Answer :
Final answer:
The restaurant manager using rat traps is demonstrating mechanical control within the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) framework, which incorporates various strategies to minimize pest damage economically and ecologically.
Explanation:
The restaurant manager utilizing rat traps to capture pests behind the restaurant is demonstrating mechanical control, which is one of the methods used in Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM is a combination of common-sense practices designed to manage pest populations and reduce reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides. The use of rat traps is a non-chemical measure to keep pest populations low, aligning with the IPM approach of minimizing adverse effects on the environment and relying on pesticides only as a last resort.
IPM Methodologies Explained:
- Mechanical or Physical Control: This includes direct measures like traps, fences, hand-picking, weeding, and other physical methods to control pests.
- Chemical Control: The use of pesticides, which within IPM is regarded as a short-term corrective measure to be used when other methods are insufficient.
- Biological Control: Using natural predators, parasites, or diseases to control pest populations.
- Genetic Modification: The alteration of organisms' genetic material to resist pests, known as plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs).
Overall, the IPM strategy seeks to use the most ecologically based control measures and to employ pesticides minimally and carefully when necessary to avoid resistance, non-target impacts, and high costs.
