Community IPM Working Group: Overview

The Community IPM Working group has addressed residential, structural, turf, and landscape IPM. Members represent Cooperative Extension, government, private pest control businesses, and nonprofit groups throughout the region.

In 2008, members placed IPM posters on Maryland bus systems, reaching approximately 150,000 riders per day. They also presented an IPM exhibit to 750,000 visitors at the U.S. Botanical Gardens in Washington, DC. As part of this, they displayed "landscape bloopers" posters and distributed thousands of brochures on growing green lawns with minimal pesticides. Our Center and the North Central IPM Center have contributed additional funds to help launch growinggreenlawns.org.

In 2009, this working group helped to lead six sessions on Community IPM at the Sixth International IPM Symposium in Portland, OR, and they leveraged their working group funds to obtain additional funding from the EPA to teach homeowners about IPM. They also met with the North Central IPM Center's Consumer Horticulture work group to collaborate on residential and landscape IPM projects. Members set up a new bed bug portal and hope to measure impact through site traffic.

The Community IPM Working Group is now on Facebook. Become a fan!