Pests and other organisms threaten crops and livestock, creating havoc for many people. They have imperilled civilization throughout history, which necessitated the use of chemicals for pest control. It also caused the need for awareness of their environmental impacts. This resulted in an evolution towards a more integrated pest management approach. It includes the use of pesticides. The diseases of crops that are spread by pests have made a very negative impact on society. It is essential to manage them with chemicals as it shows the importance of pest management systems in the community.
Significant Pests in History
Plague
This is undoubtedly the most devastating disease in human History. The disease is caused by the bacteria transmitted between animals and humans by getting in touch with infected fleas. This deadly disease killed about 1/3 of the European population in the early 14th century. It was the time when flea-infested rats inhabited human homes and places of work. This disease had a huge impact on the course of European History, and today science has proven the actual cause of this disease; however, the fear of a suspected plague outbreak continues to come true.
Various types of antibiotics are effective against plague. However, if it is not diagnosed and appropriately treated, the disease might cause illness or death. People infected with the bacteria often develop various disease symptoms within one to seven days. Pneumonic and bubonic are the two types of plague infections. The first one is fatal if left untreated, and the bubonic type has a case-fatality ratio of 30% to 60%.
Potato Blight
It is the most devastating plant disease in history. Several epidemics of late blight destroyed the potato crops in Europe. It leads to mass starvation. From 1845 to 1847, the Great Irish Potato Famine came, where up to one million people died from losing their staple food crop. Many people also emigrated from the rest of the places in the U.S. and Europe to prevent starvation. Potato blight is a disease caused by fungus-like microorganisms, a specialized pathogen of potato, tomato and other members of the plant family of their genre. Late blight is a significant pest of potatoes. However, the disease is managed by proper sanitation practices and fungicides.
These fungicides are effective and have not resulted in pathogen resistance even after many years of use. They also coat the leaves to prevent infection. To date, the late blight pathogen is a significant pathogen that chemical companies target in their search for new fungicides.
Downy Mildew of Grapes
It is a common and severe disease of grapes that is also responsible for the introduction of widely used fungicides. Reductions in the vine growth, yield and fruit quality are the symptoms of grape downy Mildew. Only 3% of the fruit infection can affect the vine quality. One can also see the appearance of the fungus as tiny red dots on the upper surface of the leaves, which later leads to the white/grey patches of the fungal growth on the leaves. The infection is a little sparser on young leaves. The most obvious symptom of the development of this disease is a grey layer when viewed from a distance.
Many people use Pest Control Geelong, a domestic and commercial pest management company in Geelong, and they provide pest infections for termites, mosquitoes and various other kinds of pests at affordable prices.
Grape Phylloxera
This is a serious insect pest of commercial grape production worldwide. A tiny insect form galls on leaves and the roots of grapevines. This is the insect which is believed to have originated in the U.S. The damage symptoms left behind are premature defoliation, reduced shield growth and quality of the crop. However, significant damage is caused by the insect due to root infestation.
Malaria and Yellow fever
Mosquitoes are the insects responsible for the most common and deadly parasites in the world. Malaria is a very ancient disease. Failure of drugs, malnutrition and environmental disturbance has conspired to make Malaria a severe problem today. About 300 to 500 million cases of this ailment are likely to crop up yearly. It could affect 6% to 9% of the world population. The people infected with the malaria parasite experience chills, fever and flu-like symptoms. Many people may also develop severe complications and eventually die. One to 3% of the affected people will ultimately die, and the disease normally lasts 10 to 20 days for those who survive. Malaria is a disease that causes widespread illness and death. This disease is a great drain on the economy of many countries.
There was construction going on on the 48-mile Panama Canal and it was plagued by problems including mosquito-borne diseases such as Malaria and yellow fever. More than 27,500 workers died during the construction of this canal.
Typhoid Fever
This is the illness caused by a bacteria that is transmitted by flies which feed on faeces and then they pry on food that is being prepared for consumption. This disease is most often transmitted through several poor hygiene habits and poor public sanitation conditions. The most important component of controlling the spread of typhoid fever is public education campaigns that encourage individuals to wash their hands after going to the toilet. According to a survey by a famous health care organization, approximately 5% of the people who contract typhoid fever also continue to carry this disease even after they recover.
Typhoid Mary was the confirmed source of the fifty cases of the disease.
Pest Control in History
It is a no-brainer that pest control has been extremely vital to the health and longevity of human existence. The records of natural pest control date back to 2500 BC. It is thousands of years after the beginning of agriculture. As the times advanced, experimentation led to the discovery of other chemicals. The early insecticides were plant-derived. They also included nicotine to control aphids and hellebore to control the body lice.
Significant success with various measures also coupled with low costs caused pesticides to become the primary source of pest control. There were some modifications in the new pesticides and they provided crop protection against pests. The use of fungicides also became very important. Insecticide aerosol sprays for the control of the household and indoor pests such as cockroaches and ants entered the market. These are practically found in every household. The newfound success of pest control in the field of agriculture and public health encouraged widespread acceptance, and eventually, people started relying upon them.
Pesticides control several types of waterborne diseases and virus transmission and they also help to protect the storage and conserve the yield. They also safeguard human health by stopping food crops from being contaminated by fungi. Many people started relying on pesticides for protecting their crops. They also started getting pest control done in their homes.
