曾逸

Pest control has been a major issue for many decades. And the industry has seen many evolutions and modifications over the years as it has sought out newer ways to ensure that pests are controlled and properly managed.

The main objective of the research and implementation of new pest control strategies is to reduce the impact that pests have on the environment and host creatures.

Looking forward to how pest control will have evolved in the coming years， the average farmer and pet owner can anticipate a better life because of the new methods that are being developed. More so， the newer methods are even more cost-effective than the systems currently being used.

Here are some of the newer methods being implemented in the management and prevention of pests：

Monitoring devices

Among the monitoring devices being implemented is a tool known as PestWatch; which is a GIS pest database that helps farmers monitor the kind of pests that are common in their locality.

Farmers who will participate in this exercise set pheromone traps that are designed to attract all kind of pests and their population over a period of time. With this database， all the farmers in the program are able to upload the data they have which will then be uploaded on an interactive map and made available for preventive measures.

Not only is the GIS technology useful to the farmer， it is equally important to building professionals and homeowners who can now have information about pests that are common in a particular location so that they can include a pest control plan to manage and mitigate pest issues on their facilities.

Fertility control method

Away from the traditional methods， pest control experts are now able to control particular insects through fertility control methods. These methods involve using the insects biology to disrupt its normal life cycle. Insect hormones are replicated and growth is regulated so that the pests are unable to reach full maturity as this method destroys reproductive abilities and further prevents an infestation from occurring.

Genetic modifications

Break out of new diseases like Zika Virus has kept the United States on its toes1 as it keeps spreading within the southern hemisphere into the north. There are now new technologies being developed to fight diseases that are being carried by mosquitoes.

Oxitec， a science research company， has introduced male mosquitoes that have been genetically modified so that whenever they mate with the wild female mosquitoes， the offspring die before maturity. According to the research company， unlike the mosquito control methods currently being used， this method is quite effective and is better aimed at dealing with these insects. But not everyone thinks its okay to have mosquitoes that have been genetically modified in the communities. In fact， FDA approved this method somewhere in Florida and was met with loud opposition. The process had to be slowed down and its use is now being considered and modified.

Another study has also been carried out on flies where scientists were able to remove a gene in flies that could be useful in how infestations are being carried out. These scientists from the University of Hawaii were able to remove the genes from adult flies and observe a 50% decrease in the lifespan of the flies. The flies began to stick to surfaces and couldnt break free. This lack of freedom， on its own， is good news for the pest control industry.

Bedbug infestation control methods

Some University of California researchers have observed patterns in the way bedbugs shed their skin that could be useful information on how to control these pests. According to the researchers， the bedbugs they observed were often found close to the areas where the bugs had previously shed their skin.

They believe that these findings will be instrumental in developing monitoring devices in the future that will be useful in preventing infestations before they occur.

Although this technology and the research is still being subjected to further testing and development， one cannot but notice how potent the technology is and the fact that it will be a “thing” in the near future. Commercial property owners will find this intriguing as it appears to be a way out for them on pest control.

Introducing CO2

Theres a new pest control technology that has been approved by Environmental Protection Agency （EPA）， which involves using CO2. Traditionally， as a way to deal with pests， pest control experts fumigate pest infested areas with toxic chemicals from time to time. While this method is effective in managing the pests， it costs a great deal. And by being costly we dont mean direct monetary value but the impact such chemicals have on the environment and even on human health.

Moreover， after a full fumigation exercise， because of your safety and the safety of your loved ones， if a fumigation company carries out a fumigation exercise in and around your home， it may take up to one whole week for the chemical to complete its job. So youd have to vacate the area and the area must be safe enough over that week for you to return to your home or farm.

It is for safety and comfort issues like this that CO2 was introduced as a more effective way to deal with pests. With CO2， home and farm owners can return to their homes and farms quicker and the method itself is even safer.

The only harm it seems to cause is to the pesky pests as it suffocates them without any contamination to the area.

