As is normal, this Pre-quiz is meant to be a teaser, to see whether or not you have any beginning knowledge of the topic.

However, even if you aced the quiz I know that the next hour will offer you ideas that will be new for you, and hopefully will be put to use in your work in pest management. This is such a big topic, and one that could easily wander off in too many directions, that it is probably useful to define right up front just what our goals are with this lesson. We always hope that what you learn is useful in your day to day activities, so we want to: Identify the influences behind the use of IPM Define those kinds of accounts where reduced pesticide use is desirable Define the expectations the customer should have with an IPM-based program, and the role he or she might need to play in it Identify the benefits to a pest management program when using IPM Go step by step through the levels of IPM, with examples for many of our common pest problems Let's begin with the basics, and that is a general definition of just what IPM is and what its goals are. I will take the liberty of quoting from a publication from Purdue University's IPM Technical Resource Center, simply because it stated the information so well. They began by stating what we already know, and that is that certain pests can be found commonly in our environments, and that these pests have the potential to threaten our health. The publication also states that which we may not already be aware of, and that is that children are at higher risk from our pesticides than adults may be, due to their kinds of activities and their still-developing bodies and nervous systems. For this reason IPM is: "An ecological approach to pest management that effectively manages pests in a way that minimizes adverse effects on people and the environment. IPM emphasizes an understanding of pest biology and behavior, and employs a number of different strategies designed to reduce the things pests need to survive and reproduce, including food, water, living space, and a way into the building." With some literature you can find the statement that IPM "began" with the cotton growing industry, where the effort to reduce the use of pesticides on this crop led to other methods. These included more careful monitoring and inspection to determine the actual presence of the pests, an establishment of "Threshold Levels" for those pests, and pesticide treatments "as needed" rather than just a standard scheduled treatment. For production agriculture this may be the case, but for urban pest management I believe the professional industries began to use IPM concepts long before that. Consider a PMP (Pest Management Professional) faced with a rat infestation in a structure. We have long known that the best course of action for this problem begins with reduction of the harborage sites surrounding the structure, as well as a similar action on the inside. In other words, clean up the mess. We also know that if we do not seal off the entry points used by the rodents we will continue to have the problem getting into that structure, so we perform rodent exclusion. We also recognize that the safest control method, if it is appropriate for that rodent population, is the placement of physical traps that capture the rodents for removal. No one needed to tell us that we had to use "IPM" for the rodent control program. We simply knew that the best long-term control was to be gained from physical changes, sanitation changes, exclusion practices, and physical control tools, rather than just reaching for the rodent poison. There is nothing wrong with the use of toxic control tools, but they are just one piece of the puzzle. For many of us there also may be a perception that, sure, all those things need to be done, but MY job is just spraying or placing pesticides. It's the customer's job to make the fixes. This is not true, and doing all the steps of a good IPM program may be just as much part of the overall control program, and if you choose to perform those steps then you should be paid for your time. We might make a short list of what our basic goals are in an IPM program, and offer this: Prevent the pest problem before it reaches a crisis level Solve each problem as it occurs so that things do not get out of hand Work toward long-term pest management practices for the best customer satisfaction Retain your customer and expand your client list Make a PROFIT so you can stay in business and grow Make a positive difference in public health and happiness with life

This list may make it sound pretty common sense, but we still need to remind ourselves now and then that our whole desire in our business is to eliminate unwanted pest problems for our customers in the most effective way possible, while still doing so profitably for our own business. Toxic chemical products still have an important role to play in many IPM programs, but an assessment of the pest problem and the specifics of each account must be determined before choosing the toxic route. There are reasons why IPM has become such a buzzword in regulatory circles, even to the point that for some kinds of accounts the use of pesticides has been severely regulated and reduced. The constraints that you, as the PMP, may be facing include: Health-related issues - the pest problem may be in an account inhabited by very young children, or by unhealthy older people who may be more sensitive to pesticides Environmental sensitivities - non-target animal species may be present, or environmental habitats that need to remain uncontaminated Sensitive accounts - these include food accounts, animal accounts such as zoos, unusual accounts such as buses or aircraft, or health care accounts such as hospitals Legislated enforcement issues - such as the School Pesticide Use laws in many states "Politically correct" approaches - we must recognize that many people distrust what we use, and we must make an effort to gain their faith and support There are times when IPM, as the long-term approach to a pest presence, will be something you work for. But, imagine the hospital with flies in the surgical rooms. A single fly is that "crisis level" and must be eliminated immediately, and its source found and dealt with immediately as well. For agricultural crop situations it is appropriate to determine a "threshold level" for a pest, or that number of the individuals of that pest that can be present before economic harm will come to the crop. However, in a sensitive account such as that surgical room, a single fly or a single ladybird beetle has already reached the threshold level. The level is ONE - a single fly needs to be controlled. A single cockroach in a customer's glass of wine in a restaurant could spell economic disaster for that restaurant. A single spider on the ceiling of an entomophobic person's bedroom is one spider too many, and they want it eliminated. And now, just to continue our useful lists in our approach to IPM, your success in controlling a pest problem in an account will rely on Developing a Plan of Action: Determine the level of control desired by the customer. Attaining 100% elimination of the pest may not be realistic with what they want in IPM. Determine the roles of the people involved, including those activities that will accomplished by the customer and other on-site personnel. Establish a smooth reporting system, so that the customer knows when you were there, what was discovered during the inspection process, and what procedures were used each time for the pest management. Determine which technologies are appropriate and available to you for this account: o Physical and mechanical controls o Sanitation changes that can be made o Structural modifications needed

And, to complement this previous list, let's also have the courage to say what IPM is not, and this list might include the following: IPM is not always pest elimination - the pest presence may not be reduced to zero IPM is not using the same approach for all problems in all situations - it must be molded to the account each time IPM is not cheap - you are tackling the overall problem resulting in the presence of the pest

