What is IPM?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (pdf)provides a way to deal with the long-term prevention of pests and their potential damage to landscape plants, crops, and building structures from reaching unacceptable levels. IPM is a process of selecting and applying the most appropriate combination of available pest control methods to minimize economic, health, and environmental risks. Cultural, physical/mechanical, biological, or chemical techniques may be used in a variety of combinations to develop a comprehensive strategy to manage a given site and pest situation.

To read the policy adopted by The City of Sunnyvale, please click on the link provided above.

Why is it Important to Reduce Pesticide Usage?

When it rains, pesticides used in maintaining landscapes and gardens are washed off the plants and soils they are used to protect. This stormwater runs off the landscape and flows to the nearest storm drain, which ultimately carries the water to a local creek or San Francisco Bay without treatment. Pesticides carried with stormwater into creeks and the Bay are harmful to the fish and other organisms that live there. Minimizing our use of pesticides in landscape maintenance helps protect water quality, aquatic life, and our own health.