What is a major disadvantage of using traps for pest control?

Traps for pest control are useful tools, but a significant drawback is that they may not capture all individuals of a pest population. This limitation is particularly important in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) because successful pest control often requires reducing pest numbers to a level where they do not cause economic or aesthetic damage. If traps are not able to capture every pest, those that remain may continue to reproduce and cause further issues.

Additionally, traps can be selective, sometimes catching only certain life stages of a pest, which means that even if some individuals are removed from the population, others may survive. This can lead to a situation where the pest population does not decline as needed or may even rebound if a significant portion of the population remains untrapped.

Understanding this aspect of traps is crucial in IPM strategies, where a combination of methods is often employed to ensure effective control of pest populations. This underscores the importance of integrating trapping with other management tactics to achieve better outcomes.