This page contains a list of the terms used on this site, which might not be totally self explanatory. 

Over the years, I have found that almost every trade or occupation, has it's own jargon. In most cases, knowing that language will aid in understanding and performing almost any skill. This is a trip inside pest control jargon.

Pest control, pest prevention, Integrated Pest Management: Methods of dealing with bugs and weeds.

Pest control: A general term meaning the control of pests. Duh! Well, it goes a little further than that. A pest can be vegetative, like weeds or brush, or insect, rodent, animal, just about anything that bothers you. Control is the method used to manage your relationship with the pest.

Pest prevention: Preventing the pest is the single best means of controlling, or managing  the pest.

Vegetation control: The means of dealing with unwanted vegetation such as brush and weeds. It can be mechanical, as in mowing or cutting. It can be chemical, or it can be preventative.

Weed control: A type of vegetative pest control.

Weed prevention: The best type of vegetative pest control. 

Bug control: Control: insects, spiders, etc.

Bug Prevention: The best method of controlling bugs.

Environmentally friendly pest control: In general, this refers to pest control that does little or no damage to the environment. It can be achieved with organic or natural products, and can be best accomplished with prevention.

Ecological pest control: See environmentally friendly pest control.

Pest management: Managing pests, similar to control.

Integrated pest management: The use of all forms of pest management to choose the least troublesome, least toxic means of dealing with any type of pest, which is always, prevention! Traditional forms of integrated pest management have always fallen short in this area.

IPM: See Integrated Pest Management. 

It should be obvious by this point, that the language of pest control is confused. In many cases we have gotten lost, and are wandering around in the maze of controlling pests and managing pests, and can't seem to find our way back to preventing pests.

Integrated Pest Management has been a  mostly chemically based form of management. It should become a prevention based program.

If your home was unlocked, and unguarded, and petty thieves were constantly coming inside to steal your salt shakers, would it make more sense to shoot everyone in the neighborhood, (That is: Control) or to simply lock your doors? (That is: Prevention)

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