Pest Management Alliance Grants Awarded 2023
Back to Funded Pest Management Alliance Grants (2007 - present)
Project Summaries
Expansion of the Prevention-Centered IPM Model for Affordable Housing: Building the Capacity of the Affordable Housing Sector to Implement Pest Prevention and IPM Best Practices
Sponsor: San Francisco Environment Department
Principal Investigator: Raymond Manion
Funding Total: $321,670
This project incorporates findings from a successful DPR Research Grant into an integrated pest management (IPM) model for affordable housing to reach more than 1,200 housing units in San Francisco.
Over the past ten years, the City of San Francisco has taken major actions to re-envision and renovate its affordable housing stocks, which were previously rated as the second worst in the state by federal inspectors. Pest infestations at the time were severe, with property managers and maintenance staff struggling with diminished funding, aging structures, and lack of pest management training. Using a core integrated pest management (IPM) concept – prioritizing pest exclusion – renovations began through the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Program in 2014. About five years after the completion these RAD renovations, San Francisco Environment Department (SFE) obtained a DPR Research Grant to evaluate the success of its efforts. Completed in 2022, the findings of this Research Grant confirmed that pest populations had declined – despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This research also identified needs for future programs, such as ongoing and modularized trainings for both property managers and maintenance staff, as well as specific pest-proofing tactics that appeared particularly important in suppressing pests.
This project provide short, modularized trainings for property managers, hands-on pest-proofing trainings for maintenance staff; and provide trainings on reducing air pollutants and preventing pests to residents. The success of the above efforts will be evaluated by re-inspecting the sites near the end of the project to document pest-proofing efforts and pest levels and conducting before-and-after surveys to gauge the effectiveness of the trainings, noting any programmatic changes made as a result. This project will then bundle developed and refined project materials into a convenient package that can be easily shared statewide and beyond through the University of California IPM Program (UC IPM), as well as housing and asthma networks through our partner organization Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP). These bundles will include an overall outline of the model, all training materials and videos, and modular sets of recommendations on topics such as vacant unit turnover policies, lease language, pest management recordkeeping, complaint logs, and checklists of pest-proofing tactics.
This project contributes to DPR's mission to protect human health and the environment, and supports California's transition to safer, more sustainable pest management by fostering reduced-risk pest management, as well as promoting safer, more sustainable pest management options to some of the most vulnerable populations. This project promotes comprehensive IPM programs based on physically excluding pests from structures, thus potentially reducing both pests and pesticide use for the life of the building.
Media Contact: Charles Sheehan, Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Charles.sheehan@sfgov.org
Sustainable Pest Management Training for Pest Control Practitioners
Sponsor: Wild Farm Alliance
Principal Investigator: Jo Ann Baumgartner
Funding Total: $463,313
This project will provide pest management practitioners with information on sustainable pest management (SPM) techniques that are field-tested and backed by research.
Led by Wild Farm Alliance (WFA), the project will help California producers reduce pesticide use through expanded outreach and education of Pest Control Advisers (PCAs), scouts, and growers on SPM. The Alliance Team aims to work together to reach hundreds of pest control practitioners through hands-on and innovative approaches focused on SPM strategies. SPM topics to be covered in this project include soil and nutrient management, insect pest management, preventative controls, augmentation and biological controls, support and co-existence with beneficial biodiversity, vertebrate pest control, the understanding of the impacts of different pesticides, and other topics that will be identified in listening sessions.
Pesticide practitioners will be equipped with the knowledge and tools to implement SPM techniques through experiential learning at field days, informative webinars, a tool that will allow users to identify beneficial birds they can attract for specific pest control, and the opportunity to connect and learn from their peers in an online platform. Finally, this project will provide in-depth training through a scout internship program where participants will learn in the field how to successfully document and conduct scouting to reduce the need for pesticide applications.