IPM is not the answer to emergency human health situations - you may need to perform that quick, chemical-dependent control program if a quick solution is called for I have been teaching pest management training programs for several decades now, and without a doubt many people who attend my courses repeatedly are pretty sick and tired of hearing one little piece of advice I give. That piece of advice is that ALL living organisms require three basic things for their survival, and those things are food (nourishment), water (proper moisture level), and harborage (an appropriate habitat in which to live). Just how the many and varied living things out there, plant or animal, view and acquire these needs is as varied as they are, but let's begin by picking one of our most common pest adversaries, the lowly German Cockroach, and we'll choose a restaurant as the type of account infested. German Cockroaches need to eat, and with the exception of the first instar nymphs, which tend to stay hidden and feed on the feces of the other roaches, the later instars and the adults move out each night to scavenge for various kinds of food materials left for them. They feed on greases coating stoves or the floors below them. They feed on bread crumbs spilled behind seats and counters. They feed on any foods left out on counters or shelves that should have been placed into sealed containers or refrigerators. If we were able, somehow, to remove every last scrap of food available to the cockroaches in that account guess what would happen? Almost immediately the population of roaches there would begin to plummet, for they cannot survive for long without eating. Females would stop producing offspring as a natural consequence of food deprivation. Weaker roaches would begin to die sooner, and stronger roaches would begin to feed on younger and weaker roaches, for their instinct is to eat and survive, and anything becomes fair game during famine. If that removal of food resources were continued it would be only a short time before all the roaches were dead in that account, for they cannot live without food. Without even dribbling a drop of pesticide we have eliminated roaches from an account, but being able to eliminate ALL food resources is not likely, so we strive to clean up as much as is possible, and gain the best population reduction we can from that "sanitation" step of IPM. The same goes for the need for water, which in the case of the German Roach is fairly high. We find them living close to water sources because of their higher need for moisture. They may find their daily drink from potted plants, dripping faucets, leaking faucets under counters, spilled juices and drinks, toilets, condensation on pipes, and other places. Without their access to available moisture resources we can envision the same scenario as with loss of food. If we somehow managed to eliminate all possible water sources the cockroach population would, very quickly, disappear. They cannot adapt overnight to become able to live without this need. And, finally, a German Cockroach has evolved the instinct of hiding during lighted hours. This instinct has served them well over the several hundred million years of their existence, and they will not be able to abandon that need just because we suddenly eliminate their ability to find cracks, crevices, and small voids in which to hide. If, somehow, we managed to fill in all the little cracks these roaches use to hide in, all the little holes they use to get into voids, we would quickly put these roaches under tremendous stress in their desperate anxiety to get into a darkened hidey-hole. A stressed roach is not a healthy roach, and survival of the fittest once again comes into play. Those harborage resources still available become fought over, and the larger roaches may consume the weaker, smaller roaches in order to be the ones that survive. The population of roaches at this account plummets, and perhaps disappears if no harborage is available.

We know we are unlikely to remove all food and water resources, or close off all access to harborage, but if the work is done to remove as much of these needs as possible it goes a long way toward reducing the number of healthy roaches still left in the account. We are now attempting to manipulate what is referred to as the "Population Dynamics" of that account. The size of the population of any organism within a given environment is dependent upon the food, water, and harborage resources available to it. Any reduction in those resources leads automatically to a

reduction in the numbers of individuals surviving there, and those that remain may become stressed, and thus more susceptible to the toxic materials that we do choose to place in their habitat. Let's pick a couple of different common pest groups, and see where IPM is not just important, but absolutely vital if we hope to control the problem. Without a doubt flies represent a group of pests that just cannot be controlled by pesticide use alone. They also cannot be controlled with only the use of traps or bait. Because we are educated in the life cycles of the pests we encounter we know that flies undergo Complete Metamorphosis, and that the larvae of the flies always live in a habitat completely different from that in which the adults are found. The "filth" flies, such as the Common House Fly, will be found buzzing around in windows, hitting lights, landing on food on tables, or landing on people just to be as annoying as they possibly can. The impulse is to try to perform fly control by installing only devices to attract and kill the adult flies. This is only a band-aid on the problem, but often it is what the customer thinks needs to be done, and we try to satisfy the customer. These devices are just one step in the process. We know that the larvae of the House Fly, the maggots, are living somewhere else entirely, for they feed on damp, decaying organic materials of many kinds, from animal feces to dead animals to rotting vegetation or rotting garbage. If we install light traps, glue traps, jar traps, bug zappers, fly bait, residual chemicals on surfaces the flies land on, aerosol dispensers over doorways, and all those other things we can do to kill the adult flies, it matters not a hoot to the maggots. They are not exposed to these things we do to the adult flies, and the maggots breed quickly to become brand new adults that quickly replenish the population that is bothering our customer. Thus, IPM for proper fly control involves proper identification of the flies involved, an understanding of the likely places we would find their larvae living in and around that account, and elimination of these unsanitary circumstances so that the production of flies is halted. Thus, effective control of a filth fly problem involves Sanitation (eliminating the food resources of the larvae), Physical Steps (keeping doors closed and windows screened), Mechanical controls (light traps or other traps for the adults), Chemical controls (pesticides applied as residuals or baits or perhaps fogging), and Education (of the customer, to understand their role in preventing the problems in the future). It is too easy to focus on the "pesky", visible adult stage of a pest, and attempt to control the problem only by controlling that stage. We need to realize that control begins at the source. And, for accounts such as restaurants that flies are attracted to from other outside breeding areas, control also relies heavily on exclusionary practices.

