Physical Methods

Physical methods include a wide range of options from screens to traps. Physical methods are primarily focused on restricting the movement or harbourage of pests.

These methods are regularly used for the management of possums, rats and birds. However, almost every pest management situation can exploit physical control methods.

The possible physical methods of pest management are only limited by the technician's imagination and the situation involved.

Physical methods were the most widely used techniques prior to the advent of chemical control. In the centuries prior to our own, and even in the early part of this century, physical methods were very successfully implemented to restrict pest populations.

Physical methods can range from very large scale such as the Dingo Fence that stretches thousands of kilometres through central Australia, to fly screens in homes, to sealing cracks in tiles in a restaurant kitchen.

The technician's policy should be to implement all economically viable physical methods for a particular pest situation. Physical methods of pest management are usually efficient, low maintenance and very cost-effective.

Traps for the management of large vertebrate pests such as birds and rodents are widely used. However, a growing range of traps are now being used to trap insect pests.

There are two critical factors which determine the degree of success of any trapping program: Traps should be located in areas easily accessible to the pest, ideally close to pest's harbourages. Gone are the days when a piece of cheese or a pumpkin seed was the attractant of choice. There continues to be a rapid development of sophisticated baits specifically designed for each pest, and these are often species specific. The development of pheromone attractants, widely used in agriculture, for the urban control industry has exciting prospects.

A thorough knowledge of the pest's biology and habit, together with a detailed assessment of the treatment situation will clearly identify opportunities where physical methods can be implemented. The opportunities for the use of physical methods are extensive and very profitable.