Integrated Pest Management

Integrated pest management (IPM) is an approach to pest control that uses regular monitoring and record-keeping to determine if and when treatments are needed. It employs a com- bination of strategies and practices to keep pest numbers low enough to prevent unacceptable annoyance or damage. IPM does not eliminate the use of chemical pesticides, but instead uses them only when needed.

 

There are many definitions of IPM; the Healthy Schools Act (Food and Agricultural Code section 13181) defines IPM as: “...a pest management strategy that focuses on long-term prevention or suppression of pest problems through a combination of techniques such as monitoring for pest presence and establishing treatment threshold levels, using non-chemical practices to make the habitat less conducive to pest development, improving sanitation, and employing mechanical and physical controls. Pesticides that pose the least possible hazard and are effective in a manner that minimizes risks to people, property and the environment, are used only after careful monitoring indicates that they are needed according to pre-established guidelines and treatment thresholds.”