Quite often we find a pest within a structure and focus on killing the pest, when we should be thanking that pest for pointing out to us that a bigger problem exists.

Phorid flies and Drain flies are good examples of this, for these flies breed in decaying organic sludge that can occur in places where water settles and stays. For drain flies it can be the gooey buildup inside sink drains and pipes, an unsanitary condition that needs to be cleaned up. For phorid flies it often turns out to be broken pipes under slabs, that allow sewage or other filthy water to pool under a structure. Killing off the adult flies as they emerge from the bathtub drain opening is not going to stop the massive production of the flies, and the IPM approach is to verify where the flies are coming from. In this case have a plumber inspect to determine whether any breaks exist in the sub-slab pipes, and repair those broken pipes and dry out the soil at that point. The use of pesticides, in this example, has no place. This example occurred once at a hospital I was inspecting with a pest control technician. The nursing staff was having problems with annoying little flies in their break area, that would land on their arms or the table tops and then run a short distance, a typical behavior of phorid flies. By correctly identifying the flies we then began to inspect for a possible larval source, and finally discovered a gap in the concrete slab within a small equipment room nearby. A great many flies were around this point and emerging from under the slab, almost a sure giveaway that a plumbing problem existed under that area of the slab. I once had a secretary who worked in a pest control company office ask me how to get rid of the slugs that kept coming up into her bathtub through the drain opening. I asked if she were certain they were coming "up" through the drain, which she felt was the case. I suggested then that the slugs were not really her problem, for the only way they could come up through that drain opening was if they had access to it below the slab, through drain pipes that must be broken. The customer definitely is not going to like hearing this kind of news, for the repair will be a very costly and disruptive process, but it needs to be done. IPM - eliminate the source and the problem will be corrected with minimal use of pesticides. Another pest might be carpet beetles, and I often am asked "what to spray" to eliminate them. Again, all too often we think only in terms of the chemical solution, and ignore the overall problem. The adult carpet beetles do not damage our woolen fabrics and other susceptible household articles. They feed only on plant materials outdoors. However, they are the masters at finding things INSIDE our buildings that their larvae can eat. We can think of the larvae of carpet beetles as some of the greatest of Mother Nature's recyclers, for any dead animals of any kind, as well as many grain products, are subject to their attack in the effort to return dead things back to the soil. In a structure the "dead" materials could be furs of stuffed animals or clothing, feathers of decorative items, woolen fabrics (wool used to be hair, after all), or even leather materials. Dead insects provide great food resources for the larvae, and these could be accumulations in window sills, nests of termites or bees or wasps, all of which have leftover junk in them.

he presence of bird nests in and on the outside of structures will leave lots of feathers or dead baby birds. Perhaps a rodent control program has taken place, resulting in dead rodents or even leftover rodent bait products, all of which can attract carpet beetles. It may be food products in the kitchen cupboards, for baking goods that have been unused for too long are frequently infested. There are many potential sources of the carpet beetle larvae, and if an inspection is not performed and these sources are not eliminated, all the pesticide applications in the living quarters of that structure are not going to stop the influx of more of the beetles. This is the essence of Integrated Pest Management, and we could itemize the steps in this manner: Inspection and Monitoring - identify the pest present and determine the source of the problem Education - teach the customer how to store susceptible materials to lessen the chances they can be attacked by the pest Physical, Cultural, and Sanitation - remove the unnecessary food sources harboring the larvae of this pest, ensure the building is as tightly closed as possible to exclude the adult beetles as well as the rodents or birds that led to the infestation Mechanical / Non-chemical controls - the use of glue trays to capture specimens for ID or for follow-up to monitor the control program, the use of pheromone traps for monitoring Chemical controls - as needed to eliminate those pests still wandering in the structure after the sources are eliminated This concept really can be applied to some degree for nearly every pest problem we may encounter in or around structures and the landscape environment. So many times I have had PMP's ask me how to get rid of a nagging flea problem. They were at their wit's end because they had been called back repeatedly by the customer, who still is encountering fleas, and had treated and retreated and treated again, generally using the same product over the same surfaces each time in the assumption that all it would take would be a little more pesticide on the surface. We need to realize that the first pesticide layer is still there, and still is able to kill any fleas that happen upon it. The problem lies somewhere else, either from fleas breeding on the exterior or from flea pupae laying ready to hatch to the adults, and immune to the chemical around them. Rather than simply applying more toxic material we need to re-evaluate the situation, to see what it was we missed the first time. I visited an account with a technician one time, where employees in an office were being attacked by fleas each time they walked from their cars to the office in the below-ground level parking lot. The technician had sprayed repeatedly to kill the adult fleas, and we could see hundreds of their tiny little lifeless bodies on the asphalt, but live ones continued to jump. If we consider the life cycle of a flea we realize that asphalt parking lots are not particularly conducive to the presence of flea larvae, so we now knew the fleas were being produced somewhere else. As it turns out, at one side of the parking area there was a ten foot concrete wall, and above this was a private property on which several dogs and cats lived. When the technician sought permission from this property owner it was discovered that this was, indeed, the source of all these thousands of fleas, that were then (accidentally I suppose) leaping over the edge and down to the parking lot below. It was on the property above that the control effort was then focused. Let's change our direction a little bit, and pick a different pest problem, this time pigeons. This will also point out the difficulty we have in educating the general public about our industry and the limitations we have at times. Despite the fact that there are entire organizations of people out there who are dedicated to the concept that the feral pigeon, an exotic pest problem brought in from Europe, should be protected and revered as desirable in our urban areas, it is an undeniable fact that they create serious problems. Numerous diseases can be transmitted to humans by pigeons, often in their feces. This same fecal material can be damaging to surfaces and equipment it lands on, and quite obviously is an unsightly mess when it covers sidewalks, playground equipment, or the cars unlucky enough to have been parked under a popular roosting site. Feral pigeons should not be allowed to co-exist with humans, on or within our structures. One problem is how to go about eliminating their presence, for the wholesale slaughter of birds is not acceptable. One highly effective product that is designed to move a flock of pigeons away from a structure is Avitrol, a poison that, when used correctly, kills very few birds. Instead, it alarms the flock by causing some of the birds to become ill, and that flock often leaves the area and does not return. This is best

