good example is bed bugs. They used to be very common, being found in literally millions of homes across the world. Bed bugs began to be brought under control during the 1950s and 60s. By the 1970s and 80s infestations had become relatively rare. However, in the past few years infestations in the UK and other countries, like the US, are up by around 24%.
Infestations had become so rare that most people no longer know what bedbugs look like, let alone what the signs of infestation are. Pest control firms like Merlin Environmental have to educate their customers about prevention once they have got rid of their infestations. People no longer understand the need for hovering and turning their mattresses to help to bring infestations under control and stop them from re-occurring.
Why Bed Bugs Are on the Increase
Pesticides like DDT, which used to be employed to kill off bed bugs, were banned in many countries. Some say that this is why bed bug infestations are on the increase. However, there is evidence that bed bugs were becoming immune to this chemical anyway, so that is unlikely to be the main cause of the re-emergence of bed bugs.
New chemicals are available, but it is no longer routine for these to be sprayed. Society is more concerned about the environment and the impact pesticides have on both the environment and their health. As a result, hotels and homeowners spray far less frequently than they used to.
Other factors have an impact. An increase in international travel, the fact the weather is warmer in many parts of the world are also possible contributing factors. The fact populations are increasing is also another possible contributing factors. Whatever the reason for the increase the problem will only be tackled by better pest prevention measures combined with modern pest control methods.
Merlin Environmental specialise in many forms of bug pest control and bug pest prevention , they are an excellent source of further reading.