Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a pest management approach that focuses on long-term prevention through the use of regular monitoring and a combination of tactics. The essential elements of integrated pest management are education, monitoring, pest prevention, use of least hazardous approach to pest control, pesticide use notification, and record keeping. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. Utimately, IPM goals are to protect human health, reduce exposure to pesticides, and reduce environmental pollution.
The IPM approach can be applied to both agricultural and non-agricultural settings, such as the home, garden, and workplace. IPM takes advantage of all appropriate pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides. In contrast, organic food production applies many of the same concepts as IPM but limits the use of pesticides to those that are produced from natural sources, as opposed to synthetic chemicals.