considered a temporary fix for pigeon control on that structure, for if it was attractive to one flock it will be attractive to the next one that happens to fly by, and if Avitrol is chosen as the only control tool it will require continual applications over the months and years to come. However, in the short term it is far less costly to the customer than a proper control program of EXCLUSION, which will keep the surfaces birdfree for many years. People often prefer to pay less each time even though the long-term cost will be higher. As the advertisement says, "pay me nowor pay me later".

An IPM approach to pigeon control, and one that does not involve the use of toxic products, is exclusion. If the birds simply cannot find a way to land on that structure they will not roost there. Pigeons are just like many people in that they are inherently lazy, and will take the path of least resistance. If it becomes a struggle to find a convenient place to land for awhile, then what the heck, move onto the next building. The placement of pronged strips, lengths of wire cable, netting, electric shock strips, or even sticky repellents on the surfaces the pigeons need to land on will effectively cause them to go somewhere else. Many of these options will last for a great many years, so that the first application will pretty much be the last one. The customer pays more up front for the more labor intensive work of installing these devices, but over the years will realize a huge savings and more effective bird control, without the use of toxic materials. Let's take another little shift in direction, and look at the healthy growth of landscape plantings, for IPM is just as appropriate in the management of insects or pathogens that attack plants. Even weed control deserves a look at the use of nonchemical control methods as at least a part of the weed management program. During the years I worked for a pest management company, doing primarily pest and disease control in the nicely landscaped yards of my customers, I benefited a great deal from the advice from the local University Cooperative Extension office. I would stop in regularly, plant samples in hand, to see if the specialist there could help me understand the problems I was encountering. These were generally those mystery problems where, for some reason, a shrub or tree is just not doing well. Too often we make the assumption that it must be due to boring insects in the stems or trunks, and we reach for the insecticide. Or maybe we assume it must be a fungus disease, and we try the shotgun approach of spraying everything with a fungicide. Even as we apply these pesticides we know that the application may not have any effect at all, but we cross our fingers and hope for the best. The advice I was so often given by this Extension Service specialist was that many of the problems we see on landscape plantings are environmental, not biological. In other words, even though some bug may be present on the plants, the real culprits often are things such as excessive watering and the plant is drowning. Or, just the opposite, where that plant is not getting the water and it is dehydrating. The plant may be a sun-loving variety planted in too shady a spot, or vice versa. It could be receiving overhead watering just prior to a very hot day, causing burn spots on the leaves. It could be receiving overhead watering in the early evening,

contributing to the growth of powdery mildew that night. I visited a property with a technician where the concern was the many plants bordering the front lawn beginning to show brown spots and patches on the leaves. Of course, the suspicion was that a plant pathogen was at work, or in this case the technician was being accused by the homeowner of causing the burn with his pesticide applications. As we stood there looking at the plants the homeowner's large dog pushed open the front door screen and raced across the lawn.to lift his leg and relieve himself on the very plants we were observing, apparently a normal routine for this mutt. The technician was absolved of guilt and no pesticides were sprayed. As you continue in the profession of pest management you are going to get occasional calls to "control" pests for which no pesticides are even available. Suddenly, IPM and habitat management are going to be your only options. Examples include pretty much all reptiles and amphibians - toads, frogs, snakes, lizards. Why would anyone want to eliminate the frogs in their yard? Well, if you've ever lived near a pond or even a low area that accumulates water in the winter, you may have been audience to the nearly deafening sound of thousands of frogs croaking and grunting in the evening. Rattlesnakes commonly live around or in structures, and yet there are no poisons available for killing them. For these kinds of animals it becomes vital to be able to understand their biology and life needs, to inspect the property and surrounding areas to identify the contributing conditions, and to change what you can to reduce the pest population.

If we use rattlesnakes as our example we can offer the IPM approach that might be needed. In fact, we can probably just say "snakes", for most people are so terrified of any snake that they don't even want the harmless ones around. Why would snakes be on someone's property, particularly in an urban area? Let's remember their life needs - food, moisture, harborage. Rattlesnakes feed primarily on small rodents, and if there is a rodent population living on the property the snake is more than happy to move close to the restaurant. Elimination of the rodents will help to discourage the snakes from living there. Snakes are primarily nocturnal, hiding during the day in holes in the ground or under debris on the ground. If these resources are eliminated the snake will need to move further away to find that comfortable lodging. For those in professional pest management who like to be detectives, IPM is a wonderful opportunity, and when you take that step back and look at the overall picture, rather than putting on blinders just to focus on the specific visible problem, it is amazing what you begin to see. It's also fun to see the look on the face of the customer when you discover the real cause. I had a potential customer bring in

