Landscape Tools: IPM Tools for Professional Landscape Management
Project description and objectives:
Many of the educational programs and publications available on IPM are oriented toward the manager or owner/operator level of experience and education. To date there have been several attempts by companies in Northeast Florida to have their technicians practice monitoring for pests as part of their regular scheduled visits to a property. These efforts have not met with success. One theory for the lack of success is that the forms are either too complex or time consuming to fill out or proper training on how to scout an urban landscape has not been available to the technicians. A route based business rewards landscape maintenance and pest control technicians by the number of accounts serviced in a given day. This does not leave much time or room for lengthy scouting, which is perceived as nonproductive by the technician.
Project activities:
This project will develop an IPM Scouting Kit for the urban landscape
and have technicians evaluate the kit in the field over a period
of one year for usability and effectiveness in collecting data for
a pest database. This database will document over the span of the
project pest outbreaks in Northeast Florida. Additional data on pest
outbreaks will be collected by Master Gardeners in Duval and Nassau
counties for inclusion in this database. Currently the only historical
information available on outbreaks is in re-treatment records held
by pest control companies for their own use. The database information
collected in this project will be available to pest control companies,
extension agents, Master Gardeners, landscape maintenance companies,
and other registered users for reference and use. With usable tools
in the field to collect data, the idea is that technicians will be
encouraged to use IPM scouting methods, which improves reporting
methods and promotes documentation of pest outbreaks, which can lead
to spot treatments versus broad us of chemicals to control pests.
The IPM Scouting Kit is a multi-county effort between Duval and Nassau
County Commercial Extension agents, three local Green Industry companies
and Master Gardener volunteers.
Project accomplishments:
Project leaders:
- Pamela Mattis, EA I, Commercial Horticulture, Duval Co.
- Rebecca Jordi, EA-Courtesy, Environmental Horticulture, Nassau Co.
- Marion Douglas, IT Expert, IFAS Communication Services