Pest

A pest is any organism considered detrimental to human interests, including agriculture, health, and property. Pests may be animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, or viruses that interfere with human activities, damage crops, invade buildings, contaminate stored products, or spread disease.

Common pest groups include insects such as aphids and caterpillars, rodents like rats and mice, birds, weeds, and plant pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, and nematodes. Whether an organism is labeled a pest depends on context, population size, and the economic or health impact. Some species also provide beneficial ecosystem services, or act as natural enemies of other pests.

Pests cause economic losses through reduced yields and quality, increased control costs, and trade barriers. They can pose health risks by transmitting diseases or contaminating food and water. Control measures can have environmental consequences, particularly when broad-spectrum pesticides affect non-target species.

Management typically follows integrated pest management (IPM), which emphasizes monitoring, accurate identification, and thresholds before action. IPM combines preventive cultural practices, physical and mechanical controls, biological methods such as predators or pathogens, and chemical controls when necessary, with a focus on safety and resistance management.

Effective pest management depends on up-to-date knowledge, appropriate tools, and regulatory compliance for pesticides and invasive species control.