Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Education is the first cornerstone of our professional IPM approach. The key to your overall satisfaction is directly dependent upon the quality of the people who perform the service. Copesan continually educates and trains our IPM Specialists in the most advanced pest management techniques. This provides you with the most qualified and experienced IPM Specialists to service your facilities.

Sharing our knowledge with you is also a key to our success. Knowledgeable clients become a key part of IPM programs and enable a partnership to succeed. The more we all know, the more effective we all can be.

Inspection is the second cornerstone of our IPM program.  To conduct an effective inspection, one must know the “signs” of, and the conditions that are conducive for, the presence of pests.  This effort will identify key factors which will directly influence all phases of a pest management program, such as: conductive conditions for pest infestations, pest entry routes, the need for improved sanitation, exact locations of needed repairs, pest trapping results and the need for physical controls. 

Exclusion is the third cornerstone. The focus here is to keep pests outside so that they never become a problem inside your critical environments. Conducting external evaluations helps to identify factors that may attract pests to structures, such as light, heat, odors, improper landscape design, poor sanitation and trash receptacles.

Administrative Support and cooperation is essential between client, staff and the IPM Specialist. Experience demonstrates that client input greatly assists in identifying some key areas where pests are active.  Remember, just like in many sports activities, teams perform better than individuals. Teamwork is indeed a winning combination.

Monitoring or Pest Trapping is a must for an effective IPM program.  Since traps work 24-hours a day, they provide us with valuable information regarding pest activity.  Traps, or monitors, are like a “video” of what is going on at the facility, as contrasted to just a “snapshot” of seeing what is present during a visual, on-site inspection.

Sanitation, also known as habitat modification or cleaning, is a must for both the inside and outside of your facilities. It's important that you keep your facility as clean as possible. Eliminating food “stresses” the pests by taking away one of the three key items needed for life. Good cleaning and sanitation is pest management.

In pest management, IPM Service Specialists are the key people who coordinate the programs for clients. Professional image, ability, experience and knowledge are characteristics of all Copesan's IPM Service Specialits. Each IPM Specialist assigned to a facility with special areas of risk has met a series of minimum qualifications and experience standards, including: 

• a solid knowledge of pests, their sources and proper control tactics, including the proper use of pesticides.
• certification that the individual is completely capable of conducting competent pest management strategies within your facilties.
• experience that is verifiable and a history of employment with documented training in aspects of pest management.

Modification of the environment immediately around pests will help to manage their populations. Physical control includes light, temperatures, relative humidity, or management of gas levels such as oxygen. These are some essential environmental aspects that influence pest behavior and population growth. This approach is becoming increasingly important in an effective IPM approach.

Pesticides should be properly selected and applied with the proper equipment, at the right time and in the correct manner. Chemical treatments should never be the “first line of defense,” nor should they be applied just so you think your pest management provider is “doing something.” IPM Service Specialists must always use care and follow safety instructions indicated on the labels when using pesticides.

Mechanical control centers around effective repairs of structures and equipment. Such activities as caulking, general repairs, screens, door sweeps, plus mechanical repairs of equipment are included. It is important to eliminate areas where pests live. This is an effective, long-term investment. 

Quality Control is the process of evaluating how well the overall IPM program is working. Service reviews provide added insurance, verifying that the work is being done in an appropriate manner. Most importantly, they insure client satisfaction.  By having another person conducting these reviews, there is an extra pair of eyes that can evaluate the work being done.

Documentation should include all information related to the specifics of the service work. Utilization of the Program Manual and supplementary documentation will be the on-site sources for the labels, MSDS or Material Safety Data Sheets, floor plans, site plans, service records, pest activity reported by the client and other reports that are completed. This series of documents provides for the collective “pest history” of the account.