several bags of plant parts one time. These were leaves and twigs off of several different trees, some leaves from groundcover plantings, and other things, all of which were turning brown and dying away. The instinct in a case like this might be to assume that this yard has some plant disease problem that was affecting a variety of plants, and just go out and flood the place with a fungicide. (And, once again, cross your fingers and hope for the best). In this case, though, I visited the property and tried to be observant, and what I began to see was a pattern. The plants that were affected were on either side of the driveway, which sloped down from the garage. The damage on the trees was appearing primarily on the tips of the leaves and branches, and the damage to the groundcover was greatest nearest the driveway. In other words, the damage seemed to be sort of "moving" outward from the driveway. So, I asked the homeowner if they had a water softener, with the answer of "yes" coming from an interested face. I asked if that water softener had overflowed recently, and now the answer "yes" came from a rather amazed face. What had happened was that the salt used in the water softener had flowed onto and then off of the driveway, leaching into the soil and plant root zones around it, and causing a chemical burn to the plants in the area. The solution had nothing to do with a pesticide application, and everything to do with trying to remove the excessive salt from that soil. IPM - inspect and observe, implement non-chemical controls as appropriate, and educate the customer on preventing the problem in the future. One last example that I simply cannot resist throwing in here because I believe it epitomizes the problem if we rely solely on pesticide solutions. It is very common for the PMP to get a call from a frenzied homeowner, or office manager, that "something" is biting them. Perhaps they even have seen their doctor, and the doctor has told them they are getting bitten by mites and should have the place sprayed. Far too often I get the phone calls from the PMP, asking me what to do. I ask what has been done so far, and unfortunately I am usually told that they already fogged the interior and sprayed all the baseboards, and doggonit, the people are still getting bitten. I ask what they sprayed the pesticide for, and the answer is "well, they said they had mites". I ask if they, the PMP, was able to actually collect some mites for identification before the treatment, and far too often again the answer is NO.

This is the classic of spraying first and figuring out the real problem second. As you may know, and can learn about in our course on Mites of Public Health Importance Course 302, very often the cause will be the vivid imagination of the affected person, and not an arthropod pest at all. Poison was used in their indoor environment for no reason, further aggravating the problem. Even if it turns out to be mites, captured on glue boards, the kind of mite it is will be important. The IPM of grain or mold mites will be very different from the approach to control of rodent or bird mites.

Much of the business our industries rely on is in the form of "regular" customers. In other words, those accounts we have on a periodic service, whether monthly, quarterly, or even longer. We may have a contract to come to a property annually to spray oak trees for the caterpillars that "probably" will be there early in the season, or to spray ash trees for the anthracnose that is likely to occur. Disease control on trees and shrubs, or even turf, often does rely on applications of pesticide PRIOR TO the presence of the disease symptoms, for our experience has shown us that these trees definitely will have problems from anthracnose if not treated prior to bud break. Or, an area of turf definitely will have snow mold problems if the turf is not treated with a fungicide prior to the onset of the winter snows. However, regular accounts for prevention of insect problems too often evolve down to simply a periodic visit to replenish the layer of pesticide under the eaves, around the foundation, or within the living areas of the structure, whether or not there are any arthropod pests there. We do know, from experience, that insect populations will continually pressure a property, and invade it from surrounding properties, so for the customer who demands "NO BUGS!" we may over-apply toxic materials. Some states have attempted to abolish the so-called "cleanout" approach to pest management, and instead require that the pest presence be confirmed, and a specific pest or pests be identified and documented prior to applying pesticides. I sheepishly admit that during those years I managed the pest problems for customers I participated in the spray-and-go pest management philosophy. In the mind of many customers they are paying for 30 minutes of pesticide application, and by golly if they don't get that much pesticide they got ripped off, even if they don't have any pest problems. You can see where education of the customer is needed. A much better approach, for these regular customers, is to help them understand from the outset that the application of pesticides will likely be one part of your pest management program on their property, but that they will be happiest, and the pest problems will be most minimized, if you spend time each visit inspecting the property, defining the pest presence, and documenting the contributing conditions that have encouraged that pest to be there. You may choose to include yard cleanup as part of the program you offer, or strongly encourage the customer to do it themselves. However, the application of the pesticides should be only one part of the program. I remember an advertisement one company used, in which he stated "we will spray a minimum of 100 gallons of pesticide spray each visit", as proof that he does a good job. So, we'll call this next bit of information:

Managing Expectations We've all had that customer. You know, the one who says "I don't care what the darned thing is, I want it off my plants". That darned thing could be ladybug larvae

which are doing a tremendous benefit to the plants, but in the minds of so many people A BUG IS A BUG, and the only good bug is the dead one. We have a great deal of work to do in educating our customers. This introduces us to one more concept in the implementation of an effective IPM program, and that is encouraging the presence of beneficial organisms which help to reduce the pest problem naturally. This may be highly effective in some circumstances, and nearly useless in others. Where is it useless? Well, we know that there are various tiny little wasps that are parasites on beetle or moth larvae, and occasionally we will find these wasps present when there is an infestation of beetles or moths in stored food. These certainly are beneficial insects, and they certainly are killing some of the pest insects, but to allow these additional insects to be in stored food is not an acceptable answer. Food contamination is food contamination, whether it is by the pest insects or the beneficials. Rodent control might be viewed in somewhat the same manner. Myself, I kind of like snakes, and having a couple of good sized gopher snakes around my yard would be thrilling to me (although not quite so thrilling to my severely snake-a-phobic wife). A couple of snakes might help to keep any gophers from looking at my yard as the ideal place to set up home and a family. In the proper setting these non-poisonous snakes would be of benefit. However, a food processing plant with several mice running freely within it cannot tolerate the mice, and yet bringing in and setting loose a dozen gopher snakes would not be an appropriate control option. Neither would allowing a bunch of hungry cats to roam the interior on a nightly basis. A sensitive account such as a food processing or storage facility does not lend itself to natural control choices such as these, and IPM must proceed with other avenues. However, outdoors it is a whole different ballgame, and this is one challenge I throw out to you. You must begin to learn to identify the common arthropods that are found in urban landscapes, including their larval stages. A "bug is a bug" really does not apply, as there are a great many highly beneficial insects that are harmless to people but devastating to the aphid population that is feeding on some roses. Insects such as lacewings, snakeflies, ladybird beetles, soldier beetles - these all are predators that consume large quantities of plant feeding pests. Many ground beetles are predators on other small insects. I dare say that if we asked most homeowners to name five "beneficial" insects, they could come up with praying mantis, ladybug, and dragonfly, and then they'd be stuck. As the PMP we need to continually add to our knowledge of the peripheral things around our specific job duties, and learn to identify insects. There is a rule of thumb used often in the business world, called the 80 / 20 rule, in that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. That 80 / 20 rule really applies to a great many other areas, including pest management. We could probably be quite accurate in saying that 80% of the pests can be controlled with 20% of the pesticide use, and the need to pick off that last 20% of the pests will require a great deal more pesticide. The customer who absolutely demands ZERO

