A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environment for their own purposes and are intolerant of other creatures occupying the same space when their activities impact adversely on human objectives. Thus, an elephant is unobjectionable in its natural habitat but a pest when it tramples crops.
Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; such as any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range from tolerance, through deterrence and management, to attempts to completely eradicate the pest. Pest control measures may be performed as part of an integrated pest management strategy.
Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,800 species described.
The drugstore beetle, also known as the bread beetle, biscuit beetle, and misnamed as the biscuit weevil, is a tiny, brown beetle. It can be found infesting a wide variety of dried plant products, where it is among the most common non-weevils to be found. It is the only living member of the genus Stegobium. It belongs to the family Ptinidae, which also includes the deathwatch beetle and furniture beetle. A notable characteristic of this species is the symbiotic relationship the beetles have with the yeast they carry, which are transmitted from female to larvae through the oviduct.
The varied carpet beetle is a 3 mm-long beetle belonging to the family Dermestidae, positioned in subgenus Nathrenus. They are a common species, often considered a pest of domestic houses and, particularly, natural history museums, where the larvae may damage natural fibers and can damage carpets, furniture, clothing, and insect collections. A. verbasci was also the first insect to be shown to have an annual behavioral rhythm and to date remains a classic example of circannual cycles in animals.
Oecophylla smaragdina is a species of arboreal ant found in tropical Asia and Australia. These ants form colonies with multiple nests in trees, each nest being made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by the ant larvae: hence the name 'oecophylla' [Greek for 'leaf-house'].
The khapra beetle, also called cabinet beetle, which originated in South Asia, is one of the world's most destructive pests of grain products and seeds. It is considered one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world. Infestations are difficult to control because of the insect's ability to survive without food for long periods, its preference for dry conditions and low-moisture food, and its resistance to many insecticides. There is a federal quarantine restricting the importation of rice into the U.S. from countries with known infestations of the beetle. Khapra beetle infestation can spoil otherwise valuable trade goods and threaten significant economic losses if introduced to a new area. Handling or consuming contaminated grain and seed products can lead to health issues such as skin irritation and gastrointestinal distress.
Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences.
Cryptophagus is a genus of beetles in the family Cryptophagidae, the silken fungus beetles. It is distributed across all the biogeographic realms of the world. Like most of the other beetles in the family, these are fungivores, feeding on fungal spores and hyphae.
Oryzaephilus surinamensis, the sawtoothed grain beetle, is a beetle in the superfamily Cucujoidea. It is a common, worldwide pest of grain and grain products as well as chocolate, drugs, and tobacco. The species' binomial name, meaning "rice-lover from Suriname," was coined by Carl Linnaeus, who received specimens of the beetle from Surinam. It is also known as the malt beetle and may be referenced in the poem This Is The House That Jack Built in the line "....the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built" the malt referenced may not be actual malted grain but a sawtoothed grain beetle.
The Acaridae are a family of mites in order Sarcoptiformes.
Astigmatina is a clade of mites in the order Sarcoptiformes. Astigmata has been ranked as an order or suborder in the past, but was lowered to the unranked clade Astigmatina of the clade Desmonomatides in the order. Astigmatina is now made up of the two groups Acaridia and Psoroptidia, which have been suborders of the order Astigmata in the past. Astigmatina contains about 10 superfamilies and 76 families under Acaridia and Psoroptidia.
Home-stored product entomology is the study of insects that infest foodstuffs stored in the home. It deals with the prevention, detection and eradication of pests.
The red flour beetle is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. The red flour beetle, and other closely related beetles like Gnatocerus cornutus, are a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and a model organism for ethological and food safety research.
The destructive or dark flour beetle, is one of the species of darkling beetle known generally as flour beetles. It is a common pest insect known for attacking and infesting stored flour and grain.
Ptinus fur, the white marked spider beetle, is a species of spider beetle in the genus Ptinus, with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution.
Anthrenocerus australis is a species of beetle belonging to the Dermestidae family. It is commonly known as the Australian carpet beetle and is one of the most researched of the thirty-one species in the Anthrenocerus genus. This is generally attributed to its prevalence throughout Australia and New Zealand and the negative economic and agricultural impact it has as a pest. It is the larvae that causes damage to products, not the adult beetle. The total life cycle of this insect is around three years, most of which is spent as a larva. Once the beetle reaches maturity, it only lives for between two and six weeks.
Anthrenus flavipes is a species of beetle in the family Dermestidae known by the common name furniture carpet beetle. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring throughout the world, being most active in warmer climates. It is a pest that damages household materials such as textiles.
Integrated pest management in museums, libraries, archives and private collections is the practice of monitoring and managing pest and environmental information with pest control methods to prevent pest damage to collections and cultural property. Preserving cultural property is the ultimate goal for these institutions. The pests come in many different forms: insects, mites, rodents, bats, birds, and fungi and the two most common types are insects and fungi. It is widely recommended that every museum have some form of pest control in place and monitoring system to protect their collection and that museums review their storage and museum facilities to determine how to best control and prevent pest infestations while utilizing an Integrated Pest Management plan.
Dermestes ater is a species of beetle in the family Dermestidae, the skin beetles. It is known commonly as the black larder beetle or incinerator beetle. It is native to North America, but today it is found nearly worldwide. Like several other dermestid beetles, this species is a common pest of stored products.
