Define "sanitation" in the context of pest management.

In the context of pest management, sanitation refers to the practice of maintaining cleanliness to minimize pest attraction. This involves implementing good hygiene practices in and around a structure to reduce the presence of food, water, and shelter that pests need to thrive. Proper sanitation can include regular cleaning, proper waste disposal, and maintaining the landscape to eliminate potential pest habitats. By addressing conditions that may attract pests, effective sanitation helps prevent infestations before they occur, making it a crucial component of an integrated pest management strategy.

Pest removal alone, continuous pesticide application, or disrupting natural predator populations does not address the underlying environmental conditions that facilitate pest presence, which sanitation effectively mitigates.