What Is IPM?
Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, controls pests using a variety of non-chemical and chemical means in a way that minimizes risk to people and the environment.
IPM is an ecological approach to pest management that emphasizes an understanding of pest biology and behavior. IPM is integrated because it uses a number of different tactics (sanitation, and mechanical, biological, and chemical controls) to reduce pests to acceptable levels.
IPM strategies reduce or eliminate
the conditions pests need to survive and reproduce, including water, food,
and living space.
• IPM uses monitoring techniques to quickly identify pest infestations,
before pest populations get out of hand.
• IPM resolves pest problems by eliminating pest access, removing
pest resources, or using carefully targeted, “least risk”
pesticide products.
• When IPM practitioners use pesticides, they apply them in a way
that maximizes their impact on pest populations while minimizing the risks
of human exposure.
IPM has been used to manage pests in agricultural crops worldwide for many decades. Advances in pest control technologies, combined with growing concern over the potential risks associated with pesticide exposure of humans (particularly children, the sick, and the elderly), have led to IPM programs for urban environments—both structures and landscapes.
The general concepts of urban IPM are the same, regardless of the specific environment.
| Example |
| A cockroach infestation in a large, industrial kitchen is managed in much the same way, regardless of whether that kitchen is part of a hospital, a school, or a restaurant. |
However, certain elements of IPM programs vary from one institution to another.
| Example |
| High school custodians might play an important role in a school IPM program by monitoring for pests throughout the school and communicating their findings to a professional pest control contractor, while a daycare center may lack the staff to conduct monitoring and may rely on the contractor to do so. |
Most of the differences between
one urban IPM program and another are due to:
• administrative
• staffing
• facilities management issues.
The design and implementation of IPM programs require the ability to analyze situations and good communication skills, in addition to knowledge about pests.