Our previous two blogs have been dedicated to sharing information concerning integrated pest management protocol techniques with the DIY pest controller. If you are only joining us today, the first blog which concerned itself with general
background and necessity of IPM can be viewed here. The second blog, which was dedicated to step one in IPM can be viewed here.
In this article, we will address step two in IPM, which is determining the action threshold. This can be explained as the
level at which you plan to take action steps to address your specific pest control situation. This step is much more necessary for large pest control firms and vegetation managers, who handle massive accounts for expansive areas. They have to have a plan that can be shared with numerous employees and explicitly outlines what signs will be identified as the point at which
treatment is required. This is imperative for consistency in sizable firms. The problem for the DIY pest controller is that the action threshold can be a very ambiguous term because YOU are the one making the final determination. Like a moving target at a street fair shooting gallery, it is very hard to pin down.
For instance, what is the commodity that you are protecting? Are you trying to keep your yard free from red ant mounds? Do you have hundreds of dollars invested in ornamental plants in beds around your home? Have you recently started a small orchard of fruit trees that are in the delicate stage of taking root? Each of these particular situations would have a different action threshold, with distinctive limits and differentiated levels of action.
If you visited our previous blogs concerning IPM then you are aware that the initial action that you must take as a DIY pest
controller is to become educated about your home and the assets that you are protecting. If you have followed my recommendation, then you are armed with the adequate information to begin setting limits. As a DIY pest controller who has collected the facts, you will have a general idea of the level at which you plan on taking action to protect your environmental investments. If you feel unprepared to make that determination, most local extension offices are readily available to assist
with free pest control advice. Having a baseline of knowledge of your pest control situation and your notations of your
environment will enable you to adequately communicate your pest control needs to the extension agent. It will slice
clean through having to make numerous phone calls and costly repeated visits. Your extension agent will be so
grateful that you have done most of the leg work, she will likely offer additional resources that you did not even realize existed.