Community IPM Outreach Efforts for 2014

Abstract

The core mission of the Community IPM Program is to provide New Yorkers with safe and effective solutions to manage pests where people live, work, learn and play. Because the field of Community IPM is vast, including all aspects of life that are not associated with growing food or horticultural goods, the practices promoted by this program apply to all New Yorkers, and help to reduce health and environmental risks associated with pest management practices. In 2014, Community IPM staff engaged diverse audiences in New York and other states in two important and effective ways. The Community IPM Program provided over 1600 contact hours of in-person presentations, workshops and seminars. These face-to-face meetings offer participants the opportunity to ask questions of experts in a comfortable environment, obtain contact information, and learn about resources available from the NYS IPM. Program staff provided site visits to address specific pest problems and appeared in public media, including local and international television broadcasts. To complement the appearance of IPM staff at events, meetings and on television, social media and other internet-based resources were emphasized in 2014. In this age of technology, countless sources of information related to pest biology and management are available. However, many non-university resources are inaccurate and may provide recommendations that are illegal or unsafe. Therefore, IPM staff generated new fact sheets, YouTube videos, blogs, Facebook posts, Tweets (Twitter), webinars and a bed bug educational module that are linked to the website or can be found using standard search-engines. IPM staff also contributed to trade magazines and peer reviewed publications. Because this content is available in several formats, this increases the reach of the Community IPM program and the possible adoption of IPM strategies.