A hundred years ago, pest management involved responding to a call and removing the pests. Times have changed, and so has our knowledge. If a pest got in, then you don’t just need the pest removed, you also need their entry point sealed. You need to inspect for other entry points. What attracted them to the home or office in the first place? Can that be addressed? This approach is known as Integrated Pest Management, or IPM. As an IPM company in Melbourne, FL, we do more than just stop your current pest problem. We focus on stopping future pest problems as well.
What is IPM?
Integrated pest management, or IPM, is a long-term strategy for pest prevention. Removing a pest does you no good if the next pest can crawl right in. Removing an infestation does you no good if the environment that attracted it in the first place just attracts a new one.
An IPM approach recognizes that pests, infestations, and nuisance animals are attracted to certain conditions and an ease of access. Address these two elements, and you deter future pests, infestations, and nuisance animals.
Can’t we just spray around pesticides and be done with it? We could, but this approach has been falling by the wayside. At home, it exposes your family and pets to pesticides. At work, it exposes employees and customers or clients to pesticides. Both of those things impact your health and increase your long-term costs.
IPM Examples
IPM looks at a broader range of pest control. Sometimes, this means use of an insecticide, but only when it’s scientifically the best option: in limited amounts that are safe for you, and at a specific point in a pest’s development cycle when it will have the most impact.
There are a range of other solutions that can complement this, though. For instance, whitefly infestations that ruin a garden or greenhouse can often be solved by introducing their natural predator, ladybugs. Changing how you dispose of your trash and where it’s stored can reduce the risk of cockroach infestation. Small changes in landscaping – such as a 6-inch barrier of dry dirt around the home or office without mulch or debris – can deter pests like silverfish and cockroaches.
These are just a few examples, and each of these ideas is coordinated with others into a larger strategy to keep you pest free. As an IPM company in Melbourne, FL, we can answer the question, “What is IPM?” and we can give you a plan to solve your pest problems – not just today, but going forward into the future as well.