INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT (IPM)

A LECTURE DELIVERED ON THEMATIC MODULE ON PPP IN VECTOR AND PEST MANAGEMENTFOR REGISTERED ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS IN NIGERIA AT FILBON MOTEL, CHIME AVENUE, NEW HEAVEN, ENUGU, ENUGU STATE ON 7TH SEPTEMBER, 2012

BY
SAN. OLALEKAN ISHOLA JP (NIMS)

INTRODUCTION
Integrated pest management (IPM) this is a pest management/control strategy which utilize biological and ecological knowledge, pest monitoring, various material and techniques, together with natural pest population regulatory factors for the management of pest.
Integrated pest management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. IPM programmes use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pest and their interactions with the environment.

The IPM approach can be applied to both agricultural and non agricultural settings such as the home, garden and workplace. IPM takes advantages of all appropriate pest management options including, but not limited to, the judicious use of pesticides. In contrast, organic food production from natural sources, as opposed to synthetic chemicals IPM is a board based ecological approach to structural and agricultural pest control that integrated pesticides / herbicides into a management system incorporating a range of practices for economic control of a pest in IPM one attempt to prevent infestation to observe patterns of infestation when they occur and to interferes (without poisons) when one deems necessary. IPM is the intelligent selection and use of pest control actions that will ensure favourable economic, ecological and sociological consequences.

IPM extended the concept of integrated control to all classes of pest and was expanded to include tactics other than just chemical and biological controls. Artificial controls such as pesticides were to be applied as in integrated control but these now had to be compatible with control tactics for all classed of pest. Other tactics such as hest-plants resistance and cultural manipulations, became post of the IPM arsenal.IPM added the multidisciplinary element, involving entomologists’ plant pathologist, wood scientists and environmentalists.
In 1972 in United States of America IPM was formulated into National Policy by, President Richard Nixon who directed federal Agencies to take steps to advance the concept and application of IPM in all relevant sectors.
In 1979, president primary carters established an integrity IPM co-coordinating committee to ensure development and implementation of IPM practices.


IPM COMPONENTS
I.P.M is designed around (4) four essential components while in some cases around (6) six basic components.
1. Acceptable pests level, this an understanding of the factors that regulate pest number or encourage their presence e.g. presence of breeding sites, filthy environment, poor waste disposal, indiscriminate piling up of unused material, favourable climate conditions etc.

2. MONITORING: Since insects are cold blooded, their physical development is dependent on the temperature of their environment. This is necessary to decide whether to apply control measures. It is also important in determine seasonal build up and dispersal, evaluating control or comparing different control measures.
Monitoring can be done by using:
a. Feeding activities
b. Visual observation on their number
c. Dropping
d. Disease development e.g. mosquito
e. Use of attractants

3. PREVENTIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES: Sanitation (Removal of disease causing agents on the source of growth/breeding sites). This cultural technique will prevent the spread of diseases; caused by pests.

4. MECHANICAL CONTROL: Should a pest reached an unacceptable level, mechanical methods are the first options consider. They include simple hand picking erecting insect barriers, using traps, vacuuming and tillage to distrust breeding.

5. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL: This is the use of living organisms to reduce pest populations. It is based on the knowledge that all living organisms have natural enemies unlike with agricultural pest, e.g. introduction of Tilapia and Gamdusia species used against mosquito larvae.

6. RESPONSIBLE PESTICIDES USE / CHEMICAL CONTROL: This is the application or use of natural or synthetic chemicals called pesticides to kill pests. The straight interpretation of pesticides is pest killers which is the original concept. In recent years many discoveries have been made of substances that influence insect behavious, for examples, chemicals which attract, repel car/or stenle pests without killing them. New concept of chemicals control is the judicious application or use of natural or synthetic chemicals that cause directly the death repulsion, attraction, deterrence, or in other ways influence pests for control purposes e.g. rodenticides inspecticides, fungicides e.t.c. examples of recent additions are the pyrehtroids and insect growth resulations (IGR) e.g Dimulan and Hydropene.

Constraints of IPM COMPONENTS
1. In some rural places, construction of houses may have to be altered so as to be able to screen at sites of our exchange.
2. Cost of chemicals which may not be affordable to some extent.
3. Sale of adulterated/fake chemicals.
4. Wrong application of selected chemicals.
5. Lack of modern techniques by spray men.
6. Inadequate bed nets.
7. Insects are still free to bite since bed nets are used mainly at night.
8. Heat may build up with in the net, making sleeping not enjoyable
Reasons for failure of the programme
1. Over reliance on a single approach to pest control especially pesticides, this has led to various ecological health and environmental problems.

2. Epidemiology of some diseases have been over-simplified for example may control measures that have worked in other areas are sometimes extrapolated to other areas and situations without taking into consideration the fact that the ecology of disease transmission is complex and could vary from place to place.

3. Many control programmes did not evolve within the context of occupational and social considerations of the target community.

4. Diseases transmitted are considered very important while the vectors are unimportant.
5. Emphasis is usually place on eradication of the pest species all costs.

SOLUTIONS
IPM can reduce human and environmental exposure to hazardous chemicals and potentially lower overall costs of pesticide application materials labour.
1. Public education programmes are vital to any vector control programme. It should be carefully planned and culturally sensitive and may be accompanied with incentives not threats. This enlightenment programme must be rich, and incentives may be financial, economic, informational, behavioural, regulatory and evaluation.
2. Effective maintenance of central measures, appropriate institutional arrangement must exist, spare parts, pesticides and other materials must be available all the time and monitoring programme should be supported.
3. Teams within disease control agency or vector control agency must be interdisciplinary. Anthropologist/sociologist, entomologists, medical personnel and environmentalist can learn together how to increase their contribution to vector management especially with the choice of appropriate management tactics.
4. Educational officers must be trained and re-trained to introduce them to current trends in vector management. Vector management is a dynamic exercise, every year new methods and technologies are developed for dealing with specific vectors.
5. Government must provide adequate funding for public education and other aspects of vector management programmes.



CONCLUSION
Implementing the IPM programme will completely reduce the chance of accidental exposure of pesticides to children, adult and the popular. This proactive, can control pests better in the long term than just pesticides alone. “Overtime” an IPM programme can cost less than conventional pest management practices by reducing dependence on pesticides.