The History of Pest Control

The application of pest control ranges from do-it-yourself arrangements to
scientific and very precise deployment of chemicals and predatory insects by
highly skilled practitioners. Despite the fact that pest control is a world-wide
industry it really is still dominated by family or 1-person businesses. The ones that need
to control pests range between householders to
large scale agri-conglomerates who need to maximise their yield. Among
both of these are restaurants, bars, food production facilities, farmers - in fact,
anybody that routinely deals with food. Pest control can make us more
comfortable - but can also save lives.

The word pest is subjective as one man's pest may be another man's
helper. For example, pest A can be a threat to crop A, and  pest  B a threat to
crop B. However, if pest B is a natural predator to pest A, then your farmer who
wishes to safeguard crop A may cultivate and release pest B amongst his crops.
There is a theory that without man's intervention in the food chain through
agriculture, hunting and long distance travel there will be no pests. The
theory continues that man's intervention (for instance, in cultivating and
releasing pest B, or in carrying creatures long distances) has upset the balance
of the food chain, producing instability in insect along with other animal numbers and
distorting their evolution. This instability has resulted in over-population of a
given
species with the result they have become pests. Having said this, if we assume that the 1st fly swat was the initial
instance of pest control - and we know that large animals swat flies - it may be
argued that pest control dates back way before humans came on the scene.

The initial recorded instance of pest control takes us back to 2500BC once the Sumerians
used sulphur to regulate insects. Then around 1200BC the Chinese, within their great
age of discovery towards the end of the Shang Dynasty, were utilizing chemicals to
control insects. The Chinese continued to develop ever more sophisticated
chemicals and ways of controlling insects for crops and for people's comfort.
Without doubt the spread of pest control know-how was helped by the advanced state of
Chinese writing ability. Although progress in pest control methods undoubtedly
continued, another significant scrap of evidence will not come until around
750BC when Homer described the Greek usage of wood ash spread on land as a kind of
pest control.

Around 500BC the Chinese were using mercury and arsenic compounds as a way
to control body lice, a standard problem throughout history. In 440BC the Ancient
Egyptian's used fishing nets to cover their beds or their homes during the night as a
protection from mosquitoes

From 300BC
there is proof the use of usage of predatory insects to control pests,
although this technique was probably developed before this date. The Romans
developed pest control methods and these ideas were spread throughout the
empire. In
200BC, Roman censor Cato encouraged the use of oils as a way of pest control
and in 70AD Pliny the Elder wrote that galbanum resin (from the fennel plant)
should be put into sulphur in order to discourage mosquitoes. In  pets  recorded rat-proof grain store was built by the Romans.

The initial known instance where predatory insects were transported from one area to another originates from Arabia around 1000AD where date growers moved cultures of ants from neighboring mountains to their oasis plantations in order
to victimize phytophagous ants which attacked date palm.

Despite the enlightenment provided by the ancient Chinese, Arabs and Romans,
many of their teachings did not pass down though time. Certainly in Europe
during the dark ages, methods of pest control were in the same way likely to be based on
superstition and local spiritual rituals as any proven method. Pests were often
seen as workers of evil - especially those that ruined food, crops or livestock.
Although there were undoubtedly studies of pests during the dark ages, we usually do not
have any recorded proof this.

It is not before European renaissance when more proof pest control
emerges. In 1758 the fantastic Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus
catalogued and named many pests.  http://general122.water-damagesolution.com/signs-you-will-need-professional-pest-control-services/  were (and remain) the root and
source of future study into pests (as well as plants and animals generally). At
once, the agricultural revolution began in Europe and heralded a far more widespread application of pest control. With the task of Linnaeus along with other
scholars and the commercial needs to ensure crops and livestock were protected,
pest control became more systemized and spread across the world. As global
trade increased, new pesticides were discovered.

At this point pest control was completed by farmers plus some householders
as an everyday activity. By the first nineteenth century however, this changed
as studies and writings started to appear that treated pest control as a
separate discipline. Increasing usage of intensive and large scale farming brought
matching increases in the intensity and scale of pest scares including the
disastrous potato famine in Ireland in 1840. Pest control management was scaled
around meet these demands, to the point that dedicated pest controllers began to
emerge throughout the 20th century.

In 1921 the initial crop-spraying aeroplane was employed and in 1962 flying insect control was revolutionized when Insect-o-cutor started selling fly killer
machines using ultra violet lamps.

Pest control is still carried out by farmers and householders even today.
Additionally, there are pest control specialists (sometimes called pesties); many
are one-person businesses among others work with large companies. Generally in most countries
the pest control industry has been dogged by a few bad practitioners who have
tarnished the reputation for the highly professional and responsible majority.

One thing is for several, from way before the Sumerians of 2500BC to us in modern times, there have always been - and probably always will be - pests (including some human ones!). Thank goodness, therefore, that we have pest controllers.