IPM Institute News: IPM in the Marketplace
September 2007
Volume 8 Issue No. 3
Contents
I.
Green Shield Certification
Recognizes High-Performing Pest Management Professionals and
Facilities
II.
New Working Group Aims
to Improve the Ability of Natural Resources Conservation Service
and IPM Professionals to Meet Mutual Goals
III.
New
Resources Aim to Connect Professionals Pursuing IPM in
Public Agencies and Commercial Facilities
IV.
Join the IPM Institute Today!
I. Green
Shield Certification Recognizes High-Performing Pest
Management Professionals and Facilities
How
do you know if a pest control service provider truly delivers IPM?
When you visit a restaurant, hotel, health club or other
facility, do you ever wonder if IPM is practiced vs. spray and
pray?
A new program is now available to identify service providers and
facilities that meet a high standard for IPM performance.
“It’s not what you know that matters as much as what
you do,” preaches Dr. Thomas Green, president of the IPM
Institute of North America, which operates the program.
“We developed and tested this program over the past two
years with input from IPM practitioners nationwide, using what we
learned from operating our IPM STAR program for school systems,"
Green continues.
“To qualify
participants, we go on-site and do a thorough evaluation of
practices against a rigorous standard.
Inspection, monitoring and long-term prevention must be the
primary tools in the toolbox. More than 40 school systems
nationwide have been evaluated under IPM STAR, with 23 certified
to date.
Green Shield Certification extends this approach to other
facilities and service providers.
Pest control providers can choose to certify their entire
business, or a specific service they offer to customers looking
for non-chemical, preventive approaches and when necessary,
pesticide products with the lowest toxicity and least potential
for exposure to workers, children, pets and others.
Eden Advanced Pest Technologies achieved Green Shield
Certification for their “Natural Choice” service in June.
According to Eden’s president and founder Jack Marlowe,
Eden was already implementing IPM at a high level when Marlowe
decided to pursue Green Shield.
“Certification gives us credibility and it made us go
further with our IPM approach,” said Marlowe.
The definition of “sensitive accounts” is expanding beyond the
traditional list including schools, health care facilities,
retirement communities, and pharmaceutical, food and biotech
operations with low tolerance for pests and pesticides.
“Thanks to hard work by researchers, Extension and
industry, we now know how to solve most common pest problems for
good, with 70 to 90% less pesticide than we used to use,”
according to Green.
“For example, according to research from the University
of Florida, just installing effective sweeps on the bottom of
doors can reduce pest complaints by up to 65%.
The word is out, and more and more commercial, residential
and public agency customers are looking for top notch IPM
services.”
The Green Shield Certified credential raises the visibility of
high IPM performers. Marlowe
reports that since becoming Green Shield Certified, “We’ve
received more interest in our services and we anticipate that
calls will continue to grow from schools, government buildings and
other educated consumers. It really helps promote us.”
The following pest control providers offer Green Shield Certified
Services:
- Assured
Environments, New York, NY
- Atlantic
Pest Solutions Companies, Kennebunkport, ME
- Diehard Exterminating, New York,
NY
- Eden
Advanced Pest Technologies, Olympia, WA
- Elite
Pest Management, Roseville, MI
- EnviroSafe,
Wyoming, MI
- PESTEC,
San Francisco, CA
PESTEC and Green
Shield Certified are featured in a brand new You Tube
clip.
Service providers and facilities interested in pursuing Green
Shield Certification are invited to contact us at 888 476-7453. or by
email.
More information on the program is available at www.greenshieldcertified.org.
For the IPM STAR program, visit www.ipmstar.org.
II.
New Working Group Aims to Improve the
Ability of Natural Resources Conservation Service and IPM
Professionals to Meet Mutual Goals
The
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently reported that
the single largest Farm Bill conservation investment, the
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), has room for
improvement in helping farmers adopt IPM practices. Through EQIP,
managed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),
thousands of farmers access financial and technical assistance to
implement conservation practices each year. According to NRDC
study, NRCS would better achieve the nation's conservation goals
if it increased the quality and quantity of IPM-related assistance
to growers through EQIP and other programs.