bugs on, in, around, or above their property is calling for the use of far more pesticide than is justified. Another customer we've all had is the one who calls you to come back to treat again for the ants that seem to "be everywhere". When you arrive at the property and ask where this person still is seeing ants the answer is "I saw one on the back fence". Your temptation, at this point, is to say "well Ma'am, if that ant makes it to the house you just call and let us know, and we'll send a technician out to chase it back to the fence, where it belongs." For those customers who are completely intolerant of any kind of insect we must work to change attitudes. These same customers may demand aesthetically perfect plants, and any damage whatsoever is unacceptable to them, leading to the overuse of pesticides for preventive purposes. I have a flowering plum tree in my yard, and nearly every year it gets aphids. The feeding of these insects causes many of the young leaves to curl, but by the time this is happening there is such an abundance of ladybug larvae and syrphid fly larvae feeding on the aphids, that I leave it alone. Within just a few more days all the aphids will be gone, those few affected leaves will fall off and be replaced, and an enormous population of beneficial insects has been allowed to survive and do its job. A pesticide application would have prevented the slight leaf damage, but really wasn't needed.

Leaf-cutting bees are another excellent example of a highly beneficial insect causing a slight amount of aesthetic damage to plants. These important and harmless pollinators busy themselves removing large sections of leaves, with which they create small tubes for their larvae to live in. Sometimes they go after one kind of plant in a yard with amazing vigor, and many of the leaves will have these semicircular sections removed. Many property owners want the bees killed to stop this "damage", and to do so would be unfortunate. The damage really is not harming the plant, just re-shaping the leaves a little bit. The bees are not likely to sting anyone, and their pollinating activities are of great benefit to the landscape overall. If that plant is so highly prized that this minor leaf damage is unacceptable, then the best control would be to cover it with fine-mesh netting during the period of adult bee activity. No pesticide application is appropriate. IPM - identification of the problem, understanding of the biology and habits of the organism involved, and the proper pest management approach employed. We should not view pest MANAGEMENT as pest ELIMINATION in most circumstances, and proceed with a scorched-Earth policy of overwhelming pesticide use. Certainly there will be sensitive accounts where that single fly, roach, rodent or ladybug cannot be tolerated, but this would be hard to imagine as appropriate for landscape pest management. We must discuss our limitations with the customer. We must help them to understand which insects are beneficial to their environment, and which should be controlled. We must help them to understand that our goal is to use as little toxic material as possible and still provide them with the pest-free

environment they would like. If we don't pursue this there will continue to be additional regulatory restrictions on the products we want to use. Now, is all of this wordy advice I have given so far intended to say we should stop using pesticides? Well..sort of, but not really. We definitely need to reduce our reliance on pesticides if they are not the correct approach for the best long-term control of a pest. I know from experience that we too often are faced with a pest problem, and immediately think to ourselves "HmmmI wonder what I should spray". A pesticide will often turn out to be one tool needed in the program for managing this pest, but we also need to begin looking at the Big Picture, and resolving the contributing conditions that invited that pest to that property. Whether or not the people in our industry are comfortable with the low risk our pesticides pose, when used properly, the decisions on the fate of pesticides come from somewhere else, and these regulatory agencies are heavily influenced by the PERCEPTIONS of the risk of pesticides as felt by the general public. This is what has led to the widespread implementation of "School Pesticide Use" regulations that have sprung up in the past few years. People believe pesticides MAY be causing harm to school children, even if those problems have not been shown to exist, and they want the reduction of pesticide use implemented immediately. Another aspect of Integrated Pest Management which goes hand-in-hand with the School IPM programs is the use of so-called "least toxic" pesticides. We have learned from previous courses in Pestweb's online training in the area of Pesticide Safety, that there are varying levels of toxicity and hazard associated with the many choices we have in pesticides. If Product A and Product B will achieve equal success in the elimination or management of a pest, but Product A is ten times less toxic than Product B, the use of Product A would seem to be a logical choice. Within our determination of "equal success" we must take into account other variables and differences than just how well each product kills the bug. Perhaps Product A, while being far less toxic than Product B, also is ten times more costly to use and smells like rotting eggs. Suddenly, Product A may no longer be the preferred material to use in that office building. Our ultimate goal also is to control the pest, so we need to ensure we use a product that is going to be effective, not just low in toxicity. I can imagine the conversation that might occur. "Um, sir, the product you are requiring us to use will not kill the cockroaches." "Sure, I know that, but at least it's non-toxic".

