Every June 6 is World Pest Day or sometimes called World Pest Awareness Day. The day was created to raise awareness of how pest management helps preserve the quality of life for you and your loved ones.
World Pest Day was created to:
- Increase public, government, and media awareness of the important role pest management organization plays in protecting public health
- Project the professional image of the pest management industry
- Promote the use of professional pest management in a scientific and socially responsible way
- Call attention to the big threats caused by small pests.
It’s estimated 900-million insects types can be pests. They fall into four different categories based on body types:
- beetles
- flies
- moths and butterflies
- ants, bees, and wasps
People have been trying to get rid of pests for as far back as history can trace. Cave dwellers probably swatted mosquitoes or used smoke to ward off the bloodsuckers. As far back as 2500 BC, people used sulfur compounds to control mites and insects. In 1200 B.C., the Chinese deployed predatory ants against pests such as beetles and caterpillars.
One of the first publicly advertised pest control companies was the 1690 company H. Tiffin and Son Ltd. in London. The company promoted rat and bed bug control using methods and chemical compounds they invented. Their trademark was “Bug Destroyers to Her Majesty and the Royal Family.”
Rats are one of the hardest pests to control. Methods to control rats vary from chemicals, plant extracts, prayers, chants, terrier dogs, and music. Ratsbane was one of the first chemicals used. Barbers sold it in the Middle Ages. Then it became a popular item sold by street vendors.
Vermin exterminators eventually emigrated to the United States from about 1840 to 1930.
World Pest Day was initiated by the Chinese Pest Control Association, and co-sponsored by the Federation of Asian and Oceania Pest Managers’ Association, the National Pest Management Association, and the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations.