This project contributes to DPR's mission to protect human health and the environment, and supports California's transition to safer, more sustainable pest management by providing education and outreach on SPM techniques with the goal to increase adoption and expansion of these practices in California agricultural settings. Efforts will initially focus on PCAs, scouts, and growers from the Central Coast and Central Valley, but it is anticipated that pesticide practitioners and producers from across the state will attend the field days and webinars, therefore expanding this project's reach throughout the state. With about 4,000 PCAs and an untold number of scouts in California, this project will serve as a model for expanded outreach to PCAs and scouts beyond this project's geographic focus.
Media Contact: Jo Ann Baumgartner, Principal Investigator, joannb@wildfarmalliance.org
Urban IPM Apprenticeship Program: Expanding IPM Implementation Across California's Urban Areas
Sponsor: IPM Institute of North America, Inc.
Principal Investigator: Ryan Anderson
Funding Total: $172,575
This project proposes to develop an apprenticeship program that will increase the urban integrated pest management (IPM) expert resource pool in California by equipping more pest management professionals with the competency to administer their own IPM evaluation and/or implementation projects.
Outside of the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM), which has historically been largely focused on agricultural pest management, California pest control providers, housing and medical facilities, schools and grounds have few resources and experts that can assist with implementing IPM to safely and effectively manage pest and weed problems in urban environments.
Apprentices in the proposed program will complete a curriculum of monthly webinars, shadow session of an IPM facility evaluation, and attendance to an in-person IPM workshop. These training sessions will cover effective and low-toxicity management strategies for important urban pests including, but not limited to, ticks, rodents, cockroaches, mosquitoes, invasive and noxious weeds, flies, bed bugs, and termites. Session presenters will include IPM Institute of North America (IPM Institute) staff and collaborators, UC IPM extension educators, and additional urban IPM experts. Following the educational sessions, the IPM Institute and UC IPM will document an increase in IPM adoption by requiring each apprentice to individually complete at least one IPM evaluation for a California-based pest control service provider, facility, or landscape.
This project contributes to DPR's mission to protect human health and the environment, and supports California's transition to safer, more sustainable pest management by training urban pest management professionals and equipping them with the knowledge to adopt IPM practices such as pest prevention and lower toxicity control methods.
Media Contact: Ryan Anderson, Principal Investigator, randerson@ipminstitute.org
Using Integrated Pest Management Methods to Create Strong and Sustainable Shorelines on Clear Lake, CA
Sponsor: Lake County Watershed Protection District
Principal Investigator: Angela De Palma-Dow
Funding Total: $346,038
This project aims to strengthen and restore 4-5 acres of Clear Lake wetland shoreline habitat and reduce the reliance on chemical pesticides in managing and controlling the primrose.
Clear Lake is located in rural Lake County, CA and serves as a drinking water source and an economic driver for recreation and fishing for the local communities. The lake also provides local tribes with essential cultural and subsistence resources. An invasive aquatic plant, creeping water primrose, is a significant issue for Clear Lake as it can produce dense biomasses that pose or contribute to a variety of serious problems, such as localized flooding, clogged drinking water intakes, impeded vector control efforts (i.e., mosquito population management), reduced recreational capacity, and restricted fish habitats. Clear Lake is in a severely disadvantaged community and many property owners experience financial hardships that limit pest management choices.
This project will:
- Increase manual removal of primrose from select high-priority public access locations with follow-up restorative plantings of native shoreline species;
- Provide incentives to property owners to incorporate manual primrose removal on their shoreline parcels; and
- Implement a recently developed Natural Shoreline Stewardship Program allowing property owners to design their shorelines to be resilient against the spread or regrowth of primrose.
This project contributes to DPR's mission to protect human health and the environment, and supports California's transition to safer, more sustainable pest management by reducing reliance on chemical pesticides in the management and control of the invasive aquatic creeping water primrose plant. This reduced reliance on chemical pesticides will create sustainable and native shorelines at Clear Lake that are resilient to future establishment by invasive species. Further, this project will serve as a model for sustainable management of invasive aquatic plants at other water bodies within the State.
Media Contact: Angela De Palma-Dow, Principal Investigator, Angela.DePalma-Dow@lakecountyca.gov
For content questions, contact DPR's Grants Program at IPMGrants@cdpr.ca.gov