Pest control costs governments hundreds of millions of dollars every year around the world. This includes cost of mosquito nets, termite sprays, bug sprays, insecticides, mouse traps, rat glues, wires and fences to keep away larger animals. Pests are not only nuisance; they can cause a lot of harm to our health and properties. Germs and diseases spread by houseflies, mosquitoes, rats and mice kill thousands of people around the world every year. Furniture, walls, floors and roofs of homes are ruined by ants and termites. Crops in farms are stolen by marauding birds like sparrows, crows and parrots. Kitchens and garbage bins are raided by raccoons, foxes and monkeys, and are a threat to children and domestic livestock.
Some of the pests commonly found in Australia are ants, termites, rats, mice, foxes, opossums, rabbits, feral pigs and feral cats. Many of the pests did not exist in the continent and were brought either on purpose or came as stowaways on ships brought by European immigrants. These include foxes, rats, mice, feral cats, dingoes, rabbits and cane toads. These aliens quickly adapted to the Australian climate, and made niches for themselves. They are a constant threat to native flora and fauna, and also to human lives and properties. Despite many attempts at controlling them by the government, these pests continue to thrive.
Traditional techniques of pest control such as trapping, hunting, poisoning, burning and spraying poisonous insecticides have been unsuccessful in solving the problem. Past experiences have confirmed that using toxic insecticides is more damaging to humans, plants and the environment than to the insects. In the case of larger mammals, the anachronistic practices of trapping, hunting and poisoning are deemed savage and cruel from today's humanitarian point of view. Native animals including possums are protected by the law, and cannot be trapped, killed or removed.
There is a need for an integrated pest management system that is focused on a long-term solution to the problem to limit the damages caused by pests to lives and properties. This entails confining the pests to their home area, limiting their number by depriving them of food and shelter, killing them by employing non-toxic pesticides, and preventing the incursion of new pests. This necessitates improved pest control procedures and trained professionals. It also requires educating the public about pests, as a large number of people know very little about or have misconceptions about them. For example, many people are not aware mice spread diseases.
Pest control should not be a short-term project every time a pest infestation occurs, as this is usually the case, because they can quickly return. It should be a lasting approach that involves risk assessment, early recognition, monitoring of infested areas, targeting of particular pests, and preventing future occurrence. This is a job that requires trained professionals. When infestation is seen in a neighborhood, such as an alarming number of rats, it should be a shared effort rather than an individual effort. Local or municipal governments should also get involved when widespread infestation puts people's lives and properties at serious risk.