Protecting an agricultural property takes more effort than it does to protect a backyard. On Southwest Michigan farms and orchards, that means controlling the mosquitoes and ticks that bother workers and visitors while holding down the perimeter pests around barns and farmhouses, all across acreage far larger than a backyard.
Anyone running a fruit operation in this corner of Michigan knows pests are more than a nuisance. They are a line item, an expense, and something your accountant can see. The same conditions that make apple orchards and vineyards, cherries and berries happy also help pests live their best lives.
Orchards, U-pick operations, wineries, and farm stands put workers and customers outdoors for hours. So that means mosquitoes and ticks are not just a comfort problem, but a health one. You don't want laborers to fall ill or even become less productive, and you don't want to drive off agritourism guests.
Then there are the structures. Barns, equipment sheds, packing buildings, and the farmhouse all draw their own pests. Rodents move into outbuildings for the grain and shelter. Wasps nest in eaves and rafters. Overwintering insects pack into walls as the weather cools. Perimeter plans discourage pests from moving into the structures in the first place.
What makes farms and orchards harder to control, when it comes to pests, is acreage. Sprawling property has far more standing water, dense vegetation, and wooded edges than a residential lot, which means far more places for pests to breed. Drainage ditches, irrigation ponds, low field corners, and the woodlots bordering many farms all feed the population. Controlling properties like these means taking a zoned approach, and one that prioritizes the high-traffic and the high-risk first.
As for the crops themselves, property pest control for mosquitoes, ticks, and structural pests is separate from crop-protection chemistry that manages fruit pests like spotted wing drosophila or stink bugs. But the two run alongside each other. One keeps the operation’s people and buildings livable, the other guards the harvest.
If you're tired of pests giving you trouble on your orchard or farm, Mosquito Squad of Southwest and South Central Michigan can help. In addition to providing pest control for residences, Mosquito Squad also offers commercial and large-property services that help control mosquitoes, ticks, and perimeter pests across your acreage, with up to 90% reduction in mosquito activity maintained on a recurring 21-day cycle by trained technicians.