Even though there are still many pest control outfits that are yet to come on board with this approach， this method is gaining widespread popularity across the country and will become very common in no distant time.

The future seems bright， for the most part， in the pest control industry as many technological innovations are being made for more effective， cheaper and safer control methods. Not only are these methods human-friendly， they are also modified to factor in environmental protection—a cause we all must fight for.

數(shù)十年來(lái)，蟲(chóng)害防治一直是一項(xiàng)要?jiǎng)?wù)。這些年，蟲(chóng)害防治業(yè)幾經(jīng)變化與調(diào)整，蟲(chóng)害防治及有效管控的方法不斷推陳出新。

研究蟲(chóng)害防治的新策略并予以實(shí)施，主要目的是減少害蟲(chóng)對(duì)環(huán)境和宿主的影響。

展望未來(lái)幾年蟲(chóng)害防治的發(fā)展前景，隨著新方法的出現(xiàn)，普通農(nóng)民和寵物主人有望過(guò)上更好的生活。新方法比現(xiàn)行防治體系在成本上更劃算。

以下就是一些投入實(shí)施的蟲(chóng)害防治新手段：

監(jiān)控裝置

投入使用的監(jiān)控裝置中有一款名為PestWatch的監(jiān)控工具，是地理信息系統(tǒng)（GIS）的一個(gè)害蟲(chóng)數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)，可幫助農(nóng)民監(jiān)控當(dāng)?shù)爻Ｒ?jiàn)的害蟲(chóng)。

愿意參與數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)建設(shè)的農(nóng)民放置好信息素誘捕器，誘捕器可以在一段時(shí)間內(nèi)吸引各種害蟲(chóng)種群。利用這一數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù)，參與的農(nóng)民用戶可以將自己收集到的數(shù)據(jù)上傳，這些數(shù)據(jù)隨后會(huì)被上傳到交互式地圖中，并用于制訂蟲(chóng)害預(yù)防措施。

GIS技術(shù)不僅對(duì)農(nóng)民大有用處，對(duì)于建筑專業(yè)人士和業(yè)主來(lái)說(shuō)同樣重要——他們可以掌握特定地方常見(jiàn)蟲(chóng)害的信息，這樣就能給出蟲(chóng)害防治方案，控制及減輕建筑設(shè)施的蟲(chóng)害問(wèn)題。

繁殖控制法

除傳統(tǒng)方法外，蟲(chóng)害防治專家如今還能通過(guò)繁殖控制法來(lái)防治特定蟲(chóng)害。繁殖控制法利用昆蟲(chóng)的生理習(xí)性來(lái)破壞其正常生命周期。該方法可以復(fù)制害蟲(chóng)激素，控制害蟲(chóng)生長(zhǎng)，由此破壞害蟲(chóng)的繁殖能力，使得害蟲(chóng)無(wú)法完全成熟，進(jìn)一步防止蟲(chóng)害的發(fā)生。

轉(zhuǎn)基因技術(shù)

寨卡病毒等新疫情暴發(fā)，令美國(guó)高度警惕，因疫情從南半球向北半球不斷擴(kuò)散。人們正在開(kāi)發(fā)新技術(shù)來(lái)應(yīng)對(duì)蚊蟲(chóng)傳播疾病。

科研公司Oxitec培育出了轉(zhuǎn)基因雄蚊，它們與野生雌蚊交配產(chǎn)生的后代在成年之前就會(huì)死亡。該公司稱，不同于目前使用的滅蚊方法，此種方式非常有效，且針對(duì)性更強(qiáng)。但是，并非人人都同意在社區(qū)中投放轉(zhuǎn)基因蚊蟲(chóng)。事實(shí)上，美國(guó)食品和藥物管理局已批準(zhǔn)在佛羅里達(dá)州某地投放轉(zhuǎn)基因蚊蟲(chóng)，但遭到了強(qiáng)烈反對(duì)。這項(xiàng)措施不得不延緩實(shí)施，目前尚在研究和完善中。