A
new group is working to help farmers connect with EQIP financial
incentives and technical assistance for IPM. One goal for the
group is to build effective working relationships between NRCS and
IPM professionals throughout the north central region.
This
working group includes state IPM coordinators, Extension, NRCS,
state lead agency and EPA staff, and other industry experts,
primarily from the north central region. A first step was an
initial face-to-face meeting held last fall so that members could
learn more about each others' programs, roles and priorities.
A
state-by-state directory of IPM-related EQIP opportunities and
resources in the twelve-state region has since been catalogued on
a website created by Joy Landis, assistant IPM coordinator for
Michigan, with input from group members. The site also lists
resources from other areas, including the Northeast Region
Vegetable IPM Working Group, which has been holding on-farm
training workshops for NRCS and other conservation professionals
to learn about IPM, and creating IPM assessment tools for NRCS use
to qualify growers for financial incentives.
The
group is meeting regularly by conference call to build
relationships, identify needs, develop strategies and share
information. The most recent call included an update from Mike
Brewer, IPM coordinator for Michigan, on a new IPM task force
formed to help IPM and NRCS professionals and programs work
together on a national basis. An October call is slated to
introduce an IPM training curriculum developed for conservation
professionals in Wisconsin and discuss how it might be useful to
others in the region. Call notes are available on the website.
For
more information, contact Mike
Brewer or Tom Green.
The working group is one of several funded by the USDA
North Central IPM Center. To read the NRDC report, go to http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/ipm/contents.asp
Links:
North
Central NRCS/IPM Working Group
USDA
North Central IPM Center
Northeast
Region Vegetable IPM Working Group
Find
your USDA Regional IPM Center
III.
New Resources Aim to Connect Professionals Pursuing IPM in Public
Agencies and Commercial Facilities
Are
you looking for better control of pests and reductions in
pesticide hazards in a public agency or commercial facility? A new
web
resource directory, listserv and conference call series are
now available to help you meet your goals.
"In
February of this year, we hosted a conference call featuring Dr.
Albert Greene on how to buy high- performance IPM services,"
reports Dr. Tom Green of the IPM Institute. "More than 50
professionals listened to Al as he explained the process from bid
and contract preparation to contractor oversight. He emphasized
the importance of coupling competent contracted services with
effective pest-proofing through sanitation and maintenance on the
facility's part. Dr. Greene's approach has delivered a 90%
reduction in pest complaints and pesticide use in government
buildings. His techniques are very transferable to other public
agency and commercial facilities."
An
upcoming conference call will feature recent developments in the
IPM program in New York City, including a new law (Local Law 37)
addressing pesticide use and reporting for city properties,
efforts to reduce asthma incidence through IPM, and a newly filled
city-wide IPM coordinator position. For details on how to
participate, email the IPM
Institute.
Notes
from previous conference calls, presentations from a May 2007
workshop on buying structural IPM services and other resources are
now posted on the IPM Institute's webpage devoted to the topic.
To
join the new email listserv, contact the IPM
Institute. Users will be able to post questions, share
resources and network with other professionals with similar
responsibilities and objectives.
Dr.
Greene will also be presenting at a workshop in Oakland on
November 6. Interested parties should contact Laura Speare, UP3
Project, at 510 622-2452 or via email.
A third workshop featuring Dr. Greene and others is in the
planning stage for the New York metropolitan area in the near
future.
Finally,
the IPM Institute website also includes proceedings from a recent
workshop on "green" techniques for managing landscapes,
with presentations and resources on how to maintain healthy turf
and landscape plants in both residential and commercial settings.
Links:
Public
Agency and Commerical Facility IPM Website
UP3-
Urban Pesticide Pollution Prevention Project
Buying
Structural IPM Services Workshop Proceedings
Natural
and Organic Landscaping Workshop Proceedings
IV.
Join the IPM Institute Today!
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