What do non-chemical control methods include?

Non-chemical control methods are integral to an integrated pest management strategy, focusing on managing pests without the use of chemical pesticides. This approach can reduce reliance on chemicals, mitigate environmental impacts, and promote sustainability.

Sanitation and trapping are fundamental to effective non-chemical control. Sanitation involves removing food sources, breeding sites, and habitats that attract pests, thereby minimizing their population. For example, keeping areas clean and eliminating standing water can significantly reduce mosquito breeding. Trapping can involve the use of various types of traps to monitor or reduce pest populations by capturing them, allowing for a more targeted and less harmful approach to management.

In contrast, options involving only chemical pesticides or methods that rely on burning and fumigation are not considered non-chemical control methods. Releasing natural predators is also a valid pest management strategy, but it is a separate category that involves biological control, which could sometimes be considered a chemical intervention depending on the context. Therefore, sanitation and trapping represent the core of non-chemical control methods, making this choice the most accurate representation of that category.