Fortunately, our industry has been provided with a great many chemical tools that offer very, very low toxicity to warm-blooded animals, and which also are highly effective on the targeted pest. A good example of these is the many insect bait products now available, for cockroaches, ants, or termites. These formulations also can be placed so that only the intended pest is the one that finds and consumes them, leading further to good environmental policy in pest management. Spraying an entire tree to kill the aphids will also likely lead to the deaths of all the other insects on that tree, including the large populations of

beneficial insects we'd prefer to have around us. By placing a systemic insecticide into the soil around the tree and allowing the pesticide to move up through the tree and into the leaves, we kill only those insects which actually feed on the leaves, sucking the plant fluids out along with the insecticide. The definition of "least toxic" is pretty loosely defined, unfortunately. The government regulators who have imposed these guidelines on our industry shy away from creating lists of products that meet the criteria for use. Manufacturers of products often will be the ones to interpret the guidelines and decide that their products fit within the least-toxic protocol. Some states have modified the protocol to separate pesticides into several categories, such as the Green, Yellow, or Red Listed pesticides as defined in the state of Texas. Green List products are those considered to carry the least potential hazard to people and the environment, while Red List pesticides have signal words on their label of either WARNING or DANGER, and thus are presumed to carry the highest potential risk. For the state of Texas, at least, the criteria that would allow a pesticide product to be on the Green List include these, and this is likely to be very consistent with many other states: Inorganic pesticides that contain boric acid or borates, silica gel, or diatomaceous earth Insect growth regulators Insect and rodent baits in tamper-resistant containers, or placed in cracks or crevices Microbe-based insecticides Botanical insecticides with no more than 5% synergists Biological, or living, control agents While these lists might make it seem pretty simple to choose the proper products, the knowledge and expertise of the PROFESSIONAL pest management individual are needed. For example, boric acid dusts are often used at nearly 100% concentration, making them far more toxic and hazardous than a synthetic pyrethroid, which may not be allowed for use, diluted to perhaps 0.01% strength. To classify all botanical insecticides as "green" is to ignore the varying degrees of toxicity of these products as well. Nicotine, for example, is a botanical insecticide still in use, but which has a very high level of toxicity. Other plant-based insecticide products on the market may have been exempt from the EPA testing that synthetic materials must go through, and may be in use with limited knowledge of their potential effects on non-targeted organisms. Simply because it came from a plant does not necessarily mean it is low risk, so the lists should be viewed as guidelines, not as mandates. However, low risk and least toxic pesticides are good choices, generally, for use in sensitive environments, and as the list states this may be achieved as much by the placement of the product as it is the inherent qualities of the product itself. If a bait is placed into a crack or a void, and is kept away from potential contact by children, the risk is minimized. The Texas Cooperative Extension Service has actually created lists of trade names of products that they feel meet the criteria for placement on their Green List, but purely as an effort to help the pest management industries. They caution that the list may not be complete, that products come and go on the market, and that names change, and that it is the criteria rather than the product names that should be evaluated by the PMP.

We refer to many kinds of accounts as "sensitive" accounts, meaning there is something about them that makes them a little different from the run-of-the-mill account where you can be a little more casual about the presence of pests or the use of toxic control materials. Sensitive accounts might fall into two categories, or in some cases that account may fall into BOTH categories. Since I am the author I get to make the rules, so the categories I am designating are: Accounts where pesticide use must be carefully controlled due to particular sensitivities of people or other things at that account Accounts where the presence of any pest is intolerable, and total pest elimination must be attempted Let's take a look at a few examples of these two. There are many commercial accounts where the presence of even a single rodent, fly, or cockroach may be a big, big problem. We've already mentioned such places

as hospital surgical rooms, where a blow fly buzzing around the lights while someone is being operated on would be a huge liability and potential health problem. Food manufacturing facilities also tend to have a low threshold allowance for pests, particularly those that are regulated by the USDA, and which have USDA inspectors on site. I have been out to such plants where the on-site inspector was threatening to close the entire facility down if he found one drain fly. This seems a bit heavy-handed, but this was the situation at that facility. Similar threats of shutdown have been given for food plants that have a mouse or a rat running around in them. We should be pleased that those who produce our food for us are this concerned about the sanitation of the processes, but that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the PMP who needs to meet that high standard. Integrated Pest Management probably offers the best opportunity to achieve that level of control. When it comes to IPM, though, the second category of Sensitive Account is usually the one we think of, as those where pesticides may cause some adverse effect due to heightened sensitivities. The deluge of regulatory actions with respect to pesticide use in schools is for this reason. Children are likely to be much more sensitive to pesticides, and could suffer harm from exposure to them. If we were treating for pests in a convalescent home, where older people who likely are already in poor health are residing, we would have to consider that their systems could be far more sensitive to even slight exposures to commonly used pesticides. It becomes much more important, in these kinds of accounts, to reduce reliance on toxic control methods and to look more closely at IPM and the other steps involved. Well, this has been an awful lot of information thrown at you, and on a topic where it is hard to know just where to stop and call it enough. Integrated Pest Management really is a common sense approach, and suggests an action plan that you already knew in your mind was necessary. How many times have you told yourself or your boss "if they would just clean up all that junk I could probably control the roaches!" You knew, instinctively, that clutter and poor sanitation not only encourage the roaches but also fight you in your control effort. You know instinctively that all the weed growth and piles of old boxes outside that food plant are making it hard for you to keep the rodents away, and for this reason we more assertively need to advise our customers of the steps that must be accomplished in order to provide pest management. We know that the powdery mildew problem on our customer's roses is the result of their sprinklers coming on early each evening, keeping the leaves wet throughout the summer nights, but we dutifully spray a fungicide every month to try to combat it, rather than suggesting the proper resolution.

So, we can wrap up this training course - "IPM for the PMP" - by summarizing the important aspects of an IPM program and perhaps running step by step through one example, just to reinforce it. A good IPM program consists of: Pest Identification - we accurately identify the organisms present at the account to determine exactly what we are dealing with. Accurate ID allows us to understand the biology and likely habitats of the pest, and to recognize those organisms that do not require a control effort. Inspection - we look carefully to determine that the pest is actually present and to determine the contributing factors that encourage it to be present. Monitoring - through the use of appropriate non-chemical tools we monitor for the presence of the pest to determine where it is coming from, to check on the success of our control program, and to monitor for future infestations. Setting "action levels" or "threshold levels" for the pests - this will be determined in large part by the kind of account we are dealing with. That Action Level may well be ONE. Identifying Solutions - based on your inspection and your determination of the contributing causes you now spell out the corrective measures that must take place. Set Action Steps - this includes the identification of just who will do what, and enlists the support of specific people at that account to do certain things. This may simply be someone who acts as the central person to whom other employees report pest sightings, or responsibility for cleanup and maintenance of problem areas may need to be assigned.

