Integrated Pest Management

Home Environmental Programs Integrated Pest Management

Directed by the Physical Plant Grounds Department, the UCSC campus practices Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in controlling troublesome flora and fauna. The Physical Plant Pest Management Office has the expertise to identify which alternative pest control strategies can be used effectively, and is continually researching safer alternative pest control methods and products.

The campus has chosen to be more restrictive than EPA or the State regulations with respect to the use of pest control products. The decision to allow the use of a pest control product and/or pest control method on campus is based on an evaluation of several factors: severity of problem, effectiveness of alternative control options and campus community / environmental health risks. When a product is approved for use at UCSC, additional use restrictions or requirements specific to campus use are typically included.

For consultation on IMP, please contact Gary Cunningham, Physical Plant Pest Management, 9-2252.

For consultation on health and safety issues associated with a particular product, contact Dan Blunk, Environmental Programs Manager, 9-3541.

Draft Campus Pesticide Policy

California Department of Pesticide Regulation

EPA Office of Pesticide Programs

University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Project

Extension Toxicology Network

National IPM Network

UCSC strives to integrate the campus landscape into the redwood forest and meadowland habitat of our location and the campus Natural Reserve. Integrated Pest Management practices help to protect the harmony between campus activities and the natural fauna and flora of the area.

"Going to the woods is going home, for I suppose we came from the woods originally." John Muir

"Our lives...need the relief of where the pine flourishes and the jay still screams." Henry David Thoreau