In a nutshell, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the philosophy of using every possible tool at your disposal to help solve specific pest control problems. A good example of this might be eliminating an interior ant problem by simply trimming bushes and trees so that they are not physically touching the structure that we are trying to control. Then, the ants are forced to come into contact with our exterior chemical control measures, before they are able to appear inside. These same ants, can be killed on contact with just soapy water (call for details). The soapy water is meant to be a temporary fix, until we can arrive and determine the best, specific treatment to use for that species of ant.
Another great example of IPM could be fixing water leaks or eliminating excessive moisture in and around our homes. Because of our climate, water is the the single most important thing required for pest survival. So, if we fix leaky spigots, plug/cap unused sprinkler heads, water our pets inside and basically dry out any part of our yard that doesn't need moisture, we can directly "stress" bugs into living elsewhere.
In pest control, the word harborage (a place of shelter) really is critical to our efforts in providing results for our clients. If we can identify these harborage areas and eliminate/alter them, or provide chemical control measures directly to them, we gain an instant upper hand in the overall process. With this IPM approach, we are trying to figure out why that pest is there in the first place and aren't just applying pesticides randomly, in hopes of satisfying the immediate complaint.
IPM is almost unlimited with the many, varied ideas that compliment chemical control programs, already in place. We feel that going forward, there cannot be enough emphasis on this facet of the pest control industry. Our goal is to continue to learn these ideas and put them into place wherever we can.