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What are the Key Benefits of Smart Pest Management?

Pest control is a vital aspect of maintaining a safe, healthy, and productive environment for any business, especially those that deal with food, hospitality, health care, or education. However, traditional methods of pest control such as traps, baits, and poisons have several limitations and drawbacks. They can be:

  • Ineffective: they may not capture or kill all the pests, especially rodents, that can hide and breed in hard-to-reach places.
  • Reactive: they may only detect pests after they have already caused damage or contamination to the premises, equipment, or products.
  • Hazardous: they may pose risks to human health and safety, as well as to the environment, by using toxic chemicals or creating waste.
  • Costly: they may require frequent inspections, maintenance, and replacement, as well as additional cleaning and repair costs.

Fortunately, there is a better way to deal with pests: smart pest management. Smart pest management is a modern, innovative and environmentally friendly approach that uses digital technology to monitor, prevent, and control pest activity.

Smart pest management can be:

  • Effective: using sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence to detect and identify pests as well as to trigger traps or alerts, in real-time and with high accuracy.
  • Proactive: providing constant and comprehensive surveillance of the premises, as well as data analysis and reporting, to help identify and address the root causes of pest infestation, such as hygiene, sanitation, or structural issues.
  • Safe: employing non-toxic or minimal-toxic methods to eliminate pests whilst protecting both human health & safety and the environment, by reducing the use of chemicals or waste.
  • Cost-efficient: reducing the need for frequent inspections, maintenance and replacement, as well as the risk of damage or contamination, by providing early detection and intervention teamed with remote access and control.

PestSense Predictor 10 weighing bait station in snap trap mode:

Smart pest management is not only a technological solution but also a strategic one. It is aligned with the principles of integrated pest management (IPM), which aims to reduce:

  • pest-induced crop and other losses
  • the impact on the wider ecosystem &
  • greenhouse gas emissions (per unit of food produced)

IPM can also make agricultural systems more resilient to climate change impacts and involves:

  • Assessing the pest situation and the potential risks and benefits of different control options.
  • Implementing a combination of preventive, cultural, physical, biological, and chemical methods to manage pests, with a preference for the least harmful and most sustainable ones.
  • Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness and impact of pest management actions and adjusting them as needed.

Smart pest management can help optimize the implementation of IPM by providing accurate and timely information, feedback, and guidance on the pest situation and the best control options. It can also help reduce the reliance on chemical methods and increase the use of preventive, cultural, physical, and biological methods, which are more compatible with IPM principles.

This is not only a current solution, but also a future one. Smart pest management is part of the broader trend of digital transformation and innovation that is reshaping various industries and sectors, including agriculture, food, health, and education. Smart pest management can offer several benefits and opportunities for businesses, such as:

  • Enhancing the quality and safety of the products and services, and so by extension the reputation and trust of the customers and stakeholders.
  • Improving the efficiency and productivity of the operations and processes, as well as the profitability and competitiveness of the business
  • Supporting compliance and accountability to the regulations and standards, together with the sustainability and corporate social responsibility credentials of the business.

Smart pest management is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but a customizable and adaptable one. It can cater to the specific needs and preferences of different businesses, depending on their size, location, sector, and goals. It can also evolve and improve over time, as new technologies and innovations emerge and become available.

 

Sam Donley is CEO of PestSense

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