Pest Management and Education

Penn State Extension has a vast selection of resources and educational material regarding general pest management and pesticide safety for consumers, families, and agricultural professionals.

In this section, find information and best practices on pest management in crop and livestock production, useful tips for controlling house and garden pests, and Integrated Pest Management strategies. You can also access curriculum and demonstration resources for teachers and extension educators.

Pest Management Resources

Controlling pests is vital because it provides protection from harmful insects, weeds, and diseases that can cause public health issues, costly damage to property, livestock, and crops. Producers and homeowners can use various methods to manage these problems. They include the use of pesticides, for example, in field crop weed management, biological pest control, or a combination of both methods. This type of control system is called Integrated Pest Management.

Integrated Pest Management is a way of controlling pests that uses information about a particular pest in order to choose methods of control that are safe and effective. You can use it in various settings, including the home, rights of way, field crops, landscapes that include woody ornamentals and shade trees, and different wooden structures.

The first step in adopting any pest management system is to correctly identify the pest, weed, or disease that is causing the problem. Incorrect pest identification would lead to unsuitable solutions to pest problems.

In some cases, you also need to be aware of any regulations in place with regard to certain pests. The spotted lanternfly, for example, is an invasive species. When it was found in Pennsylvania, a Spotted Lanternfly Order of Quarantine and Treatment was established to stop this pest’s movement to new areas. Any businesses operating in the quarantine zone must have permits to move equipment and goods within and out of the area.

Plenty of resources are available to help you identify, prevent, and control the most common and more unusual pests you might encounter in Pennsylvania.

Some of the most common pests include:

• Spiders: There are lots of things you can do to reduce the number of spiders, and precautions you can take to reduce the chance of being bitten.
• Paper Wasps and Yellow Jackets: For nests smaller than a grapefruit, it’s possible to use a ready-to-use insecticide with a pyrethrin or pyrethroid active ingredient.
• Eastern Subterranean Termites: You can find these throughout Pennsylvania and they can cause considerable damage to the structural timbers in buildings.
• Mosquitoes: More than 60 species of mosquitoes can be found in Pennsylvania, two of which – the yellow fever mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito – are considered invasive species.
• Cockroaches: You can prevent problems with cockroaches by removing what they need to survive: food, water, and shelter.
• Stinkbugs: This insect was accidentally introduced into Pennsylvania in the late 1990s. They’re not known to cause harm to humans, but you may find it distressing to find a large number of them flying around in your home.

Teaching Youth About Pest Control and Pesticides

It’s possible to reduce the impact of pesticides on young people by educating them and their families about pests, such as bed bugs and how we can control them through Integrated Pest Management.

They should be able to recognize the symptoms of pesticide poisoning and know how to respond. Managers and staff of educational establishments, such as childcare centers, should also be able to recognize when there might be an issue with pests.