Carry Out the Treatment - you now implement the control program using your arsenal of chemical and non-chemical methods and tools, designed to reduce and possibly eliminate the pest population. Document Everything - every visit you make to the account and every step taken each time should be carefully documented, with the information kept in your records as well as provided to the customer. Some excellent in-the-field computer programs are available for this now. Follow Up - with continued monitoring and inspecting to ensure the physical changes you have made remain in place, and that the pest has not resumed activity in the account. And, what is the example we will pick for this step by step approach to proper, effective, long-term pest management? How about one of the toughest, with respect to being able to satisfy the demands of the customer, and that will be fly control. My oh my, how often do I get calls from a technician asking how to control "the flies" in an account? This should be a good example. Pest Identification - we are provided with examples of what the customer is concerned with, and we use the necessary tools to accurately determine which species of fly this is. If it is a small fly we may need to use high magnification, such as that provided by a dissecting microscope, and we definitely should use resources such as pest ID keys. From this proper ID we then do the research needed to understand the potential breeding sources, life cycles, attractions for the adult flies, etc. In this case we find we have Phorid Flies, and we recognize that this group of flies will breed in a variety of wet situations where there is decaying organic material. We know the adults are attracted to ultraviolet light. Inspection - through interviewing employees at the account and by our own visual inspection we determine that the flies are most common in garbage areas, both within the structure as well as in an exterior location where wastes are disposed of. Garbage cans inside and outside are not being well maintained, allowing a buildup of organic sludge to accumulate in them and providing the perfect food source for these maggots. There also is a tendency for the door leading to the outside area to be left open. Monitoring - ultraviolet light traps are used in the inspection process, as well as for future monitoring to check the success of our overall program. If we are confident that all the larval sources have been eliminated, and yet still continue to capture substantial numbers of flies in the UV trap, then it seems likely that another larval source still exists. Setting "action levels" - this will be a very subjective number, for phorid flies are common in outside environments, and the presence of one or two adult flies in a UV light trap does not necessarily mean an infestation on the premises. It could be a few flies that got sucked in as a customer entered the building through the front door. However, if suddenly a dozen flies are in the trap then that is more suspicious.

Identifying Solutions - now that you know what the pest is and what the likely sources are for the pest, you can recommend the changes that must be made to reduce the ability for that pest not only to breed on your customer's property, but to enter the structure from the outside. You make the recommendations for sanitation and cleanup, for physical exclusion, and for future monitoring steps to ensure success. All of this is placed into a written format so that everyone involved knows exactly what you have found and what is needed to be done. Set Action Steps - it must be decided whose job it will be, within the employee base, not only to do the proper cleaning of the garbage receptacles, but also to ensure that this sanitation step is performed. Perhaps a physical checklist format can be provided to a supervisor, who checks the waste stream twice each week to ensure it is done to the level needed to prevent fly breeding. The doors that are left open must be closed, and this may require signs at the entrance points reminding the employees of the importance of it, or self-closing devices that automatically shut the door. Between each of your visits one or two of the employees could be trained to inspect the glue traps

in the UV traps, and be able to identify those few species of insects of concern. A sudden increase in pest activity could be relayed to you quickly. Carry Out the Treatment - pretty self-explanatory. Whoever is assigned to do the cleaning of the waste areas makes sure it is done. You ensure the steps are taken to keep windows and doors screened and closed. And, you may choose to apply a contact or residual insecticide to quickly reduce the population of adult flies that still lingers in the area, so that the customer will not continue to risk contamination in the products they provide. Document Everything - your initial Sanitation Inspection was recorded onto a very professional looking form and provided to the customer. All contributing conditions, corrective measures recommended, action plan assignments, and other necessary steps in the process should be written down so there is no mistake as to what the problem is and who is involved in fixing it. Follow Up - on your next visit to this account you inspect the problem areas found the first time, and you find that the waste flow and garbage receiving areas are now being maintained in a very sanitary condition. You convinced the management that several UV light traps were needed, not only for monitoring for the phorid fly problem, but also for the many other kinds of flying insects that can be captured in them. You inspect these traps each visit and identify any insects captured to ensure no emerging problem is there. You interview the employees at the account to whom you had assigned duties with respect to the pest problem, and thank them for their help, compliment them on a job well done, and continue to maintain them as allies in your IPM program.

This last little hint is important, and we can end with it. Keep in mind through all of this just who the customer is. You are not a monopoly and you are not a public agency, so you cannot bully your customer and the employees there into cooperating with youor ELSE! The best cooperation will be gained from the person who likes you and appreciates the role they have to play in the program, seeing the benefit to their own job from what they do. The better they understand the problem the pest can present the more likely they will be to do the sanitation and physical changes as part of their new daily approach as well. So, with this conclusion of a terribly important topic in pest management, please take the Final Quiz. There will be 30 questions and you will need to pass this exam to get credit for the course. When you click on the "Take the Quiz" button please click it ONE TIME ONLY, and it may take a minute to load the page for some internet connections. If you click it more than once it will confuse the program and cause you some difficulties. Please, also ensure you have spent at least 50 minutes to complete the course and the quizzes, and if you have not then you will not be credited with completion of the course. Your results will be logged on your personal database, and this can be viewed on the "My History" tab of our online training section. Good luck.