As much as 40% of the food grown for human consumption is ruined by pests.

There are other conditions on farms that can help the pest population to increase. Farmers often uproot hedgerows to make more area for growing crops and to make it easier for the manoeuvre of large pieces of machinery. Hedges provide the ideal habitats for predators and without them, they are unable to survive or reach areas in the centre of large fields where pests are inhabitants.

Another form of pest control is now being used which does not involve the use of harmful pesticides. It is known as biological control. It is a way of interfering with a pest’s ecological status. There are companies that package the larvae of useful predators in to sachets, which can be left amongst plants. The predators can then make their habitats, using the pests as their main food source. This form of pest control is eco-friendly but does have its disadvantages.  It can take along time (up to 18 months) for the pest to bought under control and then the pests are not totally eliminated. Also if the correct predator is not used there can be catastrophic results whereby the once useful predator becomes a pest itself. It takes a lot of research for an ideal predator, which must be specific to the pest. Other complications apply if a predator needs to be brought in from abroad, i.e. quarantine.

There are pests that have no natural predators and are resistant to pesticides, such as the locust. A way of killing these types of pests is to put a disease in to the population. This is an expensive method of pest control, but it can help pest control national as the disease is spread. To prevent any other species being killed by the disease, it must be specific to the pest. A problem with spreading disease in to the pest population is that once a disease has been introduced to a natural environment, it is impossible to take it out of the environment if necessary.

Screwworm flies are flesh-eating insects that lay their eggs in to the wounds of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The larvae then feed on the flesh, which can then get infected, causing the animal to die. These pests have caused havoc in pastoral farms in tropical countries such as Indonesia. They are resistant to pesticides, have no known predators and have a life cycle that allows them to breed incredibly quickly. However, a solution to the problem of the screwworm fly has been found. There is a factory that breed screwworm fly in cages. The larvae are collected are collected at a very specific stage in their life cycle and are subjected to a source of gamma radiation. This makes them sterile. The infertile larvae are then put amongst the population. This stops them from breeding so they will eventually die out. This is an expensive procedure but it is very effective.

A simple solution to the problem of pest control would be for farmers to stop using chemical pesticides. However many are reluctant to do so, usually due to ignorance.