RICHARD FAGERLUND: Knowing species, habits can help control pests without pesticides

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Someone asked me, what is Integrated Pest Management, or IPM?

Basically, it is a good replacement for the old spray-and-pray methods used in the past: Spray pesticides and pray you kill something.

This was when the industry would spray baseboards in a house or building. Any company that still sprays baseboards is in the spray-and-pray arena. IPM includes pest identification, exclusion, traps and other non-toxic procedures that are good.

The word integrated was added so that pesticides could be included in the procedure. The problem is pesticides are included when they arent necessary.

What pests require pesticides to be controlled? Basically, none. In an emergency when hornets or wasps invade a building suddenly, it would be practical to have some wasp freeze handy. But in almost all other circumstances, pests can be controlled without the use of toxic pesticides, and I mean pesticides in a liquid or aerosol format. Basically, pesticides sprays are never necessary and, in many cases, can be detrimental to the health of families and pets.

Richard Fagerlund.

I prefer the term Intelligent and Responsible Pest Management and that is what I promote and I am trying to get commercial businesses to follow so they dont endanger their customers and associates with toxic pesticides. This is particularly important as pesticide notification isnt required in New Mexico. In states where pesticide notification is required, the pest company has to post a notice on the front of a building letting potential customers know what pesticide they are going to be using and making copies of the label and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) available for anyone who wants them so they are aware of the toxicity of the pesticide.

The New Mexico Department of Agriculture has the authority to order pesticide notification, but it refuses for some reason. Any responsible company that is going to use a pesticide in a commercial building would post notifications even if it isnt required to. While many of the pesticides in use today may not be hazardous to everyone, there are people who suffer from multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and are affected when they enter a building that has been sprayed.

The pest industry doesnt want anyone to believe MCS is a viable concern. A spokesman for the National Pest Control Association (now the National Pest Management Association), contended in 1988 that many people who claim they are chemically sensitive are actually allergic to the pests that the chemical (poison) is supposed to control. Others, he said, have delusory parasitosis, a distinct fear of insects. Its a neurotic disorder of people that can never be controlled.

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RICHARD FAGERLUND: Knowing species, habits can help control pests without pesticides