University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Urban insect pests: sustainable management strategies -- Bedbug management -- Emerging technologies for urban mosquito management -- Filth fly management in urban environments -- Sustainable cockroach management using insecticidal baits, formulations, behavioral responses and issues -- Fleas and flea management by -- Products and strategies for nuisance urban ant management -- Management strategies for subterranean termites -- Management of drywood termites: past practices, present situation, and future prospects -- Urban timber pest beetles: risks and management -- Molecular ecology meets urban entomology: how molecular biology is changing urban pest management -- Controlling hematophagous insects: the quality-of-life scenario -- Urban pest management: need for correct mixture of knowledge and practice -- Marketing integrated pest management as a value added service -- Plants with pest control properties against urban pests.

Urban insects, like any other insects, are resilient and successful organisms in the natural world. Lack of understanding of their bio-ecology often leaves them considered intruders in the urban environment. Their encounters with humans are mostly reported with alarm and distress, and their control procedures are designed to be one-sided, often leading to failure. Increasing reliance on chemicals to manage urban insects has diverted the subject away from the realms of natural science, resulting in the bulk of the industry evolving around products. The pest control industry sustains itself on eliminating pest infestation from homes and buildings, but most pest control actions don't address possibilities of future infestations and leave gaps for easy re-infestation. This book brings together experts on the subject to discuss the importance of new technologies, improved designs, modification of environments and public awareness in reducing pest infestation sustainably. A companion to Urban Pest Management, it discusses control strategies that look beyond products, as from an environmental and health perspective it is not always practical to spray chemicals indoors or in urban settings. Reviewing best practice methods for managing insects that are vectors of disease, nuisance pests and the cause of structural damage, this book is a valuable resource for pest control specialists and researchers in entomology, urban pest control and environmental health. -- from back cover.