在另一項(xiàng)蒼蠅相關(guān)研究中，科學(xué)家能夠移除蒼蠅體內(nèi)可能與蟲(chóng)害傳播相關(guān)的基因。夏威夷大學(xué)的科學(xué)家已能從成年蒼蠅體內(nèi)移除相關(guān)基因，并觀察到其壽命縮短了50%。蒼蠅開(kāi)始停留在物體表面上無(wú)法飛離。僅是蒼蠅無(wú)法四處飛行這一點(diǎn)，對(duì)蟲(chóng)害防治行業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)就是個(gè)好消息。

臭蟲(chóng)蟲(chóng)害控制法

加利福尼亞大學(xué)的一些研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，臭蟲(chóng)蛻皮的方式可能對(duì)控制臭蟲(chóng)蟲(chóng)害有所幫助。根據(jù)研究人員的觀察，臭蟲(chóng)經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在其先前蛻皮的區(qū)域附近。

他們認(rèn)為，這些發(fā)現(xiàn)將有助于將來(lái)開(kāi)發(fā)監(jiān)控設(shè)備，在蟲(chóng)害發(fā)生前起到預(yù)防作用。

盡管這項(xiàng)技術(shù)及相關(guān)研究有待進(jìn)一步測(cè)試和開(kāi)發(fā)，但人們無(wú)不注意到這項(xiàng)技術(shù)的強(qiáng)大以及不久的將來(lái)它便能真正“成器”。商業(yè)地產(chǎn)擁有者會(huì)對(duì)此很感興趣，看來(lái)這是他們防治蟲(chóng)害的一條出路。

二氧化碳的引入

一種使用二氧化碳的新型蟲(chóng)害防治技術(shù)已獲得美國(guó)環(huán)境保護(hù)署的批準(zhǔn)。作為一種傳統(tǒng)的除蟲(chóng)方法，蟲(chóng)害防控專家不時(shí)會(huì)用有毒化學(xué)物質(zhì)對(duì)受害區(qū)域進(jìn)行熏蒸。盡管此種方法可有效控制害蟲(chóng)，但成本巨大。所謂“成本巨大”并非指直接的貨幣價(jià)值，而是這些化學(xué)物質(zhì)會(huì)破壞環(huán)境甚至危及人類健康。

此外，出于自身及家人安全考慮，如果熏蒸公司要對(duì)房屋內(nèi)外進(jìn)行熏蒸，那么一次全面熏蒸后，化學(xué)物質(zhì)自起效到揮發(fā)最多可能需要整整一周。因此，必須騰空熏蒸區(qū)域，并且要保證一周后該區(qū)域足夠安全，才能返回家中或農(nóng)場(chǎng)。

正是由于以上安全性和舒適性問(wèn)題，研究人員才引入二氧化碳作為更有效的除蟲(chóng)方式。采用二氧化碳除蟲(chóng)，房主和農(nóng)場(chǎng)主不但能更快回到家和農(nóng)場(chǎng)，這種方式本身也更安全。

二氧化碳除蟲(chóng)法似乎只對(duì)令人討厭的害蟲(chóng)造成傷害，會(huì)令害蟲(chóng)窒息而對(duì)受害區(qū)域沒(méi)有任何污染。

盡管如今二氧化碳除蟲(chóng)法尚未在蟲(chóng)害防治機(jī)構(gòu)中普及，但這種方法在全國(guó)各地廣受歡迎，不久的將來(lái)會(huì)非常普遍。

從很大程度上看，蟲(chóng)害防治行業(yè)的前途似乎一片光明：業(yè)內(nèi)正在進(jìn)行多項(xiàng)技術(shù)革新，以尋求更有效、更低廉及更安全的防治方法。這些方法不僅對(duì)人類有益，其改良還將考慮環(huán)保因素——保護(hù)環(huán)境是我們所有人的責(zé)任。? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? □

（譯者是“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)?單位：中南大學(xué)）