Final answer:
Careful and consistent attention to integrated pest management (IPM) and maintenance is key in controlling pests effectively and ecologically. The use of multiple pest control strategies within IPM, including natural predators and landscape diversity, can reduce the economic and environmental costs associated with heavy pesticide use.
Step-by-step explanation:
Pests can be easily controlled with careful and consistent attention to integrated pest management (IPM) and maintenance. IPM is a mix of farmer-driven, ecologically-based pest control practices that seek to reduce reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides. This approach involves managing pests rather than seeking to eradicate them, relying on non-chemical measures to keep pest populations low, and when necessary, selecting and applying pesticides in a way that minimizes adverse effects on beneficial organisms, humans, and the environment.
IPM also includes the use of pest resistant cultivars and interplanting strategies, such as cotton with wheat or maize. Additionally, employing natural predators and landscape diversity enhances the suppression of pests effectively. This strategy proves more economical and avoids the negative side effects of heavy pesticide use such as collateral damage to non-pest species, development of pest resistance, and risks to health.