Why integrated pest management is important

LOGO: IPM SYMPOSIUM

Integrated pest management (IPM) has been around for decades. It was founded on the principles of insecticide resistance showing up in agronomic crops. Over time, it also has proven effective in structural pest management. However, it’s not easy to adopt and sustain when you have customers who can potentially get in the way of your efforts.

For example, when training school IPM coordinators in Texas, I learned early on that pest management is people management — and what is IPM but a way to control behavior?

The International IPM Symposium was founded in 1989 to address issues being seen across the country with resistance to many of the organophosphates (OPs) on the market. It was followed by another national meeting in 1991, where it was determined by the Federal and National IPM Coordinating Committees that these events should happen every three years.

In April 2006, I attended the fifth International IPM Symposium in St. Louis, Mo., and my mind was blown. My eyes were opened to all the possibilities IPM could offer school districts in Texas. Since then, I have served on the steering committee. This year, I am co-chair for the event slated to take place in San Diego, Calif., March 3-6, 2025.

The 11th International IPM Symposium will take place March 3-6, 2025, at Paradise Point in
San Diego, Calif. The resort hotel is on a 44-acre island in Mission Bay, minutes from downtown. (Photo: Shutterstock. com/Manuela Durson)

Over the years, I have met many people from all walks of life associated with IPM, and it has helped develop me into the person I am today. Still, I hear a lot of negative comments about IPM, including:

• It doesn’t work.
• It’s too hard to sell.
• The pest thresholds are absurd.

As the person who instructs Texas school districts about IPM, I can tell you that selling and implementing IPM is not as complicated as you might think. It’s all about attitude and perceptions.

The one thing all customers want is no “pests.” When we explain there is no silver bullet solution, we also can explain how IPM probably is the closest thing to it. Installing door sweeps keeps crawling pests out. Clutter breeds disaster, and yet most people don’t understand that.

Every time I deep clean the house, move furniture and vacuum up all the spiders and their dead friends, I call it IPM. When I’m consulted on tough pest problems, I always go back to proper insect identification: where, what and why is it here? Without this information, it’s harder to solve. Also, it can’t be done in short blocks of time.

While I have learned a lot along the way, one of the best places to share ideas, learn about new ones and be in on the conversation is to attend the 11th International IPM Symposium. We will focus on building sustainable community programs for structural and public health pest control.

We’ll explore how to work across agencies and communities to keep everyone pest-free.

Have you been wondering about all the changes in pesticide labels and what you should know? We will have panelists speaking on these topics.

Finally, if you want to learn more about dogs as a biological control for rodents, we will have two speakers on what you need to know before you start.

Learn more about the Symposium here. I look forward to seeing you in March.

<p>The post Why integrated pest management is important first appeared on Pest Management Professional.</p>

from Pest Management Professional https://www.mypmp.net/2025/01/10/why-integrated-pest-management-is-important/
Sacramento CA