All farming businesses consider pests as the natural enemies in their line of profession. Crops, food, and livestock often fall prey to pests, which tends to leave enough damage to cripple the livelihood of farmers. If left unchecked, pests can lay waste on entire farm fields.
The Most Common Pests
If you plan to create your own farming business, you need to familiarize yourself with the most common pests. As the owner of the field, you must also know the methods in making sure that your crops remain protected from annoying visitors. Here are the most common field pests you need to control:
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Locusts
Start worrying about your crops if you find locusts in your field, as these insects can significantly damage plants. They usually arrive in swarms, which is a big problem for farmers. Due to their immense number, a plague of locusts is capable of reducing 90% of a healthy crop field within hours. Locusts love to target vegetables because they mostly eat leaves. Over one in 10 farmers of the world suffer the loss of livelihood due to invading locusts.
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Rodents
The typical household pest is also capable of wreaking havoc on farms. When rats find a way to infiltrate crop fields, they can cause significant damage over a wide area. Rats can breed at a fast rate as the female can give birth to more than 30 rats in a single breeding season. These pests are not picky with what they eat, which means that all types of farms are at risk.
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Bugs
There are over 70,000 types of bugs, and most of them can end damage crops on a significant level. Aphids, caterpillars, beetles, stem borers, and weevils can cause a lot of problems for farmers in different ways. Bugs are common pests that are difficult to find in a field because of their small size. Farmers will only find bugs when they see the damages they leave on crops and plants.
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Parasites
Parasites pose a different problem for farmers. Parasites breed themselves within the plants, which causes a stunt in plant growth or harvesting. They place their eggs in the plant roots, which is their primary food source. Nematodes, the most common parasite in crops, can infect and damage roots to the point when it can no longer store water for the plant’s nutrition.
How to Control Pests
Pests will be a problem for farmers as long as they have healthy crops to feed on. However, farmers can find ways to minimize pest threats. Plants can manage small damages from pests, which means that farmers need only prevent them from taking over the farm. Here are the ways a farmer can control pests:
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Mechanical Barriers
Barriers like fences and greenhouses can protect plants and crops from outside threats like rodents and locusts. Farmers can also use insect traps, vacuums, and water pressure sprays to prevent pests from staying on crops long enough to damage them. Farmers need to keep their field in maximum supervision for mechanical barriers to work.
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Pesticide Sprays
Pesticides have chemical components that can destroy pests like bugs, fungi, and weeds. These also help extend the lifespan of crops. For efficient use of pesticide, farmers need to apply it on plants using spray equipment. You need to find the best 12-volt sprayer for sale to ensure that you will have no problems with pests.
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Organic Pest Control
Farmers usually worry about their crops when they use chemical pesticides, which is why they switch to organic. Natural methods only target pests and avoid harming plants. Biodegradable poisons like sodium fluoroacetate can eradicate pests. Organic products are also cheaper options compared to chemical pesticides.
Pests will always be present in crops. However, farmers can protect their livelihood by controlling the damage their fields can take.
