Many people don’t realize that pest control can be more than just a nuisance. Like termites and ants, pests can eat away at your home’s foundation and cause structural damage to wooden structures. They also spread diseases by contaminating food with their saliva or feces.
On the other hand, mosquitoes can bring with them mosquito-borne diseases, such as Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. Getting rid of these pests is not just a matter of getting rid of unsightly insects — it’s a public health issue, too. To prevent infection, it is essential to control the mosquito population in your community.
Enter pest control with technology. The good news is some modern technologies are effective and safe at getting rid of pests and insects without harming the environment.
Let’s take a look at some of them:
AI-driven Sensing Technology for Pest Control
Pests release body heat during flight and movement, distinguishing them from the surrounding environment. Most home security cameras are not sensitive enough to detect heat signatures. Still, with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, heat sensors can now be used to identify pests with great accuracy.
Intelligent monitoring with heat sensor-equipped devices is highly efficient at detecting motion in areas that may be difficult for ordinary surveillance cameras to monitor. This technology can monitor and manage your property and even be used as part of an intelligent security system.
Heat sensors need not stop there–they can also be helpful in mosquito traps. With its capability to detect high-temperature targets such as human beings, some companies are developing more effective traps that lure mosquitoes using their body heat.
Drone Pest Control
Nowadays, we can’t blame rescue services if they use drones when going to a disaster scene. Most people also prefer using them for aerial photography and videography. Their portability and ease of use make them genuinely revolutionary in many fields. Pest control is certainly not an exemption.
Pest control drones are pretty famous, such as the DroneGun. The DroneGun is a portable device that uses Electromagnetic Radio Frequency (RF) technology to disable and destroy target drones in mid-air. This makes it ideal for repelling drones that may pose a threat to essential facilities and restricted areas.
Pheromone-assisted technique
Many pest control products release pheromones to confuse pests and prevent them from building up resistance. The idea is that although they have an acute sense of smell, the chemical signatures left behind by previous problems will stop new pests from entering the colony.
What’s more, these chemicals can be found in nature. For example, Neofin RP-ECO, an eco-friendly pest control solution, uses cypermethrin, a chemical found in chrysanthemum flowers.
Fly Baits
The use of fly baits is a common and effective way to stop flies from entering your property by luring them into sticky traps. The main ingredient in such traps is usually sugar, but the problem with using sugar as bait is that flies can quickly become resistant.
However, recent developments in pest control versions involve using fly baits with specific ingredients that make flies more susceptible to the bait’s effects and trap them for good. These include adding low doses of toxic chemicals to increase the pheromones; increasing the percentage of sugar; and improving other attractants like color, size, and shape.
Growth Regulators
When it comes to insect control, home remedies are usually not effective. Non-toxic growth regulators, on the other hand, are environment-friendly and work by disrupting insects’ hormones that regulate their development. They can be used in household areas such as gardens, lawns, and even your home.
Insect growth regulators allow you to eliminate the threat of insects without adversely affecting your health and the environment. Use them indoors and outdoors to achieve a clean, pest-free home.
Mosquito Traps
An abundance of mosquito traps available on the market can help you drive away these pesky critters and keep them from coming back.
Some of these devices rely on natural attractants such as heat, carbon dioxide, and lactic acid to lure mosquitoes into the trap. You can also opt for traps that use treated water as a lethal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The Future of Pest Control Technology
Pest control is much more than just a way to get rid of insects in your house. It’s much more about protecting yourself from getting sick or infecting others with potentially deadly diseases. AI-driven sensing technology and unmanned aerial vehicles are just some of the tools being developed in pest control. As we move further into the future, it’s safe to assume that pest control tech will become more innovative and more effective at its job.
