New report documents ecologically sound pest management

 

A compilation of recent progress is chronicled in the program’s 2009 annual report, now available here.

 

Homeowners plagued by tiny black ants have during the last decade begun turning in droves to over-the-counter insecticides that contain pyrethroids. However, scientists determined that pyrethroid runoff from urban neighborhoods was making some natural waterways toxic to aquatic organisms.

 

Efforts to provide home pest-control professionals and homeowners with information for managing ants without harming the environment became one of the IPM program’s highest priorities. UC IPM produced a 20-minute online video that shows how to manage Argentine ants using a preventative IPM approach, according to the annual report.

 

The 12-page report – titled Highlights 2009 – documents research and education progress by UC IPM scientists and projects that were sponsored through UC IPM’s competitive grants programs. Training and extension were held statewide, and often in partnership with groups inside and outside the university.